As throngs of Bruno Mars fans clamored for tickets Saturday morning to see the upcoming 24K Magic Tour, paddlers with Manu O Ke Kai were already hard at work compiling a collection of hit performances.
“I saw (the buzz around the concert) on the news, but I don’t think any of our paddlers lost focus on the regatta today as we tried to get this win for our club,” said Tavita Maea, a steersman who helped his squad dominate the men’s freshman race for Manu O Ke Kai, which breezed to victory at the Na Ohana O Na Hui Wa‘a outrigger canoe paddling organization’s Windward Kai Regatta at Kailua Beach.
Manu O Ke Kai, the defending Hui Wa‘a AAA Division (25-42 events) champion, took home the large division trophy with 123 points, and routed Na Keiki O Ka Moi — winners of six of the past eight Hui Wa‘a championships — by an 84-point differential (the gap was enhanced by an illegal paddler penalty issued to Ka Moi midway through the regatta). Manu O Ke Kai has now won all three Hui Wa‘a regattas to start the summer season, and has claimed victory by an average of 55.3 points.
Manu O Ke Kai established an early lead, and maintained a convincing 66-30-28 advantage over Ka Mamalahoe and Ka Moi through 27 races. During that span, Manu O Ke Kai won four of the first 10 races to move ahead quickly. Manu O Ke Kai then solidified its victory by winning a regatta-high 17 events, including nine of the final 13 races.
In the winning men’s freshman crew, which completed the 1-mile race in 8 minutes, 8.78 seconds and bested runner-up Lahui O Koolau by nearly 19 seconds, Maea was joined by Doug Osborn, Noah Souki, Tim Vierra, Christian Whittaker and Jason Bellefeuille. The winning team sprinted out to an early lead, made it to the half-mile turn first, and maintained a consistent stroke rate down the stretch to take gold.
“We felt a lot stronger in this race with the guys we had in there today, and that made a big difference,” Maea said. “This is my first race as a steersman here in Kailua, so I’m happy with the result. Now, we go back to the drawing board and continue training as we clean up the little mistakes.”
Added Souki: “We changed up our crew a bit, and we focused on breathing, staying in synch and flowing with the rhythm — that worked well today.”
‘Alapa Hoe claimed the AA Division (13-24 events) with 35 points, winning four races, and held off Ka Mamalahoe (33 points), which won the boys 14, 15, 16 and 18 races early on, and I Mua (22 points), last year’s champion in that tier.
Waikiki Yacht Club took home the A Division (1-12 events) title with 26 points, while Lokahi (20 points), Waikiki Beach Boys and Haleiwa Outrigger (19 points apiece) followed behind.
Paddlers enjoyed a light layer of cloud cover, flat ocean conditions and steady breezes as more than 1,000 competitors ranging in age from 12-and-under to 65-and-above represented Hui Wa‘a’s 19 member clubs in 42 races spanning a quarter mile to 1.5 miles.
Winning crews earned 5 points toward the team standings, while second-, third- and fourth-place finishers were awarded 3, 2 and 1 points, respectively. In addition to vying for championship medals in individual races, crews tallied points that will prove vital in qualifying for slots at the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship regatta slated for Aug. 4 at Keehi Lagoon. The top two crews from each Hui Wa‘a event are slated to earn automatic berths in the state competition based on cumulative point standings.
Hui Wa‘a returns to action on Saturday at Keehi Lagoon for the ‘Alapa Hoe Regatta. The Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association continues its season today with the Father’s Day Regatta at Nanakuli Beach Park.
