HANALEI — From first to last, paddlers in Saturday’s 35-mile Na Pali Challenge outrigger canoe race say it was an experience not soon to be forgotten. Capturing first place, Hui’o Mana Kapuuwai Canoe Club raced across the finish line in
HANALEI — From first to last, paddlers in Saturday’s 35-mile Na Pali Challenge
outrigger canoe race say it was an experience not soon to be
forgotten.
Capturing first place, Hui’o Mana Kapuuwai Canoe Club raced
across the finish line in Kekaha four hours and forty-four minutes after a
start in Hanalei that required a 20-yard beach dash to competitors awaiting
canoes.
“The best part was going so fast surfing those swells,” said Mary
Brewer, a member of the winning crew. “I felt like I’d never gone that fast
before. It was like flying.”
Brewer should know. She’s a veteran
long-distance paddler and member of the winning crew from last year’s Na Wahine
O Ke Kai, the legendary 41-mile, inter-island race from Molokai to Oahu.
“I
felt like I’d paddled Molokai, but this was a lot more fun,” said
Brewer.
Race organizers of the third-annual Na Pali Challenge like to hear
those comparisons. With few funds to promote their race, they are relying on
word of mouth to eventually create a following much like the Molokai to Oahu
race, and the largest international canoe competition in the world, the Queen
Liliuokalani Long Distance Canoe Race held in Kona.
“It’s a local-style
effort,” said Dennis Chun, one of the founders of Na Kalai Wa’a O Kauai, the
non-profit organization for which the Na Pali Challenge is a fund-raiser. “Over
the long run, popularity for the race will grow.”
Word is already
spreading. Saturday’s race posted 16 entries, three from off island, including
Oahu, the big island and the state of Virginia.
Undoubtedly, the race
course and race regulations, which are unusual, add to its popularity.
“The
course retraces an ancient trade route from Hanalei to the west side,” said
Chun. “It connects the whole island. The scenery is just awesome.
There’s a
lot of feeling along the Na Pali Coast, too.”
The Virginia crew must have
felt it; they say theyll return next year.
Throughout the race, crews of
six women and six men took turns paddling in 30 minute intervals. Escort boats
carried non-paddling crews who used their off time to re-hydrate and re-fuel
their bodies and cheer on their teammates. Crews had five-minute windows to
complete their water changes.
“The co-ed relay brings unity between the
men’s and women’s crews of the same club,” said Chun.
A crew from Kaiola
Canoe Club experienced this unity first-hand. After a disastrous start, their
boat crossed the finish line dead-last, long after the beach crowd dissipated
and only worried family members remained.
“Without all of us, we wouldn’t
have been able to do it,” said Zena Seeley,the women’s steersperson for Kaiola
Canoe Club’s No. 4 boat. “It took all 12 of us.”
While this crew from
Kaiola Canoe Club crossed the finish line in last place, they certainly weren’t
losers. They won many hearts with their courage after huli’ing (flipping) some
15 minutes into the race and, due to difficulties, were towed back to shore
where they bailed the canoe of water and started out again an hour after their
first attempt, at the same point another crew might have called it
quits.
“The guys asked, Are we going to do this? and we said ‘Yes,'” said
Seeley. “I’m glad we finished. How often do you get to paddle that coast in a
six-man canoe? I give my crew all the credit; they did such a killer
job.”
It helps to know the waters along the Na Pali Coast. Brewer said
she’s paddled that coast countless times and, because there’s a counter current
close to the coast, stays far outside to catch big swells and fast
currents.
“Our game plan is always the same,” said Brewer. Get out in front
and stay there. Then, cover the competition.”
Brewer said they kept an eye
on Hanalei Poi Boys behind them and stayed in their line the entire time, so
they would paddle in the same water conditions and eliminate any edge the
second-place crew might have gained with a more favorable current.
Reading
currents is what Na Kalai Wa’a O Kauai is all about. The non-profit
organization was created to offer Kauai an educational and cultural opportunity
through Polynesian sailing canoe voyaging. The organization is currently
constructing a 70-foot-long, double hull, non-instrument, voyaging canoe and
hopes to sail to Micronesia within the next few years relying only on the sun,
the moon, the stars, and the water to navigate.
Official race
results
In the Open Division, Hui’o Mana Kapuuwai Canoe Club placed first
in a time of 4:43:32, Hanalei Hawaiin Civic Club placed second in a time of
4:49:14 and Kaiola Canoe Club ended third in a time of 4:50:10. The remaining
teams in the Open Division finished this way: Hanalei Canoe Club (4:59:07),
Koloa Canoe Club (5:18:02), Kaiola Canoe Club (5:25:01), Mid Atlantic Paddlers
(5:36:32), Hui’o Mana Kapuuwai Canoe Club #2 (5:40:09), Kawaikini Canoe Club
(5:41:19), Niumalu Canoe Club (5:48:30) and Kawaikini #2 scratched.
In the
Master Divisioin, Hanalei Canoe Club finished first (5:00:47), Kaiola Canoe
placed second (5:10:33) and Kona Athletic ended third (5:21:03). Kaiola Canoe
Club was the only other finisher in the Master Division (6:54:18). Hui’o Mana
Kapuuwai suffered broken equipment and could not finish.
Special to
The Garden Island
Canoe Team members churn through the waters during the Na
Pali Challenge canoe race Saturday.
