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By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Sunday, June 20, 2004

HONOLULU—Coach Jimmy Bruhn may have a penchant for smiling, but he isn’t big on kidding around.

Bruhn had plenty to smile about yesterday after learning that his Kailua Canoe Club had won its third regatta in as many weeks. Kailua, with a 77-point showing, outlasted Hui Lanakila by eight points in the 35th Annual Father’s Day Regatta at Keehi Lagoon.

“I’m always surprised when we win everything,” Bruhn said. “It’s so competitive every time. You can’t take anything for granted. With four races to go, anyone could still take it.”

So, a little more than a dozen of Kailua’s paddlers stuck around as officials gathered the points together, waited through a delay, and learned that they had secured the win.

Lanikai, the early leader, finished with 65 points, and Hui Nalu placed fourth with 55 in the AA Division.

Keahiakahoe led the A Division with 22 points. Regatta host Leeward Kai was runner-up with 14 points, and Anuenue placed third with 10.

Kailua triumphed all right, but it wasn’t dominant. The paddlers in blue and yellow won just six of the 37 races. Runner-up Hui Lanakila won 10 races.

“Overall, we did well. We placed in most of our races,” Bruhn noted. “The fact that we placed that much is great.”

Kailua’s depth and breadth of success is no fluke. “Our coaches have been teaching a lot more on technique,” Bruhn said. “The coaches deserve a lot of credit.”

For Lanikai, it was another close-but-no-cigar chase. Lanikai led after 16 races with 34 points. Kailua was five points behind.

“Our kids didn’t do as well, but a lot of them are on vacations,” Kailua coach Bobby Puakea said. “Kailua has been tough.”

It was a day of big and small victories for many clubs. Even New Hope Christian Fellowship Canoe Club, which placed eighth out of eight teams in the AA Division, continued to show signs of improvement.

New Hope’s 50 men’s crew won for the second time in three weeks. In the season opener, their crew won the race by a dozen lengths. Last week, a lane infraction cost them a chance for the win.

This time around, New Hope won the 50 men’s race by six seconds (3 minutes, 54.9 seconds). It remains to be seen if they’ll be challenged even when more paddlers turn out for clubs as long-distance season nears.

“It’s rewarding and fun. This win more so because I blew it so badly in the last one,” steersman Cam Cavasso said.

Gary Samura, the stroker, cut Cavasso some slack, noting the unusual width of New Hope’s borrowed canoe, Ka’iholokai. Like all OCHRA canoes, Ka’iholokai is pure koa. “The okole is wider (than most canoes), so we have to be more conservative (than other crews) on our turn,” said Samura, 55.

Cavasso, 53, is a veteran of Lanikai, Kailua and Kai One. Samura is a veteran one-man paddler who was invited to paddle for a number of clubs, but always declined. “I’m a member at New Hope, so when they started a club, I went,” he said.

The top dog, so to speak, remains Kailua. The going gets tougher for opponents next week.

Kailua returns home for the next OHCRA event. The regatta was originally scheduled for Waimanalo Beach Park, home of host Waimanalo Canoe Club. However, like yesterday’s regatta—first slated at Nanakuli—the facility is under repair. The regatta will be held at Kailua, which suits Bruhn just fine.

“That’s our home ground. We gotta make use of it,” said Bruhn, noting gusts that get up to 25 mph. “We’re used to the wind in our face.”

That doesn’t mean Kailua is about to let up, even after three wins. “I try to tell them, next week is always another race,” Bruhn said. “We have to humble ourselves as much as we can.”

Previous Article: Paddling: Hui Lanakila, Kailua share 1st in OHCRA season opener, June 6, 2004
Next Article: Paddling: Kaneohe, Koa Kai, Waikiki ‘Beach Girls’ dominating, June 27, 2004

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