The rumors of a canceled regatta and unofficial status proved to be false. At 8am on 6/11 Saturday HCRA marked the start of the 2nd official points regatta. Partly overcast skies kept the Kailua-Kona temperatures on the pier down and the swell was low. A slight northerly breeze and boat wakes generated some chop with a north flowing current that made the far turn slow and challenging. Most crews ran about 15-20 seconds slower per half mile than the previous regatta.
Waimāpuna ready to race
About 11 clubs came out to race with 3 of them in our Division A group. Kai Opua had the most crews paddling with 37 entries with an amazing 76% of them making a podium, which is a big improvement from previous regattas for them giving them 150 points for 1st.
Kawaihae managed to fill 32 races with a 69% podium rate for their crews which was a 5 point decrease from their last regatta. But this was enough to push them into 2nd place.
Keaukaha raced 33 races with about a 64% podium rate and that’s 4 points higher than previous regattas. The final race tally put us only 3 points behind Kawaihae for 3rd.
One of the surprise performers was Hui Wa’a O Waiakea who only raced 5 races but pulled off second places for 4 of them giving them an 80% podium rate.
We were short on paddlers and several had to do back to back races. Some even just stayed in the boat to go one more time. And a lot of crews were paddling together for the first time. Even with all that we collected 10 golds (more than any other club), 4 Silvers and 7 Bronze medals.
Next weekend we bring the action back to Hilo for Kailana’s Regatta which will be a good warm up for the weekend of 6/25: The Keaukaha Regatta!
Side Note to OC1 Stall Holders
Please turn the hoses off at the spigot. We had a hose burst and leak a significant amount of water last week.
Now that we’ve had our first regatta, it might be a good time to discuss the mechanics. Winning a regatta by points is a fine balance between participation and placing. The points system is broken up into divisions which are based on how many races your club enters. This helps smaller clubs compete with similar sized clubs.
For example if a club enters 23 or less events, they go into Division B. Larger clubs entering more than 23 events go into Division A. Our club is a little in between and we try to run as many races in Division A as possible. This also allows the best chance for all our members to get an opportunity to paddle. Another complexity is how points are awarded which is also based on participation.
Points
One point is awarded per canoe in an event and an extra 1 point for first place. So before the race starts each canoe gets 1 point. If they get disqualified (DQ), they lose this point. If they come in last, they keep their 1 point. If they beat 1 boat (2nd to last) they get an additional point. So you get a point for every boat you manage to beat to the finish. Let’s say there’s 10 boats. First place would get 1 + 9 + 1 (11), second place 1 + 8 (9), all the way to last palace which is 1 + 0 (1).
If you don’t have enough paddlers for the event, then you have to Scratch. You get 0 points for a scratch, and your point does not get added to any of the other canoes. It’s like you never entered that race.
Classes
Naturally there’s some limitations that make crew selections difficult. There’s experience classes (Novice B, Novice A) and age classes (open, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70). Then each paddler is limited to 2 races per day (1 race per day at the State Championships).
This limits how many times each paddler can race. This is why sometimes we move paddlers down a class to help fill canoes. For example, say we don’t have enough 55 paddlers so if we have extra 60’s paddlers who are only doing 1 other event, we can move them down into 55 to help fill the canoe for that race.
Putting it Together
The challenge of course is placing crews in to the highest possible position (most points) AND racing races with the most canoes (higher points scored). Ideally all the clubs would run all the races, but it’s just not possible.
This points system can have some unexpected results if you look a the raw numbers. This last regatta shows how. Our club tied for total number 1st places and we had many 2nd and 3rds, however we got last in Division A. It seems counter intuitive, but in the races where we dominated, there were less entries, so we got less points. Part of this is due to this being the first regatta so clubs are still getting up to speed (like the problems we had getting everyone’s paperwork approved causing crews to be ineligible to race). In terms of margins, though we were not far behind the other clubs.
This table nicely summarizes our performance against other clubs disregarding the number of canoes in each race (total points).
Race Totals May 21, 2022
The yellow highlights are the top number in each column. We entered 40 events, scratched 10, DQ’d in 3 making the number raced 30 (40 – 10 scratched). You’ll see our club was on the podium 60% of the time, which was only beaten by Puna and Laka. Despite having such good performances from us and others, the factor of collecting points meant Kawaihae at 57.1% won Division A, and Keauhou at 33% won division B.
Next Weekend
This is an amazing start to our season with great results, even if the points didn’t work out for us. This coming weekend should see more of our crews paddling and as we settle into the blend together we should see some quicker speeds.
Let’s get ’em! Kahi! Lua! Kolu! Keaukaha!
Also check out our new events calendar which you can sync up with your electronic calendars too. Also you can RSVP for regattas if you can make it or let us know if you can’t go.
Round 2 of jersey orders is closing soon! Get them now. The sizes run just a little on the large size.
E kokua i nā keiki – Help the kids get to World Sprints in London
12 kids have qualified to compete in the Olympics of paddling: IVF World Sprints. After a lot of training and qualifications on Oahu, this group is going to London to represent. You can help support them by giving to their Go Fund Me campaign and follow their updates there:
The first set of jerseys are being made right now and should be here before the May 14th race.
Pre-Order Round 2 of jerseys are now open for ordering if you missed out on round 1. These orders probably won’t be filled until June, but it’s the best we can do. Get your orders in NOW if you want one. If there are too few orders we might not meet the minimum.
The Keaukaha six man season is OPEN — SPREAD THE WORD! Login do the paperwork, pay the fee and let’s paddle. There is a new Covid Waiver that was just released today, so everyone needs to login and sign it.
Open Men – MWF 430p, long practice Sat or Sun mornings, T, Th OC1 (Jose, Kama, Tyler)
40/50 Men – M, Th 4:30p (OC1 weekends) (Grant Kaaua)
Novice B Women/Makule Women T, Th 4:30 and Saturday 9a (Eric Hagiwara)
Novice Men A/B – T, Th 5p (Keahi Warfield)
Makule Men – T, Th 4:30p (Jeff Clemenson, Warren, David Lipp)
Menehune 7-10 F 3-4p (Keahi)
Ages 11-14 M, W 3-5p (Keahi)
Ages 15-18 T, Th 3-5p (Keahi)
Don’t forget to pre-order your jersey. It’s separate from the club fees and we are looking into other styles so we can change your order later if another style is available.
We have a local vendor lined up for the 2022 Jerseys. They will be similar to the 2020 jersey but closer to our club colors.
PRE-ORDER BEFORE APRIL 1
If you have an account on the club site, you can login then go to the store (from the Menu). It will fill in all the data for you. If you don’t have an account you can just enter it when you go to pay.
Pick your sizes and quantities so we can get them made before the races start!
It’s time to start the new OC1 season. The locks and keys for the Hālau will be changed February 1st. You can exchange your old key for a new key on the 1st between 4pm to 6pm at the Hālau. After this you can exchange them at Lani’s Snack Shack with Kaui during business hours:
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday: CLOSED
If you lost a key and want it replaced:
Login and go to menu Hālau->Waitlist
Scroll down to Hālau Keys
Select “Request Replacement Key“
Go to menu Aloha->KCC Billing Summary and you should see the $50 deposit to be paid.
Once paid you can pickup your key either on the 1st or at Lani’s Snack Shack
No payments will be processed in person on the 1st, as dues need to be paid online before the 1st. If you wish to turn in a key and request your key deposit back and a check will be issued in your name and either mailed to you or picked up at Lani’s Snack Shack.
HCRA is still developing their covid-safe plans and we are planning to start OC6 training in mid-March after the high school teams finish.
In the meantime, stay fit, get out on the water, and get vaccinated. Vaccinations are becoming more and more of a requirement for sports events like it is for World Sprints.
Due to the uncertain nature of this pandemic, if you are not an OC1 stall holder we ask you wait to join and pay dues until closer to March just in case things change again. We will make more announcements as the time gets closer.
The OC6 schedule (note LD is long distance and Regattas are the sprint races)
Date
Club/Race
Site
Event
Sponsor
May 14
Kawaihae
Kawaihae
LD
Kawaihae
May 21
Kai Ehitu/Papa Kimetete
Kailua-Kona
Regatta
Kai Ehitu
May 28
Keauhou
Kailua-Kona
Regatta
Keauhou
June 4
Hui Wa’a Waiakea/Ira & Barbara Kekaualua
Hilo Bay
LD
Hui Wa’a
June 11
Kai Opua/King Kamehameha Day
Kailua-Kona
Regatta
Kai Opua
June 18
Kailana
Hilo Bay
Regatta
Kailana
June 25
Keaukaha
Hilo Bay
Regatta
Keaukaha
July 2
Puna
Hilo Bay
Regatta
Puna
July 9
Kamehameha
Hilo Bay
Regatta
Kamehameha
July 16
Paddlers of Laka/Na Wa’a Hanakahi
Hilo Bay
Regatta
Laka/Na Wa’a
July 23
Aunty Maile/Moku O Hawaii Championship
Hilo Bay
Regatta
TBA
July 30
BYE
BYE
BYE
BYE
Aug. 13
Miloli’i
Miloli’i
LD
Miloli’i
Aug. 20
Keoua/Calvin Kelekolio
Honaunau
LD
Keoua
Aug. 27
Waikoloa/Great Waikoloa Race
Anaeho’omalu Bay
LD
Waikoloa
2022 OC6 Moku Races
Note to New and Returning Paddlers:
We will start training soon and there will be an announcement regarding practices and schedules as the coaches work out their times and we share canoes with the high school teams.
With Covid shutting down our six man season and one man season starting in a few months, some paddlers started to up their fishing game during the between seasons.
Powerhouse Paddler or Powerhouse Fisherman?
Jeff was out in his V1 fishing for a bite and got more than he expected. While he was paddling along some of the known active spots he turned from Honoli’i towards the light on the breakwall. The swell was slapping the ama and the current was flooding out. The combination made for a pretty easy trolling speed around 4.5 mph.
While nearing the center channel Jeff had a huge hit on his line and it started taking up line. Just as he started to deal with the fish he noticed the tug and tow exiting the bay and heading in his direction. So he started to paddle to clear the channel but the fish had other plans.
Stopping to fight it and reel it in gave the tug plenty of time to get to ramming speed. Jeff waved his paddle in the air with one hand and the rod in his other as the tug kept moving in his general direction. The current was also causing him to drift and the combination of waves and current made it feel like the tug was coming for his fish.
Fortunately the tug captain must have seen the situation and had set his course to slightly to the side Jeff was drifting away from so as he came about 50 feet they passed without incident and Jeff got his first glimpse of a yellow fin through the water!
After some more struggling, he managed to get it under the ‘iako and then barehanded the fish by the tail and pulled it into the V1 where it proceeded to pound out a Tahitian style drum solo on the hull.
Using some rubber straps he managed to tie up the tail and secure it to a ‘iako for the paddle back and used pliers to pry out the hook. But the ahi wanted back in the water and let everyone within earshot of Jeff’s V1 know it.
The hammering continued causing other paddlers on shore came over to see why his V1 was making so much noise.
The final stats: 38″ and 23 pounds.
Everyone is invited to stop by the Hālau on Sunday to wish Jeff a Happy Birthday, go for a paddle and pick up some fish around 12:00 noon.This is not a club event and don’t forget to practice safe distancing and take all the necessary covid precautions.
