Having successfully completed its arduous rebuilding phase earlier this decade, Lanikai Canoe Club is now mastering the art of defending its title as the top team amongst the talent-laden Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association ranks.

Lanikai captured its third consecutive OHCRA championship on Sunday in the calm waters of Keehi Lagoon amid steady breezes under clear skies. Lanikai completed the back-to-back-to-back OHCRA championship streak by compiling 194 points on a regatta-high 14 victories to take home the AAA division (31 or more crews) title, and completed an undefeated season by winning all six regattas. Outrigger (153 points), Hui Nalu (149 points) and Kailua (137 points) rounded out the large division.

Lanikai got off to a strong start and established early momentum with victories in five of the day’s first 15 events. However, through 21 races, Lanikai held a slim 87-85 lead over Outrigger, which won eight of the first 20 races to keep the pressure on its green-and-white-clad rival.

Lanikai would then win four of the next seven races to establish a manageable lead that it would not relinquish.

The senior women’s crew from Lanikai showed it is peaking at the right time, completing the 11⁄2-mile race composed of six 1⁄4 -mile segments with five turns in a brisk 13 minutes, 2.29 seconds. The crew of Mele Coelho-Beter, Carolyn Seto-Mook, Shien-Lu Stokesbary, Monica Esquivel, Laura Ediger and Joey Foti held off Hui Lanakila (13:21.02), Keahiakahoe (13:27.57), Outrigger (13:32.58) and Hui Nalu (13:37.31).

“It takes our whole crew to get us around those flags, and we really tried to focus on each of our turns and each of the quarter-miles by sticking together without panicking,” said Foti, the crew’s steerswoman. “This is a pretty big win for us, and being able to race against some of the best Oahu clubs today, it’s pretty amazing that we came in first, and we’re really happy. Outrigger is always a tough competitor, and Hui Lanakila was out there pushing us as well.”

In the ensuing race, Lanikai’s senior men added to their impressive undefeated streak spanning three seasons, winning the 1 1/2-mile marquee event for the 18th consecutive time in OHCRA competition. The victorious crew of Nick Foti, Manny Kulukulualani, Tiloi Alapa, Igor Sobreira, Jack Roney and Kekoa Bruhn tamed the course in a blistering 11 minutes, 26.10 seconds and bested Hui Nalu (11:42.75) and Outrigger (11:45.54).

“We’re always working throughout the year, in and out of season, and this crew has had different people come through and we’ve rotated mainstays with new additions, and everyone’s committed and love(s) what we do,” said Kulukulualani, who steered the crew. “With these short sprints, you can’t miss a beat. These guys don’t miss a stroke, because if you do, you lose a second here and there, and that could cost you the race.”

In the men’s senior competition, Lanikai avoided disaster as Kulukulualani broke his steering paddle midway through the race, but recovered quickly by grabbing his back-up blade held between his feet, and continued on without slowing down the crew.

“We’re pretty good at executing on race day, and we gained momentum on each turn. I snapped my blade, so I’m glad I brought that extra paddle,” said Kulukulualani.

Lanikai is the latest in a string of large OHCRA clubs to win multiple championships in succession. Kailua won four consecutive organization championships from 2009-2012, and Hui Nalu followed suit with a three-peat that spanned from 2013-15. After the championship regatta was canceled in 2016 due to the hazardous water conditions caused by runoff from Tropical Storm Darby, Lanikai reclaimed gold in 2017, 2018 and again Sunday.

“Our whole family paddles, and this club is like a big family, so it’s an honor to win the championship. It’s a team effort, and we all worked hard to get here,” said Foti.

Additional crews that capped undefeated seasons on Sunday were: Waimanalo’s mixed 12; Waikiki Surf Club’s mixed novice B; Kailua’s women’s 50; and Lanikai’s women’s novice B, girls’ 15, girls’ 16 and men’s 55 crews.

Keahiakahoe (90 points) claimed the AA division (16-30 crews) ahead of Healani (52 points) and New Hope (23 points), while Hui Lanakila (49 points) took home the A division (1-15 crews) hardware ahead of Waikiki Surf Club (30 points) and Waimanalo (27 points).

Nearly 3,000 competitors ranging in age from 12-and-under to 70-and-above represented OHCRA’s 17 member clubs in 45 races spanning a 1⁄4 mile to 11⁄2 mile.

Winning crews earned seven points toward the team standings, while second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishers were awarded 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points.

In addition to vying for individual race wins, crews earned their final cumulative points necessary to qualify for the HCRA State Championship regatta scheduled for Aug. 3 at Hanalei Bay, Kauai. The top four crews from each OHCRA event earned automatic berths in the state competition based on points collected over six regular-season regattas.

Early in the regatta, hundreds of paddlers, coaches, officials and supporters gathered in tribute to Mauna Kea, and the kia‘i (guardians) and advocates making strides to protect the site, which is revered as sacred in the Native Hawaiian culture. OHCRA race director Luana Froiseth explained that the ceremony was an important show of support because the organization “Is one of just a few, along with the HCRA, that races exclusively with koa canoes, and that important koa wood comes from the precious forests like those on Mauna Kea.”

OHCRA clubs will now set their sights on the state regatta, and will compete against clubs from across the Islands, including the dynastic Hawaiian Canoe Club from Maui. Hawaiian had its run of five consecutive state titles snapped by Lanikai last year, while the juggernaut has claimed 15 state crowns in the last 19 years.

Lanikai notched the state championship in the four instances in which Hawaiian did not come out on top, and in 2012, shared the state crown with Kailua.

Hui Nalu and Outrigger will not participate in the state championships out of respect and concern for the North Kauai communities recovering from the historic floods that devastated the area last year, and a landslide earlier this year that delayed efforts to reopen Kuhio Highway – the thoroughfare that connects North Shore communities on the island.

According to OHCRA officials, Kailua, Keahiakahoe, Lanikai, Leeward Kai and Waikiki Surf Club have committed to participate in the state race. Additional OHCRA clubs have until the lanes are drawn on Saturday to make a final decision as to whether they will participate or not. According to Na ‘Ohana O Na Hui Wa‘a, which saw Manu O Ke Kai claim its third consecutive title on Saturday, all of its clubs that qualified crews for the state championships plan on participating.