Canoe paddling: Lanikai repeats

After laboring to rebuild over the last decade, and riding the cyclical tides of success that ebb and flow throughout the outrigger canoe paddling ranks, Lanikai Canoe Club is back atop the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association ladder.

Actually, Lanikai is “back-to-back” on top as the Big Green Machine claimed its second consecutive OHCRA Championship on Sunday in the calm waters of Keehi Lagoon.

Lanikai defended its OHCRA crown by compiling 211 points on a regatta-high 18 victories to take home the AAA division (31 or more crews) title, and completed an undefeated season with wins at all six regattas. Outrigger (167 points), Hui Nalu (158 points) and Kailua (144 points) rounded out the large division.

“Our goal is always to aspire to create a team environment and have fun, while also winning,” said Jim Foti, a veteran Lanikai paddler and recent Waterman Hall of Fame inductee. “It’s a lifelong thing, it’s a lifestyle. To come out successful is totally fulfilling, and all of our coaches work in conjunction with the plan to make this possible.”

Lanikai got off to a blistering start, and established early momentum with victories in nine of the day’s first 16 events. Through 21 races, Lanikai held a 100-90-75 lead over Outrigger and Kailua, and would not relinquish the advantage.

The club’s men’s 40 crew helped ice the win with a victory in the ½-mile race, which it completed in 3 minutes, 34.30 seconds to defeat Hui Nalu (3:40.89) and Kailua (3:43.37). Lanikai’s triumphant crew of Sam Alama, Tapa Worthington, Skozilla Pecora, Kekoa Bruhn, Manny Kulukulualani and Foti as the steersman not only claimed the sought-after gold medals, but assisted the club in qualifying for a state championship berth in the event.

“The club’s been slowly building, so we have our eye on states,” Foti said. “It’s a numbers game, and we needed that win to get the 40s into the state regatta as part of the ongoing chess match. It’s about getting as many crews qualified as we can, and winning along the way.”

Lanikai is the latest in a string of large OHCRA clubs to win multiple championships in a row. Kailua won four consecutive organization championships from 2009-2012, and Hui Nalu followed suit with a three-peat that spanned from 2013-15. After the championship regatta was cancelled in 2016 due to the hazardous conditions caused by Tropical Storm Darby, Lanikai reclaimed gold in 2017 and repeated the effort on Sunday.

Outrigger, which according to Star-Advertiser records has won 13 OHCRA titles throughout its prestigious history, has not won a league title since 2003.

Keahiakahoe (75 points) claimed the AA division (16-30 crews) as the only club in the medium division.

Healani (48 points) earned the A division (1-15 crews) hardware, while Hui Lanakila (38 points), Leeward Kai (30 points) and Waimanalo (20 points) were also in the mix for the small club title.

The senior women’s crew from Hui Lanakila claimed gold in the marquee 1½-mile race, which it finished in 12 minutes, 57.87 seconds – nearly 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Lanikai. The victorious crew of Whitney Peapealalo, Mahealani Botelho, Alexia Lopez, Arlene Holtzman, Kaulu Lu‘uwai and Lori Nakamura represents one of the favorites heading into the state championships.

“This win was very important because, in our first year paddling together at Hui Lanakila, it’s the first race that we felt really comfortable in,” said Lu‘uwai. “It took us the whole season to find that blend and really get in sync.”

Following the regatta season, the paddlers will shift focus to the long-distance season as crew members compete with elite crews including Team Bradley, winners of 10 of the last 12 Na Wahine O Ke Kai titles, and the newly formed Team Maui Jim. However, Hui Lanakila has its sights set on gold to wrap up the regatta campaign.

“We were raised in canoe clubs, so we bring that ‘club’ mentality to the regatta season. It’s a different mind-set, focusing on our crew and the race in front of you that day,” Lu‘uwai said.

Nearly 3,000 competitors ranging in age from 12-and-under to 70-and-above represented OHCRA’s 17 member clubs in 45 races. Winning crews earned 7 points toward the team standings, while second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishers were awarded 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points, respectively.

The top four crews from each OHCRA event earned automatic berths in the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship regatta scheduled for Aug. 4 at Keehi Lagoon based on points collected over six regular-season regattas.

OHCRA clubs will now set their sights on the state regatta, and will compete against clubs from across the Islands including the dynastic Hawaiian Canoe Club from Maui. Hawaiian has won five consecutive state titles, and 15 state crowns in the last 19 years.

“It’s been a long time since we won a state championship, Hawaiian has been owning it. But, Hawaiian is headed back to our territory, and we stepped our game up, so we’re gonna give ‘em a race — we know they’re coming,” Foti said.