Team Olukai took a second and first finish in the first two races of the Hawai‘i Sailing Canoe Association series to hold the standings lead. Comprised of Captain Marvin Otsuji, the team comprised of Butch Keahiolalo, Jason Dameron, Scott Wagner,
Team Olukai took a second and first finish in the first two races of the Hawai‘i Sailing Canoe Association series to hold the standings lead.
Comprised of Captain Marvin Otsuji, the team comprised of Butch Keahiolalo, Jason Dameron, Scott Wagner, Leroy Jumper and Chris Piko gave up its lead at the 3.5-hour mark to Nalu Koa in the opening race.
Racing from the Keokea Beach Park on the Big Island to Hana, Maui, a distance of 39 miles, Nalu Koa with Capt. Ted Barrett of Maui took the inside line to cross the finish line just five minutes ahead of Team Olukai.
“The unusually light southeast winds proved to be a grueling sail across the Alenuehaha Channel,” Otsuji said in an email. “With a slight change in wind and current, the Olukai team gave up the lead at the 3.5-hour mark. The battle for first place continued until the entrance of Hana Bay. The Nalu Koa team from Maui took an inside line and crossed the finish line ahead of Olukai. The conditions were almost backward so what was a good line to navigate in the past was thrown out the door. The risk of splitting off from the group paid off for Team Nalu Koa.”
Nalu Koa made the trip in 3:53 followed by Team Olukai at 3:58 and White Orchid Wedding with Capt. Ray Glauser at 3:59. Kamali‘i o ke Kai with Capt. Mike Kinkaid of O‘ahu settled at 4:01 followed by Maui Jim and Capt. Donny Jones, a Kaua‘i boy, landing at 4:02. Kamakakoa rounded out the field at 4:19.
The following day, the six-boat field made the run from Hana to Kahului on Maui in light and variable southeast winds and calm seas.
“The second race of the series, the 42-mile Hana to Kahului was even more challenging in the light 5 to 10 mile an hour easterlies,” Otsuji said. “Team Olukai, Maui Jim, Tui Tonga, and Kona Brewery’s Kamakakoa exchanged lead positions for 35 miles of the course.”
The experience of the Team Olukai crew was the difference as the Kaua‘i team pulled ashore on a 4:31 paddle, just three minutes ahead of Kamakakoa with Capt. Kalai Miller of O‘ahu, and four minutes ahead of Maui Jim with Capt. Jones. Nalu Koa with Capt. Barrett was five minutes off the pace with Team Wow headed by Capt. Ray Glauser of Maui getting fifth on a 4:37 paddle. Kamali‘i o ke Kai rounded out the field on a 4:57 run.
“The Team Olukai crew demonstrated the years of experience was too much to overcome by the other canoes,” Otsuji said. “There were only five minutes separating the first five boats. At times, the race was so close, teams were talking to each other.”
Teams take to the water on May 31 in a Kahului to Ka‘anapali run. The field continues with the Ka‘anapali Beach Rides on June 1 followed by the Ka‘anapali to Moloka‘i run on June 2.
The Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association series start on the Big Island in April and finish on Kaua‘i in September with stops on Maui, Moloka‘i, and O‘ahu.
The Kaua‘i leg of the series takes place on Aug. 17 with Na Holokai, the Haleiwa to Kaua‘i race. The series concludes with the Kaua‘i Southern Coast race on Sept. 7.
Visit www.hsca.info for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
