Hawaii paddlers aim to turn back Tahiti

After enduring more than a decade of dominance by Tahitian paddlers in the prestigious Molokai Hoe, four Hawaii-based crews are leading the charge to bring the elusive world championship title back to the islands.

More than 100 crews will make the 41-mile trek from Molokai’s Hale O Lono Harbor to Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki on Sunday in the 65th Hawaiian Airlines Molokai Hoe. The field is expected to include nearly 60 squads from Hawaii and teams from California, North Carolina, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Poland and Tahiti. Participants in the ultimate test of strength, endurance and strategy will have to cope with unpredictable winds, waves and currents throughout the treacherous Kaiwi Channel.

“Every Hawaiian crew is going to be strong, and will make it a hard race, so it will take our best effort,” said Shell Va’a paddler Manutea Millon, whose crew has won 10 of the last 11 Molokai Hoe races. “Shell Va’a is the best team in Tahiti, and we want to be the best team in the world. Our goal is to win every year if we can. We need to stay positive and look forward to Sunday’s race.”

After claiming their eighth straight Molokai Hoe crown in 2013, some Shell paddlers confidently proclaimed that they would continue chasing the outrigger canoe paddling world championship “until we die.” The quietly confident Tahitian athletes also stated, perhaps in jest, that they needed to “win 10 in a row, then we can stop.”

The Shell Va’a squad could justifiably talk the talk after setting the course record in 2011 as the paddling powerhouse finished in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 54 seconds ­— nearly eight minutes faster than the previous record, which it also held. However, Shell’s run for 10 straight titles came to an abrupt halt in 2014 when Tahitian competitor EDT Va’a, which paddles under the banner of an energy company, claimed the Molokai-to-Oahu crown.

Fast forward to Sunday’s race, and in the week leading up to the competition, it became known that EDT Va’a would not be participating. Multiple sources would then confirm that paddlers from EDT Va’a had joined forces with Kona-based Red Bull Wa’a, last year’s fifth-place finisher and the fourth-place squad in 2015.

Red Bull Wa‘a previously raced as Livestrong —the namesake of embattled cyclist Lance Armstrong’s charity — then switched monikers to Mellow Johnny’s (Armstrong’s bicycle shop in Austin, Texas), before changing to Na Koa O Kona, then taking on the Red Bull brand last season after the popular energy drink sponsored the crew.

Hui Nalu “Oceania” will live up to its name as, like Red Bull Wa‘a, the Hawaii Kai-based club will incorporate an international flair with paddlers from Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti along with its own experienced team members.

“This year is going to be really competitive, and with the Tahitians involved, the goal is to narrow the gap,” said Hui Nalu paddler and coach Mario Mausio. “What Red Bull is doing with the integration (of Tahitian paddlers) will help Hawaii learn faster. I know we want to be an all-Hawaii team, but I personally used to live in New Zealand and Fiji, and the hardest thing about doing Molokai is the logistics and getting the crew here.

“This was an opportunity for us to bring in certain paddlers from certain countries, but I didn’t just pick anyone or the fastest guys, I studied and figured out who would be a good fit with our crew. It’s not just a free opportunity — these guys have to work just as hard as our paddlers from Hawaii to earn a seat in the canoe.”

Team Primo, which is based on Maui but features paddlers from across the state, is also expected to vie for the elusive title and still holds the record for the fastest time by a Hawaii competitor, which it set in 2011 (4:42:59). The crew represents a model of consistency, having garnered sixth place or better in every Molokai Hoe since forming in 2009, including a fourth-place finish last year.

Lanikai, the last Hawaii-based team to win the Molokai Hoe in 2005, is another homegrown favorite come Sunday. The squad appears to be peaking at the right time after winning the 32-mile Henry Ayau Memorial Race in a record time of 3 hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds on Sept. 17. The Kailua-based crew also won the Duke Kahanamoku Race on Aug. 20, and held off Team Primo, Red Bull Wa‘a and Hui Nalu in the process.

“We’re really looking to build something special here,” said Lanikai paddler Nick Foti, whose father, John, and uncle Jim were part of five of Lanikai’s Molokai Hoe title-winning crews dating back to the 1980s. “Any time you get to perpetuate this sport and my family’s legacy, it’s really exciting.”