LAHAINA, Maui — Canoe paddlers and spectators from across the state will descend on Hanaka'o'o Beach in less than two weeks for the 2005 Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship Regatta, and ESPN will be there to show it to a national audience.

But what kind of beach will they find on race day?

A stream that enters the ocean there has been cutting a deep moat around the backside of the beach, making it difficult — and even dangerous — for paddlers to carry their outrigger canoes across the sand and into the ocean.

Some fear that conditions could ruin the Aug. 6 event, expected to attract more than 3,000 paddlers representing 50 or so clubs, plus thousands of spectators.

"We're just crossing our fingers and hoping everything's going to be OK," said Joey Tihada, head coach of Napili Canoe Club, one of three clubs that call Hanaka'o'o, or Canoe Beach, home.

Old-timers say Hahakea Stream used to flow in a straight shot into the ocean. But now the stream frequently cuts across the beach at Hanaka'o'o for about 150 yards before it finds nearshore waters.

Along the way, as much as 30 feet of grass- and tree-planted parkland has been eroded from Maui County's Hanaka'o'o Beach Park. The muddy stream water fouls the nearshore waters and creates hazardous conditions for children and other beachgoers.

A recent Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association regatta saw paddlers struggling to carry their canoes through the swift-moving stream and onto the beach.

"It was horrible," said Penny Wakida, a retired Lahainaluna High School teacher who paddles for Kahana Canoe Club. "On Saturday there was a foot of water running through here like a country stream."

Kai Keahi, the 6-foot-3 head coach of Kahana Canoe Club, said he's seen the stream cut a channel so deep it was running over his head.

"I've lived here all of my life, and I've never seen anything like this," added Moke Keahi, Kai's father and also a Kahana coach.

The stream not only wreaks havoc on the canoe clubs that regularly use Hanaka'o'o, but it acts as an obstacle to the beach's lifeguards, who struggle to launch their rescue watercraft.

Last week, Daniel Ornellas, state Department of Land and Natural Resources Maui District land agent, responded to Kai Keahi's request to use a bulldozer to straighten the stream's path into the ocean.

Ornellas helped the equipment operator obtain temporary right-of-entry authorization from his office and asked Keahi to work with him in trying to go through the proper channels in order to gain full legal permission to work on the beach. Those channels involve obtaining permits from the state Department of Health and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Ornellas said he sees the problem as a health and safety issue.

"When I was there a few months back, it was really bad," he said. "Someone's got to take care of this, because it was just nuts."

Even though Kai Keahi straightened the channel last week, Ornellas said there's no guarantee it will remain open. Light stream flows, combined with a south swell, could build up the sand and plug the stream mouth again. Stream flows would once again find the path of least resistance — down Hanaka'o'o Beach.

A number of canoe paddlers say the Hyatt Regency Maui, which sits on the coast on the other side of the stream, has taken steps to prevent the flow from undercutting its property and turning in its direction.

Some say the hotel deliberately planted a bank of mangrove trees to act as a barrier. Others have said hotel personnel have been using a tractor to illegally groom the beach to build up their side.

Hyatt Regency General Manager Frank Lavey said the allegations are preposterous.

"We don't even have a tractor. And we're not authorized to do that," Lavey said. "We've been good neighbors. We support the canoe community. We wouldn't do anything of the sort."

Lavey said he's just as upset about the stream as anyone, because it's been mucking up the nearshore water on both sides of the channel and severely eroding the beach in front of the hotel.

"We're very anxious to get it taken care of," he said.

The Hyatt appealed to county officials to do something, and an engineer was hired to study the 7 1/2-mile-long stream. A report said the stream's changes are linked to the end of sugar cane cultivation in the hills, as well as increased urbanization below.

The report recommended the construction of a large sediment basin or a series of small basins to filter debris and help it flow more regularly.

But so far, the county hasn't moved on the issue.

As for the Aug. 6 state regatta, the show will go on, said Hannie Anderson, race commissioner and president of the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association. No other beach on Maui is suitable for such a large regatta, she said.

The daylong regatta will feature sprint races ranging from a quarter-mile to 1 1/2 miles for various age groups. All the canoes in the regatta are made of Hawaiian koa wood.

Anderson visited Hanaka'o'o last week after hearing concerns about the beach. She said the beach wasn't perfect, but it appeared capable of hosting the big event.

"We'll work with it," she said.