Lanikai comes out on top in OHCRA opener

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Lanikai Canoe Club won the first round, but it is expecting a lot of counterpunches from the opposition the rest of the way.

Members of Kailua's women's novice A team celebrate their victory at the Clement D. Pa'iaina Regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon. Lanikai Canoe Club won the regatta with 73 points, followed by Kailua with 58 points. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Around 2,000 paddlers of all ages representing 17 clubs from around O'ahu participated in the daylong regatta.

"It's a good start for us, but that only means it'll get tougher from here on out," Lanikai head coach Kalani Irvine said. "Nobody knows what to expect in the first regatta, so the strategy starts from now once you see what everybody else has."

Kailua placed a close second with 70 points, followed by Hui Lanakila with 58, Hui Nalu with 56, and then Outrigger with 44.

Leeward Kai and 'Anuenue each scored 11 points to share top honors in the A Division for smaller clubs.

Lanikai displayed overall strength, posting a regatta-high nine wins out of the 37 total races.

"We have a lot of paddlers this year, especially kids," Irvine said. "Hopefully, our kids keep improving so that we can keep bringing in points from them."

The Lanikai boys crews gave the club an early lead by posting wins in the 15, 16 and 18 divisions.

Lanikai's boys 18 crew of Benjamin Creps, Jason Kline, Chad Martin, Kirk Mueller, Christian Riegel and Ryan Jones was especially impressive, winning its race by 15 seconds.

"We're still expecting some guys to come back from college and join us, so I foresee us improving," said Lanikai boys coach James Bustamante. "There's a lot of potential, and this is the future of Lanikai."

But the annual strength of Lanikai is in the open men's divisions, and this year appears to be no exception.

Lanikai won the prestigious men's senior race, edging Outrigger by less than two seconds.

The crew of Ka'ai Bruhn, Aaron Creps, David Daniels, Mike Judd, Andrew Penny and Nahina Lee Loy completed the 1 1/2-mile course in 10 minutes, 57.58 seconds.

"Regattas are more for fun when you compare it to the distance season," Judd said. "But any time you line it up against the other clubs, we're competitive and we want to win."

Outrigger won the women's senior race, beating Hui Nalu by nearly nine seconds. The winning crew: Traci Phillips, Paula Crabb, Jennifer Thayer, Kanesa Duncan, Mary Smolenski and Kisi Haine.

Kailua won just five races, but stayed close to Lanikai throughout the regatta by consistently placing in the top four of several races.

"I'm actually pretty satisfied," Kailua head coach Jimmy Bruhn said. "We tried some different combinations because it's the first one, so we still have a lot of work to do."

Lanikai and Kailua appear to have the most paddlers this season among the OHCRA clubs.

"Lanikai is always tough," Bruhn said. "It's good to have our neighbors right around the corner to push us."

However, Irvine said the first regatta is not often a good indicator for the rest of the season.

"We've all been through the drill," he said. "A lot of the clubs don't bring out all their paddlers until the end of the season."

The host club, Healani, scored 27 points and placed sixth overall. The regatta was held in honor of Clement D. Pa'iaina, one of Healani's founding members.

His grandson, Kea Pa'iaina, is now Healani's head coach.

"I got the club together this morning and told them I wish all of them could have met my grandfather," he said. "This is the 15th anniversary of his passing, so it's really a special day."

It became more special for Pa'iaina when he paddled on the Healani crew that won the men's open-4 division.

"We don't make money off of this, but it's still an honor just to host it in my grandfather's name," he said. "And to win a gold medal just adds to it for me."

OHCRA president Hannie Anderson said yesterday's turnout may have been the start of a record season for the association.

"I've never seen it this crowded before," she said. "It just goes to show that this sport is continuing to grow."

Kane'ohe continues winning in Hui Wa'a

The Kane'ohe Canoe Club won the Manu O Ke Kai Regatta yesterday at Hale'iwa Beach Park.

It was the second win in as many weeks for Kane'ohe in the Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a season.

Kane'ohe won five races and scored 67 points. The host club, Manu O Ke Kai, won seven races and finished second with 59 points.

Koa Kai won the AA Division with 48 points, and Waikiki Beach Boys won the A Division with 28.

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