Team Bradley, the queen of long distance canoe paddling, claimed another “crown jewel.”

Team Bradley won its fifth consecutive Na Wahine O Ke Kai and 13th overall in calm conditions Sunday with its previous race victory coming in 2019.

“In my opinion, this is the crown jewel of outrigger canoe paddling and racing. It’s a legendary race, it’s a historical race and it’s very significant for Hawaiian culture,” Team Bradley’s Lauren Spalding said. “We’re so lucky and privileged to be able to participate in this race with so many women.”

Team Bradley finished the 41-mile race across the Kaiwi Channel, which started at Hale O Lono Harbor, Molokai, and ended at Duke’s Beach, Hilton Hawaiian Village, in 5 hours, 44 minutes, 52 seconds. Ka Lahui Kai placed second in 5:50:01 and Hawaiian was third in 6:11.07.

“I feel like we’ve been waiting for this, and the anticipation makes it even better,” Team Bradley’s Malia Mizuno said. “Culturally significant, of course, not only for the race, but for the women to get out there and do their thing and prove what they’ve got. I’m just happy to be here and out on the water with these girls.”

The Na Wahine O Ke Kai and the Molokai Hoe were canceled from 2020-22 because of COVID and last year’s race was called off following the Lahaina wildfire, which killed 102 people in early August 2023.

“We’ve been training, waiting,” Team Bradley’s Lori Nakamura said. “Unfortunately, circumstance, COVID and all that happened, but we’re just thankful to be able to spend a day in the Kaiwi together.”

Team Bradley was greeted by chanting, conch shells blowing and cheering fans along the beach. The crew members dropped their paddles and held hands immediately after crossing the finish line. Each team had six paddlers in the canoe with replacements available on escort boats.

“Coming in and finishing the race was a sense of joy and relief. We don’t stop pushing until we cross that finish line,” Nakamura said. “ Then hearing the cheers and stuff was such an awesome, enlightening feeling.”

Team Bradley also won the event from 2005-10, 2012 and 2013, and 2016-19.

Spalding was a part of 12 of the 13 winning crews, while Mizuno was paddling with Team Bradley for the first time.

“It’s amazing. In and out of the boat, the best people I know,” Mizuno said. “It’s kind of an honor and privilege to paddle with them and learn from them, and be friends with them.”

The other Team Bradley members were Kealani Bartlett, Monica Esquivel, Kristin Foster, Alana Goo-Fraizer, Ka‘uluponookaleihua Lu‘uwai, Coral Mariano and Andrea Moller.

Team Bradley and Ka Lahui Kai were battling for the lead at the beginning of the race until the eventual winner pulled away.

“The race was awesome. We had an amazing start. We were in front of Bradley,” said Ka Lahui Kai paddler Coral Darbishire, who is from Queensland, Australia. “They probably caught us about an hour in, then we battled for a fair bit. Eventually they made a move and we just couldn’t match them.”

Ka Lahui Kai’s Iloha Eychenne, of Huahini, Tahiti, made the crossing for the first time.

“It was an amazing experience. I was expecting something very hard and it was,” she said. “I’m so glad to make the start and it was like a dream for me because you always hear about this race when you’re a young paddler. Now to be on the water in between the two islands and you feel there is something strong on the water and you have to fight yourself.”

Outrigger, the winner of the koa division, beat runner-up Lanikai by over 23 minutes and finished ninth overall in 6:23:05.

“We had a really good start and we were pacing really well from the beginning,” Outrigger’s Kaya McTigue said. “A good amount of us got really fatigued in the first three hours, but we all really did a great job of pulling it together. We built strength again in that middle sector and we finished strong.”

Outrigger paddled in “Leilani,” which has been in every Na Wahine O Ke Kai since its inaugural race in 1979.

“Leilani is a boat that has had some of the most incredible paddlers of all-time paddle in it,” McTigue said. “We’re just grateful to be able to race in it in the first place and to take home the win is a huge deal. We’re all really proud.”

For the first time, prize money was awarded to the top finishers in koa canoes, courtesy of the Hawaiian Native Corporation. Outrigger received $5,000 with teams Nos. 2-4 earning between $2,000 to $3,000, according to Luana Froiseth, the race director of the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association, which oversees the Na Wahine O Ke Kai and the Molokai Hoe.

Other division winners were Ka Lahui Kai (juniors, 13th overall, 6:41:30), Aussie Aunties (master 50, 19th, 6:48:55), Kai Opua (master 40, 29th, 7:03:40), Hawaiian Kanaktion (master 55, 35th, 7:20:28) and New Hope (master 65, 45th, 8:02:33).

The first non-Hawaii crew to cross was New Zealand’s Te Khaki Waka, which came in seventh overall in 6:22:02.

“We had a really strong finish in the last 5K,” crew member Jessica McDuff said. “We managed to pass a couple of teams, which we were surprised by. We had a tough time at the start.”

The Molokai Hoe, which will follow the same race course, is set for Oct. 13. It also is considered the world championship for outrigger canoe paddling.