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Crews eye states as MCHCA finishes season

Hawaiian wraps up 36th straight MCHCA title, secures 30 lanes

By Dakota Grossman 5 min read

LAHAINA -- Hawaiian Canoe Club's Lili Kahaloa is nervous but excited for the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association state championship regatta coming up in two weeks.

But, for now, Kahaloa was also enjoying the championship regatta of the Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association, the Naleieha Regatta, on Saturday at Hanakao'o (Canoe) Beach Park, where she steered crewmates Nora Carey, Mahina Cosare, Malie Kamai, Hulali Reyes and Ke'alohi Sepulveda to a win in the girls 12A division in 2 minutes, 15.05 seconds.

"It went pretty good, but since our canoe club is first seed at states, we were on the inside lane, so the waves were just hitting us on the way back in and everything, but other than that, it was really fun," Kahaloa said. "We're happy we're going (to states), but it's just really nerve wracking racing on a different island with different boats and everything."

After only getting one year of MCHCA paddling before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the events for two years, the Kamehameha Schools Maui student said that this season back "was awesome" as well as being able to improve each week with her friends as they prepare for the state regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon in Honolulu on Aug. 6.

"Most of them are my school friends so, like, it's not like I didn't know them before, so it was just really cool to get to paddle with people I know," Kahaloa said.

In their koa canoes, HCC's boys 16 crew of Ka'onohi Casco, Cody Frampton, Damon Josue, Sig Konohia, Max Moquin and Edward Oliveira finished the season undefeated Saturday.

Hawaiian Canoe Club has solidified 30 lanes for the state championship, which is the most crews the club has qualified -- before buying lanes -- in a long time, said keiki coach Paul Lu'uwai.

"We've never qualified 30 crews outright by ourselves in a long time," he said. "We've made like 25, 27 before going to states. ... We're going to buy anything we can. You have to be third place to buy, so we have about eight crews that are in third place."

Weighing several factors like placement, technique, fitness and accountability, Lu'uwai said he's already been selecting lineups for all the state crews, which has been a "heart-wrenching" process knowing that some kids won't get to paddle.

The biggest competitor for HCC is Oahu's Lanikai Canoe Club, whose strength is in the adult crews while Hawaiian's keiki crews are usually dominant. Lanikai has won the last two HCRA titles, in 2018 and 2019, after Hawaiian had won the previous five in a row.

Lu'uwai said that they will have to be ahead by about 120 points after the first half of the regatta in order to win.

"It's possible. My kids could have an outstanding day, but you never know until you do it," he said. "I'm excited, but I'm reserved because I don't want to botch us. ... We are stronger than we were in 2019."

Unlike past regattas that were held at Kahului Harbor, the conditions in West Maui were a lot less windy and more ideal for hitting faster times.

"Today's a day to see how fast you really are in calm waters. Our (personal record) time was the first regatta, here, eight weeks ago, and ever since then, it's been monsoon winds," Lu'uwai said. "It's nice weather across the state so everyone is going to have good times, so it's really vital for my kids to understand that today's a big day. Let's see where we really rank."

Hawaiian capped off its 36th straight MCHCA overall title with 176 points at the Naleieha Regatta. Kihei Canoe Club was second with 89 points and Lae'ula O Kai was third with 70.

Regatta host Kahana Canoe Club finished with six points.

"It's been pretty awesome. We are definitely a smaller club now, which we haven't been for years, so this is a new thing for us, so we're just taking things back to the basics -- ohana and having fun -- and we're just trying to represent the best we can with who we have," said first-year coach and 10-year paddler Katie Austin. "We want to honor what came before us, but we need to rebuild for the future, and our keiki program is definitely looking to put all of our energy into it because they are our future."

KCC's members and coaches John Kuhia, Jeff Higgs, Jamie Kranberg, Mamo Hussey, Shaina Auld, George Vierra and president John Kuia have been an integral part of keeping the program afloat.

"I was just taught some beautiful things about the culture and everything when I first started, so I just want to make sure we keep that going," Austin said.

Kahana, which lost some members from the roster over the pandemic, has participated in an average of six races each week, doing their best to fill canoes with the members they have, but sometimes it isn't enough.

Still, the Naleieha Regatta has always signified community and family because that's what KCC "is all about," said Vierra, the club's keiki coach.

"It's a rebuilding year. I only got, like, four crews in the kids, so we are making the most of it," he said. "All of them are beginners. ... They are loving it. They don't want it to stop. They want to have it all year, actually."

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

MCHCA NALEIEHA REGATTA

Saturday's Results

At Hankao'o (Canoe) Beach Park

Hawaiian 176, Kihei 89, Lae'ula O Kai 70, Na Kai Ewalu 58, Napili 54, Wailea 39, Lahaina 25, Kahana 6.

SEASON STANDINGS

Through 7 of 7 events

Hawaiian 1,208, Kihei 663, Lae'ula O Kai 460, Na Kai Ewalu 411, Napili 388, Wailea 250, Lahaina 171, Kahana 26.

Starting at /week.