honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 11:20 a.m., Sunday, July 15, 2007

Hawaiian wins regatta, takes 19th Maui County title

By Stefanie Nakasone
The Maui News

KAHULUI — Now that was a fast regatta.

As the final canoe crossed the finish line in the final race at the Mayor's Umeke Regatta yesterday, the sun still shone brightly at Kahului Harbor. After all, it was only 3:23 p.m. when Lae Ula O Kai's red, yellow and green canoe made its turn toward the team tent.

Paddlers and spectators alike were pleasantly surprised at the early finish — a result of new Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association staging rules.

"We're scrambling a bit because the regatta is moving really, really fast,'' Lae Ula coach Sharon Balidoy said to The Maui News.

Even though the start times of races were altered, the results remained mostly consistent. Hawaiian Canoe Club won 19 races en route to scoring 140 points and taking first place.

HCC, the six-time defending state champion, was followed by Kahana (79), Kihei (77), Lae Ula (60), Na Kai 'Ewalu (22), Napili (21), Wailea (15), Hana (13) and Lahaina (one).

With just one more meet — the MCHCA championships this Saturday in Lahaina — remaining before the state regatta, HCC has clinched a 23rd straight county title.

Hawaiian has 824 points this year. Kahana (514) added slightly to its lead over Kihei (480) in the battle for second place.

The Mayor's Umeke was the first regatta of the year to use a new rule in which clubs race with at least two canoes, shortening the time between the end of one race and the start of the next.

"When one race finishes, the other (canoe) is going out,'' Balidoy said. "That's cut down tremendously on the time.''

In the past, regattas typically ended no earlier than 5 p.m.

The new setup, approved by the MCHCA board in April, drew much praise from coaches and paddlers at yesterday's regatta. However, as with most changes, the day didn't pass without some problems.

Some clubs had to make do without paddlers who didn't show up on time because there was confusion about when races would start. Even Hawaiian, by far the largest and deepest club, encountered a few mishaps.

"I think in the long term, it won't affect us at all. I think it's a great system,'' HCC coach Diane Ho said. "The only difficulty we had today, because it was the first time, people weren't able to judge when they would race. So there was a lot of shuffling and angst because people weren't showing up on time and we had to scratch a crew. But other than that, we're fine.''

Hawaiian's lone scratch of the day was in the platinum men's race.

"We've had some paddlers miss a race, that's unfortunate,'' Balidoy said, "but it's good for everybody that (the regatta) is moving along.''

Kahana coach Kekai Keahi said that as far as adjusting to the staging, things went smoothly for his club.

"We talked to the members, and they were ready for it,'' he said. "It didn't really affect us in any of the races.''

He added that he liked the new format and "if there's any way to make it go faster, I'm all for it.''

Though HCC won one more race than it did at last week's Naleieha Regatta, the club's number of state qualifying teams fell from 31 to 30. Hawaiian gained a spot in the masters men, but fell into third place in two other events.

The MCHCA is allotted two lanes per event at the state regatta, scheduled for Aug. 4 at Hanalei Bay on Kaua'i.

"Thirty right now and we're fighting for three,'' Ho said.

The tone was set early as Hawaiian swept the first three events — the boys and girls 12B and girls 12A — for the first time this season.

"I was really pleased this morning because usually we've been starting off slow," Ho said. "I'm really happy with the (12B sweep) this morning. That was a highlight for me.''

Hawaiian's masters men team helped ease the loss of a couple of qualifying spots with its win in the third-to-last race. The crew of James Knutson, Geoffrey Bogar, Rory Frampton, Eric Barto, Darrell Belen and Rick Nu'u beat out second-place Kihei by over 10 seconds with a time of 7:58.1.

"That was our biggest win today,'' said Kauhane Luuwai, coach of the HCC keiki crews. "They were one of the crews fighting for a top seed.''

Lae Ula O Kai, which served as host of the regatta, was also aided by a strong start, including a third-place effort in the 12B boys race, its highest finish in that event this year.

"They haven't medaled all season, so that was good for us,'' Balidoy said.

From there, Lae Ula used wins in novice B women and novice B mixed to come within two points of its season high, set last month at the John M. and Kealoha Lake Regatta, also at Kahului Harbor.

"They've been strong all year,'' Balidoy said of the two winning crews.

In all, Lae Ula won six races. Though less than a third of the races are 1-mile or more, the club collected 40 percent of its points in those events.

"We always look for long distance,'' Balidoy said, "because that's a lot more fun.''

For more Maui news, click here.