Keahialalo holds strong; Auger beats out Goo

Brisk winds once again eluded the forty-eight paddlers who battled it out in the fifth race of the YMCA-Kaua’i Hoe Wa’a 2005 Steinlager Series, this past weekend.

With gentle tradewinds offering little help, the long course paddlers went from Kalapaki Beach to Po`ipu Beach while the short course went from Po`ipu Beach to Port Allen.

In the long course, Butch Keahialalo finished first for the second race in a row, proving his previous win wasn’t a fluke. Mark Frazier came in second and Hipo Pincena closed the gap with a close third.

For the women’s long course, Noe Auger came out for the first time this season and showed no signs of rust with her first place finish.

Alana Goo came in a close second with Mavis Aiu placing third. In the short course, Greg “The Dominator” Davis came in 1st overall, a repeated place for him, while Katy Otsuji placed first overall in the women’s short course.

See the scoreboard on page B2 for full contest results.

“We want to extend a big mahalo to Bob French and his crew from Brenneke’s and also Calvin Maeda from Steinlager for the outstanding food and beverages enjoyed by all after the race,” said Chris Fujita, President of Kaua`i Hoe Wa`a. “Mahalos also go out to our volunteers including our timers and registrars, Kimberlee Stuart, Fran MacDonald, Annika Printz and Margie Goodno, plus our escort boat captains Warwick, Justin Tabalno, and Dexter Jacinto,” Fujita added.

Kaua`i Hoe Waa’s next race will be March 13.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. at Pine Tree Inn (Kalapaki).

The race will start at 12 noon with the long course going from Kapa`a Boat Channel to Kalapaki Bay and the short course going from Hanama`ulu to Kalapaki Bay.

For more information, call the Kaua`i Hoe Wa`a Race Line the night before the race at 639-3568.

Kaua`i Hoe Wa`a is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote safety, participation, and competition in OC-1s, OC-2s, and kayakssurfskis.