Lanikai finds comfort near home

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

It may have been Kailua Canoe Club's home waters, but Lanikai owned the beach, winning its second consecutive King Kamehameha Regatta off Kailua Beach yesterday.

Kailua's freshman men's crew — Vai Conner, Kenny Flores, Lyle Nicely, Pat Kawaaloa, Kawai Mahoe and Pat Von — are on their way to victory at the King Kamehameha Regatta off Kailua Beach. Kailua finished the one-mile race in 7 minutes, 21.28 seconds. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Lanikai has won six King Kamehameha Regattas in seven years. Kailua won it in 2000.

"We're just real comfortable in this water," Lanikai head coach Kalani Irvine said.

Waikiki Surf Club won the A Division for smaller clubs with 23 points.

More than 1,000 paddlers took over Kailua Beach for the second regatta of the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA) season.

With ideal conditions — an uncharacteristic light wind and bright skies — Lanikai opened with wins in the boys and girls 12-under divisions.

Hui Lanakila, which has never won a regatta, won four consecutive events in the novice and girls 15-under divisions, putting the club in second place after 24 events.

Kailua was relying on its men's master crew, which has been undefeated for two seasons, to provide a much-needed boost.

But the easy favorite had trouble with its start, allowing 'Anuenue and Hui Lanakila to jump ahead. But after Kailua made the turn, it was fighting for second place and finished two seconds behind 'Anuenue, which won in 4 minutes, 3 seconds.

"Kailua has a good bunch of guys," said 61-year-old 'Anuenue crew member Nappy Napoleon. "We just got a lucky break."

Kailua was without one its key paddlers, Bob Thurston, who was in Europe. Jeff Metzger, who recently turned 55 to qualify for the masters, filled in.

"We didn't have time to practice (they practiced once) and that really hurt us," said Kailua crewmember Hank Leandro, 56. "I thought we were going to finish third."

Metzger said he felt the pressure of the crew's winning streak. "There was more pressure here than at the world sprints," he said.

The rivalry between Kailua and Lanikai is subtle. Most paddlers would deny they focus on beating the next-door club.

But Kailua has a lot of pride in defending its turf.

"Yeah, we're gunning for them," Kailua head coach Donovan Leandro said. "But we're gunning for everybody."

Donovan Leandro, a longtime paddler with Kailua, said the recent rise in competition between the different clubs has been healthy for the sport. The era of Outrigger Canoe Club dominance is over, he said. (Outrigger finished fourth with 61 points.)

"You never know who's going to win anymore," he said.

Hui Nalu won the first regatta of the season last Sunday, but finished fifth yesterday.

Hui Lanakila, which finished fourth at last week's OHCRA season opener at Ke'ehi Lagoon, won the prestigious men's senior race again, beating out Lanikai by nearly four seconds. (Last week the crew finished the 1.5-mile race seven seconds ahead of second-place Outrigger.)

But as much as Kailua wanted to win its home regatta, its paddlers kept it all in perspective.

"It's a beautiful day and a beautiful race," said 67-year-old Howard Kelly. "It's really not about winning."

HUI WA'A

• Kane'ohe wins third in a row: Kane'ohe Canoe Club won its third regatta of the season at the Lokahi Canoe Club Regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon yesterday.

It was the third regatta of the Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a season.

Kane'ohe won nine races, seven of them by its youth crews. With 61 total points, Kane'ohe beat out Lokahi (58), Manu O Ke Kai (56), Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i (31) and Waikiki Yacht Club (29).

Koa Kai, with 39 points, won the A division for smaller clubs for the second week in a row.

Manu O Ke Kai took the men's senior race in 11 minutes, 43.56 seconds, beating out last week's winner Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i by five seconds.

Lokahi won the women's senior race, nearly a minute faster than Waikiki Yacht Club, extending the crew's winning streak to 41. (It has won every Hui Wa'a senior race since 1997.)

The next Hui Wa'a regatta is Sunday in Hale'iwa.