Wind, waves slow paddlers, skiers
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Some of O'ahu's best paddlers battled some of O'ahu's worst conditions during the Kanaka I Kai Ka O'ahu Championships yesterday.
More than 150 paddlers participated in the race, which was for one-person canoes, one-person surfskis and two-person canoes. Irregular wind patterns and sloppy ocean conditions forced paddlers to finish in relatively slow times.
Brian Rocheleau won the men's surfski division, and was the first overall finisher. He completed the 18-mile course from Makai Pier (off Sea Life Park) to Magic Island in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 5 seconds.
Kai Bartlett won the men's canoe division in 2:28:47. Megan Harrington won the women's surfski race in 2:51:26. Perennial champion Kelly Fey won the women's canoe race in 3:00:04.
The winning times were about 20 minutes slower than expected.
"It was hard all the way," said Rocheleau, 25. "There was a side-wind and a head-wind, and the water was sloppy. You had to keep paddling through it."
Because of the difficult conditions, Rocheleau said he maintained "a straight line" throughout the course.
"It was hard to read the ocean," he said. "So I didn't want to take a chance of going inside or out. I got ahead by staying straight, so that's where I stayed."
The strategy worked, as Rocheleau finished more than three minutes ahead of runner-up David Buck (2:28:20). Courtney Seto was third at 2:31:32.
"I knew I was ahead around Portlock, but I was so tired, I didn't even want to look around if anybody was coming up," Rocheleau said. "Down the stretch, I was just in survival mode."
Bob Rocheleau, Brian's father, placed fourth at 2:32:53.
The men's canoe race — the largest division of the event — also featured a convincing victory by Bartlett. Unlike Rocheleau, Bartlett was willing to take a chance on his course selection.
Paddling next to Mike Judd and Aaron Napoleon off Sandy Beach, Bartlett opted to take an inside route the rest of the way.
"Surprisingly, I started finding some (waves) on the inside and just got on a great run," said Bartlett, 26. "It was nothing big, but I was able to connect a bunch of little waves and that helped. Once I realized the inside course was working, I stayed there."
By the time he reached Portlock, Bartlett had built a 300-yard gap on Judd. He increased it the rest of the way, and finished almost five minutes ahead of Judd (2:33:16). Napoleon placed third, just nine seconds behind Judd.
"Kai took that gamble inside and it paid off for him," said Judd, who is Bartlett's teammate on the Lanikai Canoe Club. "He had all the momentum after that and it was hard for me to make up that big of a gap under these kind of conditions."
Bartlett's winning time of 2:28:47 placed him an impressive third overall, behind only Brian Rocheleau and Buck. Surfskis are considered faster crafts than canoes, although Bartlett said yesterday's conditions probably favored the canoes.
"The canoes are a little more narrow, so it's easier to get on the waves," said Bartlett, who was paddling a canoe he built himself. "That's the only thing I can think of because I was surprising myself passing all those surfski guys."
The closest race came in the women's surfski division, with Harrington beating Mary Smolenski by 31 seconds.
Fey, the state's top female paddler since 1994, also described yesterday's conditions as "real hard," even though she finished almost three minutes ahead of her closest competitor, Lauren Spalding (3:02:51).
Tommy Damon and Jeff Brown were the first tandem to finish on a two-person canoe with a time of 2:48:51.
A 12-mile "short course" was also held from Hawai'i Kai to Magic Island. William Anderson had the fastest time on that course at 1:25:47.
The Kanaka I Kai Ka State Championships will be held Sunday. The course is scheduled to run from Makai Pier to Sand Island.
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Kanaka I Kai Ka O'ahu Championships
Yesterday's Results
• Long course (18 miles — Makai Pier to Magic Island)
Surfski Men
Overall: 1, Brian Rocheleau, 2:25:05. 2, David Buck, 2:28:20. 3, Courtney Seto, 2:31:32. 4, Bob Rocheleau, 2:32:53. 5, Mike Beyer, 2:33:28. 18-29: 1, Chris Ball, 2:42:32. 2, Vincent Monaco, 3:11:10. 3, Geordan Purdy, 3:11:24. 30-39: 1, Doug Borton, 2:35:02. 2, Tim Twigg-Smith, 2:35:29. 40-49: 1, Miles Sakai, 2:44:38. 2, John Hoogsteden, 2:53:30. 50-59: 1, Bruce Von Borstel, 3:12:02.
Surfski Women
Overall: 1, Megan Harrington, 2:51:26. 2, Mary Smolenski, 2:51:57. 3, Maile Chong, 2:58:54. 18-29: 1, Maggie Twigg-Smith, 3:05:41. 2, Kanesa Duncan, 3:27:59.
One-person Canoe Men
Overall: 1, Kai Bartlett, 2:28:47. 2, Mike Judd, 2:33:16. 3, Aaron Napoleon, 2:33:25. 4, Walter Guild, 2:35:16. 5, Maui Kjeldsen, 2:37:21. 18-29: 1, Kealii Paiaina, 2:42:50. 2, Manny Kulukulualani, 2:43:07. 3, Peter Olson, 2:46:28. 30-39: 1, Scott Hendricks, 2:39:16. 2, Jim Foti, 2:40:39. 3, Thibert Lussiaa, 2:43:38. 40-49: 1, Sam Alama, 2:53:33. 2, Byron Ho, 2:58:04. 3, Jim Hewitt, 3:01:49. 50-59: Mel Mau, 3:18:44. 60-older: Nappy Napoleon, 3:18:24.
One-person Canoe Women
Overall: 1, Kelly Fey, 3:00:04. 2, Lauren Spalding, 3:02:51. 3, Noelani Sawyer, 3:05:40. 40-49: 1, Ann Farrell, 3:10:27.
Two-person Canoe
Overall: 1, Tommy Damon/Jeff Brown, 2:48:51. 2, Peter Abcarian/Daniel Espinoza, 2:51:09.
• Short Course (12 miles — Hawai'i Kai to Magic Island)
Surfski Men
Open: 1, Owen Cenal, 1:53:27. 2, Loren Lasher, 1:55:49. Novice B: 1, David Campbell, 1:29:23. 2, Uriah Dombrowski, 1:34:37. 3, Sam Lemmo, 1:36:22. Novice A: 1, Allan Dowsett, 1:31:58. 2, Patrek Kapel.i, 1:40:19.
Surfski Women
Open: 1, Richline Fong, 1:40:01. Novice A: 1, Jennifer Thompson, 1:37:02.
One-person Canoe Men
Junior: 1, Zane Chess, 1:37:52. Open: 1, Chris Barteles, 1:28:14. 2, Kealii Martin, 1:28:28. 3, Lance Anderson, 1:34:33. Kupuna: 1, Chris McKenzie, 1:41:05. 2, Greg Robertson, 1:51:47. 3, Bill Henderson, 1:58:03. Novice B: 1, Greg Pavao, 1:26:14. 2, Kilipaki Vaughan, 1:29:27. 3, Mike Silva, 1:32:12. Novice A: 1, William Anderson, 1:25:47. 2, Jason Bellefeuille, 1:28:55. 3, Brian Amantiad, 1:29:25.
One-person Canoe Women
Junior: 1, Mei Linn Park, 2:01:28. Open: 1, Sheri Broad, 1:49:38. 2, Kathy Erwin, 1:53:53. 3, Catherine Bender, 1:57:31. Novice B: 1, Arlene Reventas, 1:43:29. 2, Vi Coito, 1:48:04. 3, Carleen Ornellas, 1:48:46. Novice A: 1, Ilena Chong, 1:49:51. 2, Kalei Javellana, 1:58:18.
Two-person Canoe
Men: 1, Lucas Won/Keoki Freitas, 1:26:38. 2, Tom Tantog/Moku Sanborn, 1:28:53. 3, Sean Keenen/Leighton Miyachi, 1:30:19. Women: 1, Kisi Haine/Ann Marie Mizuno, 1:35:40. 2, Lilia Kapuniai/Lesline Conner, 1:45:12. 3, Christine Lonie/Lisa Martin, 1:48:49. Mixed: 1, James Roumasset/Jane Kirton, 1:59:02.
