What a difference a week makes. Going back to the exact same pier for the second weekend gave everyone a chance to fix what went wrong the first time around, and the crews absolutely nailed it. The club was firing on all cylinders, bringing home way more points and more than doubling the number of canoes finishing in the top three.
Sure, there were some sketchy DQ calls and roster fines to deal with—but that just is what it is.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the water:
- Nailed the Turns: The first week was rough for one of the veteran crews when a mistake at the turning flag forced them to reverse to avoid a DQ. The second week? They hit the turn perfectly, didn’t waste a single second, and cruised straight onto the podium.
- Finding the Groove: Across the active adult divisions, you could tell the paddlers were really starting to click. Several crews looked way more in sync, cutting a minute or two off their times and pushing themselves much higher up the leaderboard.
- Novices Shaking Off the Jitters: The newer paddlers made some of the biggest progress. After getting that first race out of the way, every single novice crew came back the second week with more confidence, figured out their timing, and placed higher or faster than the week before. Even the Women’s Novice A crew, who dropped one spot on paper because the competition got tougher, actually shaved over six seconds off their time.
Roster
The only real challenge right now isn’t how we are paddling—it’s just a headcount game. Between the youth shortages causing a few scratches and completely missing the Women’s 50 to 60, Mix 55 and crewing up the Men’s 50 bracket, we are leaving a lot of uncontested points on the table.
That said, the hustle was awesome to see—especially with the Men’s 55+ guys stepping up and racing up into the 50s division just to get a canoe out there and secure points for the club. Hopefully with graduations out of the way we can consistently fill those brackets, and return to an absolute powerhouse as the times are making big improvements.
LD in Hilo
Next week we are staying right here on home turf for the Hilo long-distance race. That distance work at home is exactly what helps crews get even more dialed in.
Live Stream
We recorded about 10 hours of live stream and added chapters so you can jump to events quicker. Just open in YouTube and click MORE on the description to see the links to the event timestamps.