Outrigger had a scoring explosion during the Fourth of July’s historic Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta at Waikiki Beach.

Outrigger won four races, had nine second-place and 10 third-place finishes, and tallied a season-high 161 points to finish second in the AAA Division on Thursday in the oldest annual outrigger canoe race in the world, starting in 1943.

It is also the only wave race on the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association schedule. The canoes started at the shoreline, headed out to sea and then returned, hoping to catch and ride the momentum of a wave. There also were open steersman for each event on Thursday.

“You get out there and all the veteran steersman are searching for a wave,” said Lanikai coach Scott Freitas, who was the steersman in five races. “You get on the wave, you just have to sustain the speed, stay on it. A lot of times, everybody says it’s luck, but sometimes you create your own luck. Course knowledge is the key.”

Outrigger, which hosted the event, averaged 105.5 points over the first four OHCRA events. The club finished third once, fourth once and fifth twice.

“We’re stoked with everything. We came out with a lot of top-3 finishes, which is awesome,” Outrigger coach George Wilson said. “We put a lot of effort into this race for sure.”

Outrigger won the girls 14, women novice B, men novice B and women novice A races on Thursday.

“Our novices are awesome,” Wilson said. “A lot to choose from and a lot of young talent there.”

Lanikai scored 211 points to claim AAA, which is for clubs that enter 31-48 events. Hui Nalu placed third with 121. Points are awarded on a 7-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Ian Eveleth paddled on Outrigger’s men novice B crew, which won its quarter-mile race in 1:29:08.

“It was amazing paddling in the surf,” he said. “It’s just a super fun time getting to play with a little different water. It adds a whole new aspect to paddling, a fun aspect that you don’t really get throughout the season.”

Eveleth said he decided to give paddling a try for the first time while back over summer break. When the Punahou graduate returns to Oregon State he plans to walk on to the football team as a quarterback.

Leeward Kai won the AA Division (16-30 events) with a season-high 94 points. Waikiki Surf Club was second with 46.

Lanikai and Leeward Kai have won their respective divisions at each regatta this season.

Leeward Kai won the girls 12, mixed 12, boys 14, men sophomore and mixed masters 40 races on Thursday.

“It was a full club effort. I couldn’t be prouder of all my steersmen,” Leeward Kai coach Alfred Van Gieson. “In the past, we only had a couple of steersmen able to handle the surf and handle the wave, but now we have a good amount of them where we can share the load”

The club’s previous high in points was 82, which came at the Father’s Day Regatta on June 16.

Healani claimed the A Division (15 or fewer events) with 53 points. Kai Oni was second with 25 and Hui Lanakila placed third with 23. Healani competed in AA in the previous regattas.

Lanikai entered the day with eight undefeated crews. The number was reduced to six after Leeward Kai claimed the boys 14 race and Hui Lanakila won the men novice A race.

Hui Lanakila’s men novice A crew completed the half-mile race in 3:33:06 with Kai Oni, Hui Nalu and Lanikai finishing behind within 1.83 seconds.

“We practiced hard and we’ve been training together and working toward finishing,” Hui Lanakila’s Haig Roubian said. “We put our heads down, kept our focus in the boat and ended up coming out with the victory. It was a battle. It was a close one.”

Waimanalo was the only other club with an undefeated crew entering Thursday, but its men master 70 team finished fifth. Hui Nalu won the half-mile race in 4:02:00, more than 11 seconds ahead of second-place Outrigger.

“The race was great. It was the first time I’ve done the Fourth of July race,” Hui Nalu’s Rick Beall said. “It’s very unexpected. We had a fantastic steersman (Nalu Kukea). He told us when to catch every little bump and piece of surf and take advantage of it. Everybody worked together and it was smooth the whole way.”

Through 21 of 45 scoring events, Lanikai led with 80 points, with Outrigger just behind with 77.

Lanikai was able to gain separation over the next five events with victories in the men freshman and women sophomore races, a second-place finish in the men sophomore event, and victories in the women junior and men junior races.

Lanikai then put things away by winning eight of the 13 masters races. The club won 20 total events.

“Early on in the day, the kids get it going. At the end of the day, we have plenty left in the tank. That’s where the masters come in,” Freitas said. “We have a lot of guys who have paddled together since the ’90s who are now 50, 55, 60 (years old), so we have a lot of good masters paddlers.”

The next OHCRA event will be the John D. Kaupiko Regatta on July 14 at Kaneohe Marine Corp Base.