Posted on: Sunday, May 27, 2001

Paddling
Sponsor provides rarely seen bucks for canoe-race winners

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Aaron Napoleon paddles to victory in the men's paddleboard division of the Starbucks Shootout. He later went on to place third in the men's canoe division, earning a total of $300 for his performance. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Thanks to Starbucks, paddlers got to feel like stars by earning some bucks yesterday.

The top finishers in the inaugural Starbucks Shootout earned cash prizes — a reward rarely given in the sport.

"You have to hand it to Starbucks for taking the lead in something like this," said race director Walter Guild. "Anytime you can put some money behind something, you create more excitement."

About 50 paddlers participated in the event, which was held off the Ko Olina marina. Races were held for men and women on one-person canoes, one-person kayaks and paddleboards.

The day's big winner was Mike Judd, who took home $500 as the top men's canoe paddler.

"I'm not going to quit my day job, but every dollar counts," said Judd, a member of the Lanikai Canoe Club. "This sport is growing and getting a high level of exposure, so we're all hoping that this is the start for more opportunities like this."

Other division champions were: Dean Gardiner (men's kayak), Mary Smolenski (women's kayak), Donna Kahakui (women's canoe), Aaron Napoleon (men's paddleboard) and Kanessa Doncau (women's paddleboard).

Each division held two separate "sprints" around a 2›-mile course. The first sprint was essentially a warm-up, although the fastest times from that round received a cash bonus. The second sprint was the "money round," with the top five finishers earning cash.

The closest finish was in the men's kayak race, where Gardiner overcame an equipment problem to hold off fellow Australian Tom Woodriff. Gardiner, who won the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu race for the eighth time last week, paddled the final 100 yards of yesterday's race without a steering-rudder under his kayak.

"I cut the corner a little too tight and the rudder snapped off (on the rocks)," he said. "After that, I had to steer my boat by leaning this way and that."

Woodriff closed quickly, but ultimately came up short by the tip of a kayak. Gardiner was credited with a time of 17 minutes, 44.45 seconds, and collected $400. Woodriff's time of 17:44.46 earned $300.

"I could see he was in trouble, so I went all out for it," Woodriff said. "But then I felt sorry for him and figured that wasn't a good way for me to win anyway."

Judd dominated that canoe race, finishing over one minute ahead of runner-up Mike Pedersen. Judd's winning time was 19:17.07. Pedersen came in at 20:20.37.

"In a 20-minute race, there's no room for error," Judd said. "If you can open up a gap, chances are you're probably going to hold it."

To be sure, Judd opened a large gap during the first half of the race, which happened to be the downwind portion of the course.

"That's when I made the move," he said. "Coming back upwind, everybody was moving a little slower, so I was just holding my ground."

Pedersen, Judd's Lanikai teammate, said: "It looked like he was paddling effortlessly. He's incredible."

It was also a productive day for Pedersen and his wife, Nicole. Pedersen received $250 for his second-place finish; Nicole got a combined $175 for second-place finishes in both the women's paddleboard and canoe races.

"There aren't that many chances to make money in our sport," Mike Pedersen said. "So this is a big thing for us."

Like Nicole Pedersen, Aaron Napoleon completed an impressive "double," winning the grueling paddleboard race and placing third in canoes. His winning time on the paddleboard was 50 minutes, 54 seconds. Because paddleboards are powered only with arm strokes (much like a surfboard), many of the competitors struggled on the upwind route.

"I'm not going to use any excuses," said Napoleon, who earned a total of $300. "But by the time I was on my last (canoe) race, I was feeling the hurt. I don't think it mattered, though. There was no way I would have caught Mike Judd today."

Kahakui edged Carrie Sue Hendricks by eight seconds in the women's canoe race, and said she will donate her $300 prize to Kai Makana, an ocean education and awareness program.