Posted on: Friday, September 26, 2003
Women's canoe race wide open
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The queen's position in outrigger canoe paddling is up for grabs.
Because of the breakup of three-time defending champion Kai 'Opua Canoe Club, Sunday's Hawaii Modular Space Na Wahine O Ke Kai is expected to be a wide open race for the throne.
The 41-mile race from Hale O Lono Harbor, Moloka'i, to Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, is considered the women's world championship of long-distance outrigger canoe paddling.
"There are five or six teams from Hawai'i that could win it," said race director Hannie Anderson. "And then you have the top teams from Australia and California and Tahiti. This year, it's hard to make a call."
After three years of dominance, Kai 'Opua split up this year because a few paddlers wanted to take a break for family reasons.
Other teams are hoping to take advantage. Among the contenders:
Hui Nalu
The club from Maunalua Bay has been a top-5 finisher in every race it has entered this year, although it did not win any of those races.
Last year, Hui Nalu placed sixth in Na Wahine O Ke Kai.
"I think we would need to paddle a very good race to have a chance," said Hui Nalu coach Steve Scott. "There are so many factors that go into this race, it's hard to predict what's going to happen."
Mooloolaba
Australia's top team sent out an early warning to other teams by dominating the Hamilton Island Cup in June.
Even though the race was held in its home waters, Mooloolaba's 13-minute margin of victory over the second-place team is almost unheard of in the sport.
"If that same crew shows up here, you have to look at them as one of the favorites," Scott said.
Mooloolaba placed third in last year's Na Wahine O Ke Kai. Several paddlers on the crew were on the Panamuna Riggeroos team that won Na Wahine O Ke Kai in 1997 and '98.
Outrigger
Simply put, Outrigger has been the most consistent team in the history of Na Wahine O Ke Kai.
The Waikiki-based club has finished in the top five of all 24 of the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu races, including a fourth-place finish last year.
This year, Outrigger was the top women's crew during the competitive regatta sprint season, and won the Dad Center Long Distance Race last month.
"We still need to go faster," said Outrigger veteran paddler Paula Crabb, noting that Outrigger placed second at races in Kona and Catalina Island, Calif. "We know what it's like to win, but we also know what it's like not to win."
Outrigger won the last of its five Na Wahine O Ke Kai championships in 1992, and at least six paddlers from that team are expected to race with Outrigger again Sunday.
Wailua Kayak & Canoe
The "one day a year" crew is perhaps the most intriguing entry in the field.
The crew is made up of paddlers from O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i, the Big Island and New Zealand. Because of that unique mix, the crew does not practice together.
"This is not to brag, but we are all good individual paddlers," said steerswoman Noelani Sawyer. "We're all expected to put in our own practice time and when race day comes, we all know what it takes."
The system has worked successfully. Since forming in 1997, Wailua Kayak & Canoe has placed in the top five of Na Wahine O Ke Kai every year, including a championship in 1999, and runner-up finishes in each of the last two years.
"In some ways, it probably hurts us not to practice together," Sawyer said. "But I think it also helps because we're not under that pressure to perform. Because we don't see each other every day, when we show up for this race, it's like a fun get-together for us."
This year's crew is as strong as any. Kelly Fey, a former world solo champ, is one of seven returnees from last year. The crew also includes Kathy Colin and Lauren Spalding, who are both on break from training for the Olympic kayak team. Cherisse Keli'i, who paddled on the winning Kai 'Opua team last year, is one of the new additions.
"People might frown upon us for the way we do this race, but there's reasons why," Spalding said. "Our schedules don't allow us to commit to a club, so I think it's a great situation to have a team like this available."
Kai 'Opua/Kailua Masters
For perhaps the first time in the 25-year history of Na Wahine O Ke Kai, masters crews (paddlers age 35 and older) are being hyped as top contenders.
Some of the "more experienced" paddlers from the Kai 'Opua dynasty will combine with paddlers from Kailua to form a solid crew, masters or otherwise.
"We're looking at trying to win the masters division," said Kailua's Carleen Ornellas. "But if we can be right up there with the open teams, great."
Hui Nalu coach Scott said: "You have to look at them as one of the top teams. The one thing that could work to their advantage is being in the masters division."
Open crews are allowed to rotate 10 paddlers into the six-person canoe; masters crews are allowed to rotate 12 paddlers.
Conditions are expected to be less than ideal — light winds, hot temperatures and relatively calm seas — so the extra two paddlers could make a difference.
OffShore
The club from California owns a record 10 Na Wahine O Ke Kai championships, although the last one came in 1996.
Like Kai 'Opua/Kailua, OffShore is entered in the masters division.
OffShore won the Catalina Channel Crossing in California three weeks ago, beating Outrigger by one minute.
JoJo Toeppner will paddle with OffShore for a record 25th time on Sunday. She is the only paddler to participate in every Na Wahine O Ke Kai since the first one in 1979.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
