After years of scrambling by local outrigger canoe clubs and teams in an attempt to keep up with the talented Tahitian paddlers, Outrigger Canoe Club has employed a proactive strategy that is paying off thus far.

Outrigger has coupled some of its own elite paddlers with counterparts from Tahiti in an effort to help local paddlers rise to the level of competition necessary to win on the world stage, and to increase awareness around the sport and multiple Polynesian cultures.

The tactic paid off as the red-clad Outrigger crew dubbed Ka Lahui Kai secured a second-place finish behind a veteran-laden Hui Nalu squad at the 51st edition of the Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race, a 26-mile trek from Kailua to Waikiki Beach held Sunday in front of thousands of supporters and onlookers who watched from the sand and above from nearby hotel balconies.

Hui Nalu crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 56 minutes and 43.26 seconds, and held off Outrigger (3:04:04.65) and Lanikai (3:04:44.75) in the lead pack. Outrigger’s second crew (3:04:54.53) finished in fourth ahead of Hui Nalu’s second crew (3:06:01.52) and Outrigger’s junior squad (3:06:06.53).

“Ka Lāhui Kai’s mission is to advance canoe paddling in Hawaii, so we brought in a few Tahitian paddlers to teach us their way of paddling and blend that with our technique to benefit the crew,” said Outrigger paddler Hunter Pflueger. “It’s about the brotherhood, you paddle for the guy in front of you and the guy in back of you.”

The competition featured 43 crews that maneuvered through a course spanning from Kailua Beach, around Makapu‘u, past Hawaii Kai and Diamond Head, and finished adjacent to the pier on Duke Kahanamoku Beach fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

“Them bringing in some talented paddlers from Tahiti makes us all better because they teach us things to elevate our game,” said Hui Nalu veteran Mario Mausio when asked about Outrigger’s approach. “They pulled away from us for a while, and that makes us uncomfortable. We need to elevate our game and learn from where our weaknesses were today. We need to step up our training and focus on things like surfing – we struggled with that today.”

Mausio was joined in the winning crew by Paul Chong, Kristin Brown, Max Dieckmann, Teihotu Dubois, Kekoa Kaho‘okele-Santos, Nathan Loyola, Carl Peri and Shon Siemonek.

Crews used the race to start fine-tuning their blend and technique in anticipation of the Molokai Hoe on Oct. 7. Competitors from around the world will attempt to knock off the Tahitians, who had won the prestigious competition 11 consecutive times until Red Bull Wa‘a, which is based in Kona and included Tahitian paddlers in its crew, took home the sought-after hardware last fall.

Paddlers took advantage of light tradewinds, a few passing rain showers and relatively small ocean swells along the windward portion of the course, and fought through humid, sticky conditions as canoes maneuvered along the south shore. Outrigger had pulled away from Hui Nalu as the crews passed Waimanalo, but eventually relinquished the lead as Hui Nalu kept its boat speed “low and strong” to utilize its athletes’ power.

“Until Molokai, we’ll continue to focus on our training, make sure our nutrition (plan) is in place, keep our bodies healthy and make sure everything’s good at home,” Pflueger said.

The first edition of the Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race was held in 1968, and the event has continued to evolve along with paddlers’ approach to the sport and advancements in technology. The winning time 50 years ago was recorded at 3 hours, 44 minutes and 8 seconds; streamlined fiberglass canoes, lighter, stronger composite paddles and a rigorous cross-training approach to the sport by paddlers have allowed elite competitors to shave close to a hour off the top finishing times compared to those posted five decades ago.

Sunday’s race was the first full-field competition of the long-distance campaign, and was held two weeks after paddlers completed the regatta sprint season. Lanikai won the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship at Keehi Lagoon on Aug. 4, and will aim to ride the wave of positive momentum further into the distance season.

On Sunday, the women will take to the water for the annual Dad Center Race from Kailua Beach to the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki. Crews will look to overtake Team Bradley, which has claimed 10 of the last 12 Na Wahine O Ke Kai titles — including six straight Molokai-to-Oahu crowns from 2005-2010.