WAILUA — New Yorkers were treated to outrigger canoe racing recently when crews from Hanalei, Kaiola, and Wailua Kayak and Canoes descended on the Big Apple for three days of rigging, racing and the New York nightlife during the Liberty
WAILUA — New Yorkers were treated to outrigger canoe racing recently when
crews from Hanalei, Kaiola, and Wailua Kayak and Canoes descended on the Big
Apple for three days of rigging, racing and the New York nightlife during the
Liberty Challenge.
Teams from the three Kaua`i clubs traveled nearly 6,000
miles to paddle under the gaze of Lady Liberty, joining 54 other teams,
including contingents from China and Sweden and many from the East Coast. Teams
paddled in one of the busiest harbors in the world over a 16-mile course in an
event that is rapidly becoming a world-class sport.
“The course followed a
path around the tip of Manhattan, up the East River to midtown and back down
through the harbor,” explained Cindy Grover-Nartatez, one of the paddlers for
Wailua Kayak and Canoe. “It then circumnavigated Governor’s Island, kissing the
tip of Liberty Island, past Ellis Island, with a mad sprint across the Hudson
River.”
Media coverage included live television crews, as well as
photographers and reporters from the major television networks, wire services
and publications.
Race organizer Blake Conant, born in Haena and now
residing in Connecticut, was overheard remarking about his longing for a Kaua`i
decal for his Manuiwa team canoe.
Wailua Kayak and Canoe’s team of Jackie
Burke, Donna Kahakui, Mary Brewer, Diane McLane-Hanson, Grover-Nartatez and
Carlene Ornellas took the Masters Division with a second-place finish overall,
covering the course in 2:17:56. Team sponsors included Jose Aguayo and Charlie
King of King Auto Center, Sue Kanoho of the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau, Kaua’i
Mayor Maryanne Kusaka, James Youn, Buddy Peters, Todd Mayer, Louella Lemn,
Linda Pittman and Rio Ogawa of Ogawa Chiropractic.
“We had an encounter of
the worst kind with not one, but three fishing lines off the pier next to the
Brooklyn Bridge,” Grover-Nartatez said. “We eventually cut through and went on
to have a great battle with Team Maui’s mixed crew before pulling ahead of them
on the upwind leg of the course.
Thanks to monitoring by the Coast Guard,
“there were no mishaps and only four huli’s in the three races,” she
reported.
The women of Kaiola Canoe Club took second in the Open Division
and finished fourth overall with a time of 2:23:45. Paddlers included Robin
Jumper, Dawn Gates, Mary Godec, Jennifer Bohner, Anne Alo, and Katie Otsuji.
Team sponsors were the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau, Hyatt Hotels, Ohana Motors and
JJ’s Broiler.
The Hanalei Civic Canoe Club’s Men’s Senior Masters crew took
second in its division with a 10th overall, completing the course in 2:11:04.
Their sponsors were the Kaua`i Visitors Bureau, All Phase Construction,
Callahan Construction, Kai Kane, Hanalei Surf Co. and Back Door Surfboys. Gene
Lopez, one of the Hanalei team’s members, said the race was “a culture shock. I
never saw so many people. And there was no shoreline—just sidewalks all along
the river, filled with people all cheering.”
He said the Hanalei team plans
to race again in New York and hopes East Coast teams will come to Kaua’i for
competition.
