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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 13, 2003

Team New Zealand/Hawai'i reclaims Moloka'i Hoe title

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Our local legends live on.

Team New Zealand/Hawai'i's outrigger canoe paddlers celebrate after finishing the 41-mile course from Moloka'i to O'ahu in 5 hours, 2 minutes, 24 seconds.

Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Immortalized by those words in a commercial for Steinlager beer, Team New Zealand/Hawai'i fulfilled the hype with a convincing victory in the 52nd annual Hawaii Modular Space Moloka'i Hoe yesterday.

Team NZ/H completed the 41-mile course from Hale O Lono Harbor, Moloka'i, to Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, in 5 hours, 2 minutes, 24 seconds. It was their second victory in three years, and avenged a runner-up finish to Rai of Tahiti last year.

"We got it back," steersman Karel Tresnak Jr. said. "That was a big motivating factor for us. We weren't going to be satisfied without a win."

Team NZ/H features a mix of paddlers from New Zealand (Rob Kaiwai, Maui Kjeldsen, Eugene "Woogie" Marsh and Andrew Penny), and Hawai'i (Tresnak, Raven Aipa, Thibert Lussiaa, Kea Pa'iaina and Bill Pratt).

Each team was allowed to rotate nine paddlers into the six seats of the canoe.

Ninety-six crews from around the world participated in the event. It is considered the world championship of long-distance outrigger canoe racing.

Almost from the start, Team NZ/H broke ahead of the field. Less than one hour into the race, Team NZ/H built a quarter-mile lead.

Top finishers
  1. Team New Zealand/Hawai'i, 5:02:24
  2. Lanikai, 5:07:15
  3. Hui Nalu, 5:12:47
  4. Outrigger, 5:13:24
  5. Hawaiian, 5:14:48
"We got lucky and caught a couple of nice little (wave) bumps off the start," Penny said. "We wanted to get ahead and so we worked really hard that first 30 minutes or so."

From there, Team NZ/H frustrated the other contenders by "covering" from the front.

"We had an idea what course we wanted to take, but once we got ahead, that changed a little," Kaiwai said. "We watched our competition and covered their courses. We didn't want anybody sneaking by us."

All the crews were challenged by a "sloppy" Kaiwi Channel that offered only a few surfable waves.

As Tresnak put it: "The conditions were junk, the tide was junk and it was sloppy. You had to work for everything."

Team NZ/H was 12 minutes off the record set in 2000 by Lanikai. But it was still almost five minutes faster than Lanikai's runner-up time yesterday of 5:07:15. Hui Nalu was a surprising third at 5:12:47, followed by Outrigger in 5:13:24.

Maui crews had its best showing ever, with Hawaiian placing fifth in 5:14:48, and Wailea sixth at 5:15:33.

After its breakthrough victory last year, Rai placed seventh yesterday in 5:17:17.

By the halfway point of yesterday's race, Lanikai was the only team with a remote shot at catching Team NZ/H. In an effort to make up ground off East O'ahu, Lanikai zigged and zagged from north to south, hoping to find a fast current.

"You can't follow the leader if you want to make a move to catch them," Lanikai's Mike Judd said. "You have to gamble."

But Team NZ/H refused to take the bet.

"We played a safe race," Penny said. "We watched where (Lanikai) went the whole time."

Hui Nalu, which was hardly mentioned as a pre-race contender, passed several canoes off East O'ahu to finish third.

"At Portlock, we were in seventh, I think, but we went on the inside (course) and started surfing by all the other crews on the outside," Hui Nalu's Chris Ball said.

In what may amount to be their final year together, Team NZ/H won three major international races: Hamilton Island Cup in Australia, Catalina Channel Crossing in California, and Moloka'i Hoe.

"We had one race in mind this year, and that's this one," Penny said. "Every year, there's talk about going our own ways, but for now, I think we'd all just like to bask in the glory."

  • Masters 35: Mooloolaba of Australia placed 11th overall and won the division for paddlers 35 and older in 5:22:49. The crew featured eight paddlers from Australia and one from Hawai'i (Marc Haine).
  • Masters 45: Namolokama O Hanalei won the 45-and-older division for the second straight year. The crew from Kaua'i placed 30th overall in 5:49:41.
  • Masters 55: Kailua placed an impressive 29th overall in 5:47:00 to win the 55-and-older division. Since the 55 division was created in 2001, Kailua is the only crew to win it. Crews in the 55 division were allowed to rotate 12 paddlers.
  • Koa canoe: Only two teams raced in traditional koa wood canoes: Lanikai-2 (27th overall at 5:43:34), and Outrigger-2 (36th overall at 5:52:43).
  • Italian job: For the first time, crews from Italy entered the Moloka'i Hoe. Canoa Republic, featuring former Olympic kayakers, placed 37th overall. Mako Club, a masters 35 crew, placed 86th.
  • Broken dreams: A crew from Waikiki Yacht Club did not get to compete yesterday because a speeding motorboat crashed into its canoe just before the start of the race. The canoe was split in half.

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