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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 8, 2003

New Zealand/Hawai'i bonded by friendship

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The only thing Team New Zealand/Hawai'i wants to steal on Sunday is first place.

With a unique blend of paddlers from New Zealand and Hawai'i, Team NZ/H is considered one of the favorites in the Hawaii Modular Space Moloka'i Hoe.

The 41-mile race from Moloka'i to O'ahu is considered the men's world championship of long-distance outrigger canoe paddling. More than 100 crews from around the world are expected to participate.

Since forming in 1997, Team NZ/H has become one of the most successful crews in the paddling world. In the past five Moloka'i Hoe races, Team NZ/H has placed in the top three every year, including a victory in 2001.

"We're not your normal crew, that's for sure," said paddler Rob Kaiwai. "We have guys from two different countries. We don't get to practice together, but when we do come together for this race, we somehow get it to work."

The crew features four paddlers from New Zealand (Kaiwai, Maui Kjeldsen, Andrew Penny and Eugene "Woogie" Marsh) and five from Hawai'i (Raven Aipa, Thibert Lussiaa, Kea Pa'iaina, Bill Pratt and Karel Tresnak Jr.). It should be noted, however, that Kjeldsen and Penny now live in Hawai'i.

"We don't look at ourselves as a foreign crew, but we don't look at ourselves as a local crew, either," Lussiaa said. "We're both."

For the first time, the team will use the same nine paddlers as it did the previous year. In years past, there was always one or two changes per year.

In last year's race, Team NZ/H placed second to Rai of Tahiti.

"I think bringing back the same guys is to our advantage," said Tresnak, the team steersman. "We've been through it together, so we know what each of us can bring."

Kaiwai, Kjeldsen and Penny were on the original Team New Zealand crew that placed 23rd in the 1997 Moloka'i Hoe. All the paddlers on that crew were from New Zealand.

But with each passing year, one or two New Zealand paddlers were unable to make the trip, and so they were replaced by Hawai'i paddlers.

The Hawai'i additions were "friends we made through paddling, or friends of friends," according to Kaiwai.

Aipa joined the team in 1998, Pa'iaina in 2000, Pratt and Tresnak in 2001, and Lussiaa last year.

Most of the Hawai'i paddlers cite time management as the primary reason for joining. Each paddler is expected to maintain a solo training regimen during the year.

"A lot of us don't have the time to commit to a club," Lussiaa said. "By joining this team, you can train on your own and know that your teammates are training on their own."

Behind some scenes, Team NZ/H has received criticism for taking elite paddlers away from traditional Hawai'i clubs.

"We've heard it, but it's not really fair," Tresnak said. "We don't go out and steal guys from other clubs. It's more like finding friends who can fit in."

Tresnak, for example, joined the team in 2001 because he had been away for college in Colorado during the year and did not have time to practice with a traditional club.

Lussiaa said he joined last year because his job commitment was taking away from his paddling time with Kai 'Opua Canoe Club.

"Half of the guys (at Kai 'Opua) were happy for me," Lussiaa said. "But the other half were upset and didn't like that I was leaving them. It was hard."

In any case, the team has formed a bond that spans across the globe.

"I don't know if people realize how close we really are," Kaiwai said. "We've become true friends. Making friendships across two countries — that's what paddling is all about."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.