Lokahi canoe club once again gets better of Kane'ohe
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The drama series between the Lokahi and Kane'ohe canoe clubs continued yesterday.
This time, the suspenseful ending favored Lokahi.
Lokahi amassed 71 points in 36 races to win the Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i Regatta at Maili Beach. Kane'ohe placed second with 68 points.
"What I do is not even pay attention to the points anymore," said Lokahi head coach Wayne Babineau. "I just wait until the end to find out what it is because I know it's going to come down to the end anyway."
It was Lokahi's third consecutive win, but the average margin of victory over Kane'ohe in those three regattas has been three points. In six Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a regattas this season, Lokahi has four victories and is averaging 72.7 points per regatta. Kane'ohe has two victories and is scoring 70.2 points per regatta.
"Yeah, today was a landslide," joked Babineau. "We're used to winning by one point."
Following what has become a familiar script this season, Kane'ohe jumped to an early lead behind its youth crews. In the 13 youth races, Kane'ohe earned 42 points, including five-point victories by its mixed 12s, boys 12s and boys 13s crews.
Lokahi countered with 23 points from its youth crews.
"I don't know that we can ever neutralize Kane'ohe's kids," Babineau said. "But our kids are getting better every week, and they did well today."
In a showcase of its depth in the youth divisions, Kane'ohe used several new crews yesterday.
"It was a chance for us to give all the kids a chance to paddle," said Kane'ohe head coach Clint Anderson. "We didn't win as many races as maybe we might have in other weeks, but those new kids we threw in there still did the job."
A key moment came in the mixed novice B race, when Kane'ohe's crew was disqualified for crossing into another lane. That crew has been placing first (worth five points) or second (worth three) throughout the season.
"We've been saying from the beginning of the year that whoever makes the mistakes is going to pay for it," Anderson said. "Lokahi hasn't been making mistakes lately, and we have."
Lokahi did not have any of its crews disqualified yesterday.
As has been the case all season, Lokahi rallied behind its open women's crews. Lokahi won all four open races for women, including a convincing victory in the prestigious senior race. The crew of Mikala Hetland, Jennifer Thompson-Tuzon, Dy Valdez, Carol Jaxon, Renee Klingle and Jennifer Davis finished the 1ý-mile course 33 seconds ahead of the second-place crew.
A victory by its women's open-4 crew put Lokahi ahead for good in the 32nd race of the day.
"Every week, we jump ahead with the kids and they catch us with the adults, especially their women," Anderson said. "The interesting part comes after that."
Lokahi received crucial late victories from its men's senior masters (ages 45-older) and women's golden masters (55-over) crews.
In the men's senior masters race, Lokahi completed the half-mile course in 3 minutes, 53.83 seconds, which set a course record. "The wind pushed us out and the current brought us back," explained crew member Mike Cushnie.
Due mainly to calm conditions and a favorable current, 11 crews set Maili Beach course records: Windward Kai (girls 12s), Kane'ohe (boys 12s and boys 13s), Lokahi (girls 13s and men senior masters), Manu O Ke Kai (girls 14s), Kamehameha (girls 15s), Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i (boys 15s and men open-4), Koa Kai (men sophomore), and Kalihi Kai (women masters).
In an equally dramatic A division for smaller clubs, Koa Kai finished with 27 points to edge Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i by one. I Mua was third with 22, and won the prestigious men's senior race for the second consecutive week.
The O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association did not hold a regatta yesterday because its Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta will be held Wednesday at Waikiki Beach.
