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Once Tahitian outrigger paddling powerhouse Shell Va‘a asserted its dominance from the early stages of the 67th Hawaiian Airlines Molokai Hoe through the finish buoys, it became clear to competing crews and spectators that it wasn’t a matter of if they would win, but by how wide of a margin.
Shell Va‘a turned in one of its most impressive performances in a remarkable string of success in the world championship race, and claimed its unprecedented 12th victory in 14 years.
The red, white and gold clad Tahitians made a statement in their canoe named “Lightning” to cross the finish line in 4 hours, 33 minutes and 36 seconds. Team OPT (4:46:14) from Tahiti finished second, close to 13 minutes behind their countrymates, while Red Bull Wa‘a (4:46:56) from Kona, Ka Lahui Kai (4:48:05) representing Outrigger Canoe Club and Team Maui Jim (4:56:37) representing Wailea Canoe Club from Maui rounded out the top five.
>> Photo Gallery: Crews cross channel in Molokai Hoe
“Last night, our coach told us that we needed to focus on catching all the waves, and we did our job,” said Shell Va‘a paddler Ta‘aroa Dubois. “We were ahead from when we started, and we tried to catch the record. Thank you to all the people from Tahiti who support us, and our families. It’s not easy for them.
“We train so hard in the morning and afternoon, on weekends. Next year we’ll be back, hopefully for No. 13.”
Dubois and veteran Shell Va‘a steersman Tauatua “David” Tepava were joined in the victorious canoe by Charles Teinauri, Damas Ami, Narai Atger, Sly Ly-Sao, Raihere “Isidore” Tevaearai, Ritchy Labbeyi and Iorama Teahu.
Team Manihi (4:59:55) from Tahiti claimed sixth place, while Team Oceania (5:00:00) representing Hui Nalu Canoe Club and Lanikai Canoe Club (5:03:38) notched top-10 finishes. Outrigger took home the junior (5:20:57) and koa canoe (5:24:32) division titles.
Mihere Va‘a (5:20:12) of Tahiti claimed the masters 40 division, Na Koa O Kona (5:43:03) secured the masters 50 crown, Lanikai (5:49:02) finished atop the masters 55 ranks, and Hawaiian Canoe Club (6:04:51) of Maui took home the masters 60 trophy.
“Today was fun, there was good surf in the channel, and I want to thank God and everyone who supported this team for making it all possible,” said Hiromana Flores, who was part of Red Bull Wa‘a’s crew after paddling for Shell Va‘a in most of its past victories. “There’s no secret to what Shell Va‘a does: You just have to train hard, that’s it.”
Ninety crews made the 41-mile journey from Molokai’s Hale O Lono Harbor to Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki on Sunday, including squads from Hawaii, California, Virginia, Washington, Australia, Canada and Tahiti. Favorable winds, manageable and surf-able waves and currents that ran concurrently with the race course made for ideal conditions as paddlers flirted with record paces throughout the morning and into the early afternoon.
Hunter Pflueger of the fourth-place Ka Lahui Kai, which began as a junior program and expanded into an elite series of crews funded by automobile purveyor Alan Pflueger, Hunter’s father, was pleased with his team’s effort.
“It was super fun, a lot of big smiles all the way — everyone had a really good time,” said Pflueger. “We pushed as hard as we could, but props to (Shell Va‘a), they deserve to be the champs because they worked for it. I can guarantee you that we’ll be back next year to vie for first.”
After claiming their eighth straight Molokai Hoe crown in 2013, some Shell paddlers vowed to chase the outrigger canoe paddling world championship “until we die,” and this year, wanted to “bring the fight.” The Shell Va‘a squad set the course record in 2011, finishing 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 ended in 2014 when Tahitian competitor EDT Va‘a claimed the Molokai-to-Oahu crown. After Shell Va‘a reclaimed the Molokai Hoe championship in 2015 and 2016, Red Bull Wa‘a emerged in 2017 to best the two-time defending champions by 31 seconds as the crew started a trend of blending paddlers from Hawaii and Tahiti.
Sticking with the trend, Shell Va‘a bounced back last year, and won an unprecedented 11th title in 13 tries by more than nine minutes ahead of runner-up Red Bull Wa‘a.
Since last year’s victory, Shell Va‘a retooled its crew with the latest wave of stronger, younger paddlers. The Tahitian Goliath also switched its paddling rate to a slower, longer power stroke throughout most of the race.
“We feel pretty stoked to represent Hawaii as a homegrown club from Maui,” said Kai Bartlett of Team Maui Jim, which was the first crew composed of Hawaii-based paddlers to finish. “We were surfing pretty well, and for crews like Shell that were ‘on’ all day, they were probably having a blast.
“What’s more impressive about Shell now is what they’ve done with their stroke. It’s a nice slow approach with a lot of power; if you aren’t together, you can’t paddle like that. It’s exciting to see that if you tone the stroke rate down and put it together, and that’s a model we can all strive for.”
Some of the top crews will now set their sights on the Hawaiki Nui Va‘a, a race held in Tahiti that begins on Oct. 30, spans three days and covers 80 miles without any crew changes.
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