Team Primo, which represents Wailea Canoe Club of Maui, cruised to a victory in the 43rd annual Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race yesterday.

The race, which marked the official start of the long-distance outrigger canoe paddling season, featured 49 crews and spanned a 26-mile course that stretched from Kailua Beach, around Makapuu and Diamond Head, and finished adjacent to the pier just before the beach fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

Riding the momentum of last year’s runner-up finish in the prestigious Molokai Hoe, Team Primo completed yesterday’s event in 2 hours, 54 minutes, 36 seconds — well ahead of the nearest competitors: Hui Lanakila (2:58.24), Lanikai (3:00.08), Team Livestrong (3:00.44) and Outrigger Canoe Club (3:04.15).

"It was kind of close through Waimanalo and around Makapuu, but we caught some really good waves," said Team Primo steersman Kekoa Cramer. "It’s a relief. We were preparing for states (the championship of the regatta season held last weekend at Keehi Lagoon) last week, so we had to switch over to Team Primo. We got better and faster as the race went on and we blended together."

The long-distance season consists of four races — two men’s and two women’s events — followed by the Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Molokai Hoe: the women’s and men’s versions of the 41-mile Molokai-to-Oahu race often considered the Super Bowl of the sport. In distance races, crews are accompanied by motored escort boats and are allowed to substitute paddlers along the way to provide them with breaks.

"It was nice to get out there and start the distance season," said Team Primo member Kai Bartlett. "The conditions were pretty mellow, so it wasn’t easy, but not too challenging; it was manageable. It was good to see how everybody’s starting out. Oahu’s got the most competitive paddlers, so you get a wake-up call.

"The main goal is always the Molokai Channel. A lot of us feel like we still have homework to do. We’re never perfect."

The other members of Team Primo were: Peter Konohia, Mike Judd, Tyson Kubo, Felipe Gomes, Mael Carey, Danny Ching and Mark Rigg.

Team Livestrong of Kona was in position to challenge Team Primo until it flipped in the waters off Sandy Beach, in the heart of the difficult stretch of rough water between Makapuu and Hanauma Bay.

"We were in second place until right off Sandy’s when we huli-ed," said Livestrong paddler Nate Hendricks. "I’m pretty sure that (flipping the canoe) cost us either winning or second place. I don’t think anyone would have passed us, but that’s part of the game. It was an excellent race."

Livestrong paddles under the banner of world champion cyclist Lance Armstrong’s charity, which is dedicated to raising money for cancer research. For the crew aboard the canoe deemed "Olamau," translated to mean Live Strong, paddling is more than wins and losses; it’s about helping to spread Armstrong and others’ message of hope in finding an eventual cure for cancer.

"It’s us getting the message out to as many people as possible about cancer research," Hendricks said. "He (Armstrong) is our friend, he’s a guy we look up to what he’s represented on his bike and as an international figure. We paddle for his cause. They have raised ridiculous amounts of money for cancer research, and I don’t think there’s anyone here on the beach who hasn’t been touched some way or another by the disease."

Hendricks says that Armstrong visits the crew from time to time, including six months ago when he and the paddlers did a group bike ride and also paddled together. Now that Armstrong has retired from competitive cycling, Hendricks expects that he will spend more time in Kona, where he can train for and compete in the Ironman Triathlon, as well as spend time on land he owns there.

"He’s aware we’re doing this, but he is so busy," said Hendricks when asked about the remote possibility of Armstrong coming to cheer on the crew in October when they compete in the Molokai Hoe. "But maybe, now that he’s retired, he’ll go and do the triathlon so we’ll get to see him a lot."

The women get their first major test of the distance season on Sunday with the annual Dad’s Center Race. The event gets under way at Kailua Beach and wraps up at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki.