LIHUE — The 55th annual Prince Kuhio long distance outrigger canoe race hosted by the Kauai Outrigger Association took place on Saturday, spanning the distance from Kalapaki Beach to the Salt Pond Beach Park.
Racing under what was described as moderate northeast winds and an accompanying swell, the 12-mile men’s race included divisions that included Male, Female, Female/Male, and Na Opio racing in different divisions.
“The races included teams visiting from Oahu, and a men’s team that travelled all the way from Santa Cruz, California,” said Eric Shewchuk, a regular contributor of outrigger canoe racing.
The Men’s race spanned a 12-mile open ocean course from Kalapaki to an area just short of the Kukuiula Small Boat Harbor that was captured by the Hui O Mana Ka Puuwai team tripping the finish clock in 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 44.2 seconds. The course, at one point, skimmed past Hoai where the Royal Order of Kamehameha was hosting the traditional Kuhio Day protocol in honor and remembrance of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi who was an outrigger canoe racing enthusiast.
“I don’t think we were the faster crew, we just surfed better,” said Caleb Pierce of the winning team. “They stayed out, we stayed in, and we beat them to the point.”
Following the initial 12-mile course, the second portion of the race covered approximately nine miles that included Women, Mixed and Na Opio teams running from the Kukuiula Small Boat Harbor to the reef at the Salt Pond Beach Park.
The fastest team traversing that stretch, according to scoring on Webscorer, was a group of na opio paddling the Keaupuni canoe for the Kukuiula Outrigger Club. The young paddlers stopped the clocks at 1:00.26, more than eight minutes ahead of the second place team, the 85B Hihimanu TaiChi Traditional Mixed Na Opio who clocked 1:08:50.9.
The 85Q Kaiola Unlimited Mixed 40s Buddy tripped the clocks at 1:00:29.9 for the Women, Mixed, Na Opio Unlimited division.
Full results can be found on Webscorer.com.
