Hui Nalu paddles to victory

With more depth in its paddling ranks, Hui Nalu was finally able to showcase the full potential of its talented athletes under the revival brought about by coach Denise Darval-Chang.

Hui Nalu amassed 170 points and a regatta-high 10 wins en route to claiming its first regatta victory since the final regular-season event of the 2011 campaign by hanging on to win the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association’s season-opening 23rd annual Clement D. Pai‘aina Regatta on Sunday at Keehi Lagoon. Paddlers kept cool amid intermittent rain showers and steady trade winds as the regatta was decided in the final two races of the day.

Four-time defending OHCRA champion Kailua Canoe Club, which also won 10 races, notched 165 points to earn runner-up honors in the AAA division (27-39 crews entered), while Outrigger kept matters close and finished third with 146 points.

Lanikai, which claimed last year’s Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship by one point over Kailua, finished fourth with 127 points to round out the large-club division. Lanikai has won three of the past five state championships.

Hui Nalu went ahead for good after it won the mixed 40 race as the crew of Kehau Gumapac-McGuire, David Loui, Timothy Twigg-Smith, Robert Harrison, Catherine Fuller and Sunshine Topping crossed the line in 4 minutes, 4.47 seconds to hold off Lanikai (4:12.50) and Outrigger (4:23.85). Kailua needed to win the day’s final event, the mixed open six, and have Hui Nalu finish outside of the top six crews to have a chance at winning, but the scenario did not come to fruition as Kailua finished fourth and Hui Nalu crossed the line in fifth.

"To start off the season with an overall victory is pretty rewarding," said Loui just seconds after exiting his crew’s winning canoe and learning of the positive results. "We’ve really been working hard this past month or so, and it panned out. As a club, we haven’t won a regatta in a long time, so it’s good to start the season out this way."

The top six crews in each of the regatta’s 42 races were awarded points based on a 7-5-4-3-2-1 system, in which the winner picks up seven and maintains a two-point advantage over the runner-up crew.

Through 20 events, Hui Nalu and Kailua were tied for the regatta points lead with 83, while Outrigger (77 points) and Lanikai (56 points) remained within striking distance. With 11 races remaining, Hui Nalu had extended its advantage to 14, amassing 137 points, while Outrigger (123 points) and Kailua (120 points) attempted to mount a comeback.

Kailua won four of the next nine races to pull into a tie with Hui Nalu atop the leaderboard, but the effort was thwarted by Hui Nalu’s clutch victory in the next-to-last race.

"They’ve had good quality in their crews that they’ve fielded over the years, but recently have had to scratch (some races) due to a lack of paddlers. Today, they had all the crews they needed," said Kathy Erwin, Kailua’s co-head coach. "I give them credit and congratulations. It makes things so exciting because we’re all close within the AAA Division."

Keahiakahoe won two races, and tallied 76 points to run away with the AA division (14-26 crews entered) ahead of Leeward Kai (38 points), Waikiki Surf Club and Healani (36 points apiece).

Hui Lanakila also won two events, and racked up 32 points to claim the A division (1-13 crews entered) ahead of Anuenue (20 points) and New Hope (13 points).

Sunday’s regatta marked the first competition under OHCRA’s ratified race rules, which were implemented prior to the season with the goal of rejuvenating the competitive experience.

The lengths of 11 races — representing more than one-fourth of the entire regatta slate — were shortened with the goal of generating more excitement, as the sprints generally lead to closer finishes and more competitive events across the board. The changes were also made to speed up the weekly competitions, which normally take all day to complete — sometimes lasting 10 hours or more.

The events affected included: the men’s novice B, girls 15 and boys 15 races, which were shortened from a half-mile to a quarter-mile; the men’s and women’s freshmen races, which were cut from one mile to a quarter-mile; and the boys 18, men’s novice A, sophomore and 40s and women’s sophomore and 40s events, which were trimmed from one mile to a half-mile.

"I thought the shorter races were exciting, and I really like the fact that (OHCRA) is trying new things," Erwin said. "They’re trying to be progressive, and that’s great."

OHCRA travels to Kailua Beach Park for its annual King Kamehameha Regatta on Sunday.

Na ‘Ohana O Na Hui Wa‘a will hold its third regatta of the season Sunday at Keehi Lagoon with the Lokahi Regatta.