The outstanding season for the Outrigger Canoe Club continued yesterday.

Outrigger won the Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race, holding off a strong push from an upstart Team Primo.

Outrigger completed the 26-mile course from Kailua Beach to Duke Kahanamoku Beach in 2 hours, 48 minutes, 50 seconds.

Members of the winning crew were Craig Gamble, Scott Gamble, Billy Lawson, Noah Gibson, Kapono Brown, Mike Kane, Will Estes, Tapa Worthington and Jimmy Austin.

"It was a real good battle today," said Austin, who steered the Outrigger canoe. "Fortunately, we came out on top this time. But it was so close, you can see that it could be a different story every week."

But the same core of Outrigger paddlers is technically undefeated in 2009. They recently completed a strong regatta season (although it won the men's senior race at the state championship regatta due to a disqualification of another crew).

Yesterday was the first major men's race of the long-distance season.

"We talked at the beginning of the season about the kind of commitment it would take to be successful, and we've kind of found a group that is willing to make that kind of commitment," Kane said. "We've been practicing hard for a couple months now, and I think that makes a difference in a race like this. We have that continuity in our group."

More than 40 crews participated in yesterday's race, most of them from O'ahu.

Each crew could have nine paddlers although only six are allowed in the canoe at any given time.

From the start, it turned into a back-and-forth duel between Outrigger and Team Primo.

"They were in front all the way to Makapu'u, but we were right there," Austin said. "After that, it was anybody's game. We changed the lead with them four times."

Outrigger took the lead for good off Kahala, but it was never a comfortable margin until the very end. Team Primo placed second in 2:49:23 — 33 seconds behind Outrigger.

"Once we turned the corner at Makapu'u, it was good surfing," Kane said. "They would get in front, and we'd hunt them down with a good ride. Then we'd get in front and they would hunt us down with a good ride. It was fun, exciting."

Team Primo actually entered the race as Wailea Canoe Club because every team had to enter under the name of a sanctioned club. However, the team is comprised of paddlers from Maui, O'ahu and California.

It will enter the Moloka'i Hoe in October as Team Primo (Primo beer has agreed to sponsor the crew).

"Our goal is to have fun," Team Primo paddler Kai Bartlett said. "The club thing is great. I'm not against paddling for a club. It's just that for us on Maui, there's only a small number of us that are competitive on this level and so we want to see what we can do with a group of friends."

Team Primo has six paddlers from Maui — Bartlett, Mael Carey, Kekoa Cramer, Philippe Gomes, Tyson Kubo and Peter Konohia — so that group has been practicing together in recent weeks. However, the full team was not able to practice together prior to yesterday's race.

"Outrigger has been putting in tons of time together, so we were stoked to be right there with them, given that this was really our first race together," Bartlett said. "This showed us that we have a lot of work to do if we want to catch them."

Hui Lanakila's first crew placed third in 2:51:46. Lanikai was fourth in 2:53:57, and Hui Lanakila's second crew was fifth in 2:58:14.

"There's been a bit of a resurgence at Hui Lanakila, so we got a lot of new paddlers this year," Hui Lanakila coach Ian Forrester said. "We have a lot of depth. We're stoked to get two crews in the top five."

Kailua placed sixth in 3:01:07, and Imua from California placed seventh in 3:03:16.

Prior to the start of the men's race, a seven-mile women's race was staged at Kailua Beach. It turned into a showcase for the Waikiki Beachboys and Hui Lanakila.

Waikiki Beachboys took the top two places — the first crew finished in 46 minutes, 11 seconds; the second crew finished in 47:06.

Hui Lanakila crews then placed third, fourth, and fifth. Hui Lanakila's first crew had a time of 48:21, followed by the second crew at 49:11, then the third crew at 50:57.

The long-distance season will continue this weekend with two races on O'ahu: the Kailua Bay Men's Iron Challenge on Saturday, then the Dad Center Canoe Race for women on Sunday.