For the love of water

Hui Wa‘a Kaukahi Kayak Club is not for everyone.

However, it is for anyone with a love of the water and adventurous spirit looking for like-minded paddlers in a non-competitive setting. Previous experience is not required, but newcomers will be rated on ability to handle different classes of paddling events from easy gliders (1) through advanced (3).

In its 30th year, Hui Wa‘a offers events ranging from short and long paddles on Oahu; paddling/camping excursions to neighbor islands; stream cleaning and kayak fishing tournaments.

Safety and enjoyment are top priorities.

"Our paddles are designed so that eventually paddlers will have circumnavigated Oahu," said club president Kevin Ching, who has been involved for 25 years. "We’ve been part of the (American Canoe Association) for a while and safety is one of the primary goals of the ACA. We’ve never had any serious injuries and we want to keep it that way.

"We give the paddles various ratings. We want paddlers challenged but we also don’t want them over their heads. Some of our best paddlers are the ones in their 60s and 70s. They have a lot of experience, have been doing this a long time and know the best ‘secret spots’ that they want to share."

Established in 1982, it is Hawaii’s oldest and largest recreational kayak club. Current membership is around 160 with several founding members still active, including Rusty Lillico and Gary Budlong.

The club is more than a club. Shared experience on the water and camping create a bond that can only be described as ohana.

"You come to know the people you do the adventures with; you bond with them and play in the water with them," said Cosette Harms, current program and events chair. "The people are absolutely great. The enthusiasm for being on the water is so contagious.

"I really enjoy the windward side runs, like Makapu‘u to Kailua, which offers chances to go inside or outside the reef, stop at the plane wreck, go around or between the Mokulua islands. It offers space for people who want a challenge or not so much of a challenge.

"But the bottom line is it’s no-nonsense. You have to be safety-minded, no matter what you are capable of or think you are capable of. The ocean conditions can change in an instant."

Hui Wa‘a Kaukahi translates to a group of individual paddlers or those in one-person canoes. They first used inflatables that gave way to the heavy plastic ocean kayaks; both are designed to carry gear and provisions for camping or extended day trips.

Crossing the Auau Channel between Maui and Lanai is among Debbie Wheeler’s favorites. It was how she was introduced to Lanai, where she now lives part-time.

"The crossing we do during whale season and we see lots of those," said Wheeler, a past club president and current vice president. "I was first introduced to kayaking in 1992 by sea friend Bob Walls, and it was the first year I kayaked down the Na Pali Coast."

It turned into an annual event for Wheeler, as well as a family tradition. Son Danny Cosson first kayaked Na Pali when he was 10.

"I think one of my favorite things is to paddle into sea caves," Ching said. "I like to sightsee, feel the splash of the spray off the rocks, the motion of the ocean. The Na Pali Coast is very special to the club, very magical and we hold celebrations there like our 30th anniversary party.

"I got into it because I was looking for something different and bodyboarding and boogie boarding had become too strenuous. I saw something in the newspaper and it sounded like a lot of fun."

It has become just that. Members create events such as the Easter Egg Hunt off Kualoa, where kayakers search for floating plastic eggs that have numbers inside corresponding to prizes, and the Windbag Regatta, where paddlers use whatever means to propel their kayaks, from sails to kites to umbrellas.

"The club is inclusive and welcoming to new people who want to play, too," the 68-year-old Harms added. "Sometimes it’s quite a big hassle to get where we want to go, but it’s worth it.

"It makes you feel younger than you really are."