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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, July 23, 2004

Hui Lanakila seeking to continue success at OHCRA Championship

By Stanley Lee
Advertiser Staff Writer

Winning its first ever O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association regatta was sweet, but taking away the league title will only make this season sweeter for Hui Lanakila.

Hui Lanakila won its first O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association regatta this season under head coach Jon Coito.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The club has been growing steadily the past few years and is one of several teams positioning itself for the championship trophy at Sunday's OHCRA Championship Regatta.

"We've been working towards that for probably four, five years," said Hui Lanakila coach Jon Coito. "We started off as a small club and slowly built it. That (first win) had a lot to with us progressing on."

The regatta will be held the entire day at Ke'ehi Lagoon with the youth crews racing in the morning and adults in the afternoon.

Hui Lanakila tied Kailua for first in the season's first regatta on June 6, but Kailua gave the title outright to Hui Lanakila. Two weeks ago, Hui Lanakila won the last regular-season regatta which Coito hopes will serve as momentum heading into Sunday's race.

"We feel pretty good heading into the championships," Coito said. "We still think we can make some stronger crews by mixing people around and what not."

Competition for the OHCRA title will be fierce as four teams won at least one regatta during the six-race season.

"At this point of the year, you never know who's going to win," said Kailua Canoe Club coach Jimmy Bruhn. "Different canoe clubs have people that weren't there at the beginning. They're all showing up now to strengthen the crews."

Outrigger Canoe Club has history on its side as the three-time defending AA division champion and winner of 15 league titles since 1985. Outrigger won just one regatta this season but nobody is counting the defending champions out.

"They come on strong right around now," Bruhn said. "They're going to be a strong contender. They're moving up every week."

"O'ahu is kind of our finale for the year," said Outrigger coach Anthony Hunt. "It's something we try to make a push for every year."

Outrigger has been working with different combinations in the boats, filtering it down to the six strongest paddlers and then arranging the six.

"Hopefully that works out and translates into victories on Sunday," Hunt said.

What: O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association Championship Regatta

When: All day Sunday. Youth crews paddle in the morning and the adult crews race in the afternoon.

Where: Ke'ehi Lagoon

Format: There are 37 races with points awarded to the top four finishers in each race. Canoe clubs compete in two divisions, AA and A based on the number of races it competes in.

After tying Hui Lanakila in the season opener, Kailua won the next two regattas and scored 100 points at one of them, the first time in seven years an OHCRA team had scored at least 100.

But Bruhn said his club is focusing on qualifying its crews for the state championship at Sunday's race. While an OHCRA title would be nice, the bigger goal is to win the state trophy.

"Our goal is to try win states," Bruhn explained. "You got to utilize that race for states. It's one of our avenues to get as many crews into states.

"If we win, we win. But that's not the main goal right now."

Lanikai is also in the running for the league title. It won the Waimanalo Regatta this season, scoring 101 points two weeks after Kailua's 100-point feat. Hui Nalu is in the mix as well.

The youth races could play a pivotal role as several clubs have rode their youth crews to victories this season.

"The kids crews are really helping to catapult some clubs into positions ahead of other clubs," Hunt said. "When it comes to the older crews (turn to paddle), the point spreads are so wide at that point, it's hard to catch up."

In the A division for smaller crews, Keahiakahoe nearly dominated the regular season, winning five regattas in the six-race season. It tied Leeward Kai at one regatta and lost by just one-point in another.

OHCRA clubs had their first bye this past Sunday, not racing for the first Sunday since June 7.

"It was good to give everybody the physical and mental recuperation and preparation for one of the biggest regattas of the year," Hunt said.

He said it will involve "getting people focused on the task at hand and really getting the crews prepared to race" for Outrigger to make in four in a row.

"On race day, you either done your homework or you haven't," Hunt said. "Most of the stuff has already been done. We're just polishing it up."

For Hui Lanakila, winning their first OHCRA championship would be a great addition to this season's list of firsts.

"We have to win a lot of canoe races," Coito said. "We don't have the numbers of crews like the bigger clubs. We give up like 10 crews at every regatta. We need quality crews and crews to win races — more so than to place — for us to be successful."

Reach Stanley Lee at slee@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8533.