"We follow the core values and principles of the church," Kalama said.

That church is New Hope Christian Fellowship, which has five locations around O'ahu.

Paddlers in the canoe club do not have to be members of the church, but most are. The paddlers who do not attend New Hope at least share the same values.

"Church people are not a bunch of weird nerds," said Wayne Cordeiro, senior pastor of New Hope. "They're normal, regular people that live healthy lives. A lot of people outside the church enjoy paddling, and so it was only a matter of time before people in the church started paddling. We're like anybody else — we want to take part in something that's healthy and family-oriented."

Cordeiro has become an active paddler himself in New Hope's 50-and-older crew.

"We don't turn away anybody," Kalama said. "No matter what age you are, or where you're from, we'll try to find a spot for you."

Last year, New Hope had approximately 75 paddlers. Most of them were novices, with less than two years of experience in a canoe.

At the state championship regatta last August, New Hope placed 52nd out of 52 teams in the field.

"The Bible says that whatever you do, do it with all your heart under the Lord," Cordeiro said. "So we try as hard as we can to win. But we will not sacrifice good relationships for a medal. We want to be competitive, but not to the point where it consumes us."

It is an attitude Kalama willingly embraced. In 2000, he was head coach of a Kailua Canoe Club that won the O'ahu championship and placed second in the state.

Because of that success, and because he was a member of the New Hope church, he was looked to as a leader by the New Hope paddling flock.

"I liked the idea of the challenge of starting a brand new club," he said. "But I also liked that we would be able to deal with things here in a family atmosphere."

Greg Quitevis paddled for Kalama at Kailua in the 1990s. He now paddles for New Hope.

"At other clubs, it gets so competitive that you're trying to out-do the person right next to you," Quitevis said. "It's a different environment here. Because we have something in common outside of paddling, there's an even greater sense of family. We can celebrate not only the victory of being in a race, but the victory of knowing the Lord."

This season, membership has nearly doubled. Many of the new paddlers are in the youth divisions, and many of those children joined with their parents.

The Komeiji family — mother Laurie, 17-year-old son Rylen and 12-year-old daughter Tiana — show up together for church on Sundays and canoe practice three times a week.

"We can share the same memories," Rylen said. "As we get older, we'll look at this as good times, being together."

La'akea Kaua, a 15-year-old student at Pearl City High, joined the club last year because her cousin from the church encouraged her.

"What I like is that there's no separation here," Kaua said. "It doesn't matter what school you go to, or how good you can paddle. Everybody is treated equal. God's light shines through everybody."

The youth divisions became so popular that Kalama started an after-practice program focusing on Hawaiian language and culture.

Kehau Bishaw attends the church, paddles for the club, and runs the after-practice program for the children. She describes the program by reciting one of the club's mottos: "It's a kakou thing."

"We cannot watch over every kid once they leave here," Bishaw said. "But when they're here, that's when we say it's a kakou thing. That means we're all here together to help this club grow."

Being affiliated with the church has its advantages. Fliers are often posted, encouraging members to "come out and try."

On weekends when there are no races, the club has "recreation days" so that church members who are not part of the canoe club can come to the beach and paddle for fun.

"It's turned into our farm club," Kalama said. "Some of them like it so much they ask to join the club right there."

As for the potential conflict between canoe races and church services?

"We have services on Saturdays and Sundays," Cordeiro said. "So there's no excuses. There's always one day for paddling and one day for church."