molokai hoe - Pacific Paddler magazine

Molokai Hoe
The Tahitians came in force with seven
crews and paddled away with the top four
placings. Shell Vaa finished in 4:38:50 and
missed breaking their previous record by 15
seconds despite a Kaiwi Channel that was
less than ideal. Team OPT #1 took second
nearly 15 minutes behind Shell Vaa. OPT #2
took third followed by Paddling Connection
Tahiti. The first crew from Hawaii, Wailea
Canoe Club (Team Primo) placed 5th in
4:57:21. Outrigger Australia took 6th followed by Bora Bora Va'a, Lanikai, Erai Va'a
Tahiti and rounding out the top ten was Hui
Lanikila.
A total of 119 crews participated in
the 59th Annual Molokai Hoe race. The top
Masters 40 crew was Outrigger Canoe Club
who finished 20th overall. In the Masters
50's Moolooloba Outrigger from Australia
took the honors finishing 28th overall
(5:46:19). Hui Lanikila won the koa division (5:47:50), California Gold the 55-plus
(6:05:55), and Namolokama O Hanalei won
the 60s division (6:16:45).
Photos by Katie Slocumb
What paddlers said
after their race
Junior Wright, California Gold: "Fantastic.
We had a great crossing, conditions were
unbelievable, caught a ton of bumps. We
were flying like maniacs out there."
Gaylord Wilcox, Anuenue CC: "It was
tough, water was going all over the place,
but the competition was fine. The best part
was passing Kehei after they passed us."
Phil Kissenger, Puna CC: "It was an
excellent race once we reached Oahu and
could surf all the way until we reached the
finish. The hardest part was getting to
Koko Head. You could see Oahu, but the
current was going against us and the wind
was going the other way so it made it real
sloppy."
Bozo Dudoit, Team Molokai: "We tried
to stay next to a lot of canoes so we could
stay energized, it was a hard race. We had
to paddle the whole way… it was kind of
sloppy out there."
Jim Foti, Lanikai CC: "There were
moments of promise of surf, but the current wasn’t making it fun. At Moanalua Bay
there was stuff, but boy, you had to work
it. All-in-all it wasn’t a bad channel."
Raster Rafter, Kiola CC: "It was great,
we had better conditions than we expected… it was fun." He said the best part was
"right now. The first beer. We got T-boned
right at the beginning. An ama came over,
and one and two had to dive into the water
to get out of the way, and in the channel
Photos by Peter Caldwell (Below, cover image in full)
pacificpaddler.com December 2010 13
Molokai Hoe, Photos by Katie Slocumb
we hulied once, a nice slow one — it kind
of slowed us down, but we kept on going."
Andy Penny, Livestrong: "Oh those Tahiti
guys go so fast. It was impressive to watch
them. In the first two minutes they had a
quarter-mile lead — they lead from start to
finish. I look forward to reviewing the tapes
and learning something from them. I don’t
know what we can do? We all have jobs, we
try to take it as serious as possible, with the
training and commitment." Andy said the
Tahitians must have a large pool of paddlers
to pull from and has noticed in the past six
years the difference to where they were and
where they are today.
Kaiea Mowat, Hui Nalu CC: "The best
part was our crew — good and positive."
He said there were waves if you were
strong enough to paddle into them.
Steve Cole, Moolooloba Outrigger,
Australia: "It was a good race. A little bit of
a confusing ocean, but every once in a while
you'd get a good bump. Moolooloba had
some very strong guys, so when I said let's
go, they would go — we just barely knocked
off Hui Nalu." He said the start was one of
the most confusing he's been in.
"Everyone was lined up and the current
was going down the coast. All of a sudden
everybody started, and you had guys right
next to you catching waves, and you're
side by side with all of these canoes. It
was a nightmare trying not to crash into
anyone. Guaranteed there were some good
crashes out there."
Phil Kissinger, Puna CC: "The hardest
part was you could see Koko Head, but the
current was against us and the wind was
going the other way. We had a lot of fun
once we reached Oahu and surfed all the
way to the finish."
Kafoa Hala, Tui Tonga: "We made it,"
exclaimed Kafoa. "We went north and were
fighting it the whole way." He said there
were a lot of first-timers in his crew and they
enjoyed it. "I am happy for them," he said.
Lance Anderson, Kailua CC: "The best
part of the race was coming out and making the change," but when it was his turn
to go back into the canoe he injured his
ribs. "From that point on, I had no energy
on my right side."
Toney Bishop, Sydney Outrigger CC: "It
was a great event, fantastic conditions. It
was messy, but we expected that. You get
what the ocean gives you and everybody
got to paddle in the same conditions."
Greg Poole, Hui Nalu CC: "I guess the
current was bad, but it was a fun race.
Everybody had the same conditions. The
start was awesome. We surfed all the way
to the point (Laau)."
Chris Harris, Sydney Outriggers CC:
"This is my first time. We had a great
race. It’s such a cultural thing over here,
the sport is so big, I love it." Chris said he
hasn’t had a beer in over a week, and was
enjoying drinking one.
Grant Senner, Hana CC: "The best part
was the team work and a couple of really
nice waves. It nice to see so many people
out there from all over. It truly is a world
championship."
Daniel Scarpa, Extreme Team Italy:
Daniel has done this race eight times. "This
was the toughest one."
14 Pacific Paddler December 2010
Dwayne Webster Kawaihae (Seven Tiki):
"The start had rolling bumps, the channel got
really ugly, but at the end we had some good
runs. Every year is different; sometimes it’s
good sometimes it’s not so good."
Karel Tresnak, Outrigger CC: "I think
they train a lot more than we do." He said
in order for Hawaii to be competitive, we
have to double if not triple the training. "It
was pretty fun out there for three hours
then it wasn’t fun — just trying to stay
alive and reach the finish."
Chris Tseu, Hui Lanikila CC: "The start
was fun, it was like a Hawaii Kai run — jacking up. There were about 120 boats, so we
are stoked with our finish. Our goal was to
stay with Lanikai, Outrigger and Livestrong
pacificpaddler.com December 2010 15
and that’s where we were."
Kai Bartlett, Team Primo: "We lost
one of our paddlers right away, so we
went with eight the whole way… it kind
of messed up our whole schedule. There
were a lot of combos we never worked
with, some were good, some were bad. It
was a challenge, but we tried to have as
much fun as we could with it." He said you
have to be ready for the worst. "At least
we had a strong finish. We hammered at
the end; we put up a fight and that’s what
matters."
Earl Chang, Hui Nalu CC: "It's good
to be out there, just enjoying it. Not too
many people can do it — to be out in the
ocean paddling — it’s awesome. We battled
with Kailua and Moolooloba for the 50’s."
They finished second in their division.
Harvie Allison, Healani CC: "We battled
with our competition the whole way. It was
a good day out there, tricky bumps, but
we’ll take it over flat."
Robert Patcho, Keola O Ke Kai CC:
The motivation for this race was Tyson
Ahlo, a good buddy of mine. Tyson passed
away and was training for this race, so we
had his ashes strapped to the iako of our
canoe. Our mission was to get him across
for his family and for us. I miss him dearly."
Mahalo
‘I’ll Remember You’
Molokai Hoe, Photos by Katie Slocumb
RESTAURANT & BAR
Waikiki
Surf Club
Molokai Hoe, Photos by ropati
Proceeds go to The Wounded Warrior Program
'Hawaii Supports Our Troops'
Mahalo to the paddlers, race officials from OHCRA and to the volunteers who
joined us to raise money for our Wounded Warriors
OC1, Men’s short
Dave O’Neill
OC1, Men’s Long
Mike Davidson, Kurt Andreios, Brian Kon,
Kaai Fernandez, Lee Liddell, Richard
Davidson, Hector Wong
OC1, Women’s short
Amy Hebenstreit, Joy Davidson,
Reece Olayvar
OC1, Keiki short
Keanu Sanford, Vida Burd, Trinity Josia
OC2 Men's short
McGirew’s crew
Long Elias Nakahara/Landon Chinen
OC2, mixed
16 Pacific Paddler December 2010
Gay Nakagawa/Kaanoi Clemente
Stand Up, Men
Fred Paine
Stand Up, Women
Leilani Huybrechts
Surf Ski
Ed Joy
OC6 Men's short
Kamaha’o, Kiai Kai, Outrigger
OC6 Men's long
Hui Lanikila, Hawaiian Kanektion, Hui
Nalu, Lokahi, Hookanaka, Kamehameha,
Outrigger, Kamehameha
OC6 Women's Short
Waikiki Yacht Club, Kamaha’o
www.pacificpaddler.com
OC6 Short women's Long
Hui Lanakila, Hui Nalu, Outrigger, Hui Nalu,
Honolulu Pearl, Lokahi
OC6 Mixed Short
Lokahi, Hookanaka, Young at Heart, Hui
Nalu, Hui Nalu, Outriger, Kamamalahoe
OC6 mixed long
Hui Lanakila, Team Van Goon, Hui Lanakila,
Waikiki Beach Boys, Honolulu Pearl, Waikiki
Yacht Club, Waikiki Yacht Club, Outrigger,
Hookanaka, Hookanaka, Kamehameha,
Outrigger, Kamehameha
OC12, women's short
Alapa Hoe