New Zealand/Hawai'i captures Ayau paddle race

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Henry Ayau would have loved listening to all the post-race stories yesterday.

There were many to tell after the first Steinlager Henry Ayau Men's International Canoe Race.

Fifty-one of the state's top men's crews participated in the 32-mile race, which traveled from Maunalua Bay to the Ko Olina Marina. The event was named in honor of Henry Ayau, an expert waterman and longtime paddler for the Outrigger Canoe Club. He died in May.

The main story was the overwhelming victory by Team New Zealand/Hawai'i, which completed the course in 3 hours, 32 minutes, 51 seconds. It was six seconds short of the course record (the event was called the Skippy Kamakawiwo'ole Race before this year), but nearly five minutes better than the second-place crew, Lanikai.

"Once we got in the surf, we went like crazy," said Karel Tresnak Jr., who steered for Team New Zealand/Hawai'i. "But to beat the next team by four to five minutes is unheard of these days. I was totally surprised."

They took the lead off Diamond Head and kept increasing it the rest of the way.

The winning crew was comprised of two paddlers from New Zealand (Maui Kjeldsen and Andrew Penny) and seven from Hawai'i (Raven Aipa, Pat Erwin, Thibert Lussiaa, Kea Pa'iaina, Bill Pratt, Rick Nuu and Tresnak).

Favorable winds and currents, and nonstop ocean swells made for a fast course.

"Henry obviously blessed this race," Pratt said. "It was surfing the whole way, and we have a great comfort level in the surf."

Like just about every other crew entered, Team New Zealand/Hawai'i dedicated the race to Henry Ayau.

"Henry was like an uncle to all of us," Pratt said. "We mentioned his name a number of times in the canoe. It was chicken skin material to win it."

Among the other stories:

• Lanikai placed second in 3:37:48 while paddling in a koa canoe.

Most of the other top teams raced in fiberglass canoes, which are supposed to be faster than koas. The Lanikai koa canoe had been under renovation for the past five years.

"All things considered, we're stoked with how we did," Lanikai steersman Jim Foti said. "We rebuilt it for the open ocean and it surfed great."

• Outrigger placed third in 3:38:43 while paddling in a new fiberglass canoe named Henry Keawe Ayau.

"It just got finished, and we wanted to race it for the first time today for obvious reasons," Outrigger coach Kala Judd said. "The boat was flawless; it really helped us. It turned out to be a real emotional and spiritual race for us."

• Kai 'Opua from Kailua, Kona, placed sixth in 3:46:18, with Bruce Ayau, Henry's son, steering.

"I tried not to get overwhelmed by all the emotions," Bruce said. "But I was thinking about Pops a lot, especially before the race."

Kai 'Opua battled with Lanikai for second place before overturning in the surf off Barbers Point.

"It took us a while to get our composure back," Ayau said. "By the time we got going again, we lost too much yardage."

• Hui Lanakila won both the masters 35-and-older and 45-and-older divisions. The 35-and-older crew was an impressive seventh overall at 3:48:07.

Henry Ayau helped found Hui Lanakila in the 1970s.

"It was a special day for our club," coach Leighton Look said. "Fortunately we were able to pull it off ... for Henry."

The race was the last "warm-up" before the Oct. 13 Hinano Moloka'i Hoe.