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Prior to relocating to San Antonio on Saturday, U.S. Air Force service member Claude O’Hara set out to make one more lasting memory of his time in Hawaii at the festive Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta on Independence Day.
Mission accomplished.
In continuing the tradition of what was originally known as the “Water Carnival” in the 1940s, outrigger canoe paddlers from the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association participated in the 77th edition of the Macfarlane Regatta, a Fourth of July custom held Thursday at a packed Waikiki Beach.
The day’s first exhibition event featured members of the armed forces competing in the Macfarlane Invitational Military Race. The quarter-mile sprint featured seven canoes, and the squad manned by O’Hara and his teammates from the Air Force won the race by a mere three-tenths of a second, although every participant received a gold medal in appreciation of their service to the country.
Joining O’Hara on the victorious Air Force team were Jeff Aure, Edwin Diaz, Mike Addington and Ben Luna along with steersman Wink Arnott from New Hope Canoe Club and coach Rob Lee.
“It was so nice to paddle with my teammates one more time and get this win before I move,” said O’Hara. “Being in the Air Force and honoring Independence Day means that I have brothers and sisters deployed, and being here in Hawaii is much more special because of the sacrifices they make so we can celebrate today.”
The winning squad hoisted the perpetual USS Arizona Award, which is built with a steel beam from the historic battleship that rests in Pearl Harbor. The hefty trophy was presented at a ceremony for competitors and their families in the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort’s Voyager 47 Club Lounge, which is built on the spot on which Outrigger Canoe Club was founded in 1908.
“We are here this day celebrating the Fourth of July because you make it possible — you are all winners,” said Outrigger historian Kawika Grant.
Outrigger navigated the unpredictable waters efficiently and notched a second consecutive overall victory at the Macfarlane Regatta. OHCRA’s traditional Fourth of July event was held in the waters fronting the iconic Moana Surfrider, Outrigger Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian resorts as an estimated 15,000-plus participants and spectators looked on from the beach and surrounding hotel balconies.
The event is the longest continually run outrigger canoe paddling event in the world since first being held in 1943, and according to Outrigger Canoe Club records, it was the 109th Fourth of July regatta run in Waikiki. Outrigger and Lanikai have combined to win the last 26 Macfarlane Regattas, with Lanikai maintaining the edge with 15 victories in that span.
The perpetual Walter Macfarlane Memorial Trophy and Senior Women’s Bowl were awarded to the victorious crews from Lanikai and Outrigger in the men’s and women’s 1-mile senior races, which were shortened by a half-mile apiece. Both winning crews were presented with the trophies in a post-race ceremony fronting Duke’s, which now stands in the area formerly occupied by the Outrigger Canoe Club’s original headquarters. Following tradition, winning crew members swigged champagne from the cups topping both trophies.
“This race is all about being lucky and good, and hoping to do both at the same time, so I’m glad it worked out for us today,” said Lanikai steersman Karel Tresnak Jr., who kept the victorious senior men on track while navigating large swells. “We’ve been battling with (Outrigger) all year, and it’s always nice drinking champagne after a win like this.”
Tresnak was joined in the canoe by Tiloi Alapa, Matt Crowley, Jack Roney, Igor Sobreira and Manny Kulukulualani. Lanikai bested Outrigger in the highly anticipated matchup by nearly nine seconds, and posted a winning mark of 7 minutes, 16.85 seconds.
Outrigger claimed the AAA Division (31-45 crews entered) with 209 points and won the duel with Lanikai (178 points), Hui Nalu (119 points) and Kailua (113 points) in the large division.
Keahiakahoe (75 points) held off Healani (55 points), Leeward Kai (52 points) and New Hope (50 points) to claim the AA Division (14-26 crews entered), while Hui Lanakila (37 points) took the A Division (1-13 crews entered) over Waikiki Surf Club (28 points) and Waimanalo (12 points).
The Macfarlane Regatta had no bearing on the organization’s cumulative point standings that determine state championship berths. However, it remains a favorite for paddlers, as the course is set up perpendicular to the shore, allowing crews to catch ocean bumps as they race toward the finish line. Races were often won and lost based on catching the right wave at the right time, and many crews used the open-steersman exemption, which allows an experienced steersperson to paddle in as many races as necessary to help keep paddlers and canoes safe.
The 2- to 4-foot surf with occasional larger sets made for a bumpy race course as teams attempted to navigate the waves and finish races while avoiding the dreaded huli – the flipping of a canoe. In the day’s first race, the girls 12 event, a paddler from Waimanalo Canoe Club suffered a broken arm during a collision on the course.
She was tended to by OHCRA’s ocean safety team as well as pediatricians from neighboring canoe clubs until the paddler was taken to a nearby clinic for x-rays and eventually to a hospital.
Following the injury, OHCRA officials canceled the ensuing open keiki event amid the potentially treacherous conditions. Multiple races were shortened throughout the day in an effort to protect paddlers and allow the regatta to finish prior to sunset.
Throughout the day, paddlers from multiple clubs reported suffering bruised ribs — a byproduct of bouncing around in the unforgiving fiberglass canoes, which were routinely tossed by the surf.
OHCRA clubs return to action July 14 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii for the annual John D. Kaupiko Regatta. The Na ‘Ohana O Na Hui Wa‘a organization will hold its Na Keiki O Ka Mo‘i Regatta on Saturday at Ma‘ili Beach.
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