Category: oc1race

The past 2 weekends had a lot of racing. Even if you were out there hammering you probably missed something. Let’s recap.

Moku O Keawe

This 3 stage race was held on March 4 and 5th and had a large turnout. Stage 1 was a 2.5 mile sprint followed shortly by a 6 mile race for Stage 2. Sunday featured a 12 mile Stage 3 (or you could opt for the 6 mile).

A lot could be said about these races, but most people had Stage 3 burned into their brains. As the entire fleet of racers waited poised on the beach start for Keakua to show up, the wind started building from the SW. And they kept building.

A 6 mile bash to the turning point was strenuous and tiring. Once around it and heading back up you had to either choose to try to stay high off shore or enjoy the ride inshore and pay for it by battling back out around the point. No matter what each paddler did, they’ll remember this muscle burner for a while.

If you have Facebook, Kawika Singson made killer videos which has some great footage of the sprint heats and other races.

https://www.facebook.com/kawika.singson/videos/979037913065002

https://www.facebook.com/kawika.singson/videos/5976383672452731

Also there are a ton of great photos here in this gallery taken from on the water. https://haweasmamaphotography.pixieset.com/mokuokeawechallenge2023/

Here’s the 3 Stage Combined results

Aloha Aito 4

Over on Oahu on March 5th we had the 4th annual V1 rudderless race with many keiki paddlers from KOYD/RISE participating.

Keahi posted their results from this event:

Results:
Long course – 14 miles
19 Jr men
Ali’i Youderian (1st place)

Short course – 7 miles
16 Jr men
‘Ehā Kiyuna (1st place overall)
Talan Nicolas (4th place)

16 Jr women
Zoe Aoki (3rd place)

19 Jr men
Niau Paulos (1st place)
Tyler OBrien (3rd place)

19 Jr women
Nahiena Kekuawela (1st place)
Cother Laa (2nd place)
Pakela Kaaua (3rd place)
Waiolu Publico (4th place)

With lots of photos here https://www.instagram.com/rdrlswaa/?hl=en

Keauhou Kuuipo Results

March 11 found those paddlers who didn’t have quite enough of a bruising the previous week showing up at Honokohau Harbor (9 mile long course) to Keauhou or the 7 mile short course out and back at Keauhou for another chance at glory.

Long course paddlers started off the green buoy at the harbor with some NW little bumps to help them south. Short course paddlers went south out of Keauhou for 3 miles then back. The current near Keauhou was running south to north was a challenge for both courses but there were no strong winds and the small bumps were helping push, but they were tricky to find.

You can find long and short course results on webscorer

https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=308135

Got FOMO?

Get on that canoe and join us this Saturday, March 18, for Freddie Berengue Memorial Race at Honokohau.

Last week we saw So Juicy host a fleet of almost 150 people and canoes for a short and long course race in Hilo’s Kaipalaoa Races. There were 68 on the long course and 65 on the short course.

HIPA is also trying out their new race timing system based on webscorer. We had numerous Keaukaha podium places, including Jose’s 1st overall on the long course and Tyler and Mario cracking the top 5 overall. Because we’re behind on race news, let’s skip all the shout-outs but the results from our hammahs speak for themselves. Great paddling!

Huggos Valentine’s Relay Race

This past Saturday race saw about 180 canoes breaking previous records. Lots of OC2’s and relay’s on the 8 mile course and the 10 mile course. Also many paddler’s ironed both courses.

Conditions were somewhat typical for that run. Washing machine waves off the point and weird currents and shifting winds elsewhere. With some careful navigation there were plenty of small bumps to be found but there were sections were the OC2’s were a little to big and heavy to take advantage of them.

HIPA published the results on webscorer where you can see them and click them interactively. For the full course results, just click on the “Overall” item for that race.

https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=305187

Here’s a quick summary of our 1st place top category finishers but we had lots and lots of podium finishes. The Jr’s with 3 people doing the 4 man OC2 relay missed 1st overall by just 17 seconds.

• Long Course: Eric (Iron); Nik & Whitney (Iron); Eha Kiyuna, Niau Paulos, Ali’i Youderian (Jr. Relay, Ali’i Iron); Grant, Kawai (Relay); Kawena Brooks, Alexia Osburn (Relay)
• Short Course: Keola, Rena (Relay); Wai`olukea Publico (Jr. Iron)

Jeff (Iron) and Greg (Iron) get honorable mention on the short course. If you toss out the OC2 canoes they finished #2 and #3 overall for OC1. They had to race open category and Jeff was squeezed out of 1st by 4 seconds.

Keoua’s Kupuna Memorial Race On 25th

Don’t forget the Keoua race on the 25th at Honaunau, some of the prettiest paddling waters around.

Watch the HIPA site for race details. https://hipa.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=39669

Another beautiful day in Hilo for a race. The snow capped mauna greeted the paddlers in a dramatic fashion after hiding in the clouds to reveal itself as they rounded the turn boats.

Long course had a little wrap around swell and bumps, but most of the course was a grind for a lot of us. There was some who managed to take advantage of the start boat not paying attention and rode their wake for waaaaay too long making catching them almost impossible.

We had a good turn out with 41 canoes on the long course and 44 on the short course. Our paddlers put the carbon to the saltwater and had a great time:

• Long Course: Nik & Whitney, Mario, Kyle, Grant, Sam Tayler (guest paddler from Oregon), Eric, Kawai, Brandi, Kawena. (Honorary mention to Jose, who showed up well after the start and still passed almost everyone but wasn’t registered so he stopped at the beach)
• Short Course: Greg, Rodrigo, Jeff, Gary, Lexi, Clem

Check out our events page for what’s next. Don’t miss a race.

Last weekend before the high school races started a large group of paddlers gathered on the edge of the beach to show their support for Noah. The Head Strong race was put on by Kwai-Chang and Corrina from So Juicy and all the fees went to help Noah and his ‘ohana keep their heads strong during Noah’s treatment.

We had a variety of paddlers of all levels and crafts. Lots of OC2’s to surf behind and even a paddle boarder charged the 5 mile course along with several Novice B paddlers.

Special shout out to Linda who joined the race as her 2nd time ever on an OC1. Hell yeah!

Lots of Keaukaha Paddlers out there chasing each other around the course and sprinting to the finish.

There weren’t any prices, or categories just a chance to get out and paddle for a good cause. Noah is back home with family and recovering from his surgery before starting treatment.

Result Times

More Races!

Check out our even schedule as we have the HIPA schedule there which you can sync up to your phone. https://keaukahacanoeclub.com/events

Jan. 7th is the next one in Hilo.

Raffle!

Don’t forget Kwai-Chang is still running a raffle. Win a customized HI Pressure Paddle, Yeti Cooler and So Juicy drinks — everything you’ll need for start of the season.

The overall results from the 2022 HIPA races for the final standings for the season based on points is out. They also published some photos from the Yamagata Race and I’ve put a few of our paddler’s photos on here.

It was a great season with lots of races, and when it comes to accumulating points you’ve got to get out on the race course as much as possible. To qualify you have to do at least 4 races in the same course length and division. Let’s get more club members out on the course. It’s a great leaning experience and excellent training – not to mention fun.

LONG COURSE PADDLERS

M-OPEN: Tyler placed 1st and managed to nudge out Jose (2nd) for the top OC1 Open spot with a mere 1 point separation between them. And right behind them was Kama in 3rd who was unable to make as many races.

M-40’s: Kyle racked up a 4th overall even though he and Keola only made it to about 1/2 the season’s races. Keola ranked 10th and saw great time gains throughout his first long course season.

M-50’s: Eric was 2nd

SHORT COURSE PADDLERS

W-40’s: Kawai crushed it in 1st

M-50’s: Grant took 1st followed by Rodrigo in 2nd

M-60’s: Jeff took 3rd followed by Garry in 5th and Warren in 6th. (Unfortunately either there was an error or Greg didn’t do enough races to qualify).

M-Novice: Loren took 2nd which is a great way to start OC1 racing!

Mix-OC2: Tyron & Crystal hammered to 2nd

YAMAGATA PHOTOS

You can see more on the HIPA Results page: https://hipa.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=39669&module_id=506368

Overcast skies and a light south wind had Hilo paddlers glad they weren’t going to face Kona temperatures for this end of season race. Due to the smaller turn out the race committee decided to move the 14 mile paddlers to the 10 mile course (which was actually about 9 Hilo miles).

There was a 6 mile short course from the Kona pier and everyone else started at Honokohau Harbor and went south to Keauhou. Unwary paddlers starting on the outside were met with strong current off the start line while those on the inside slipped away quickly.

The first 5 miles had a strong current but it slowly ebbed and became more neutral. Jose hammered out a solid lead and finished first overall in 1:20.22 averaging about 6.5mph. Since it’s the last OC1 race of the year, it was good to see a strong Keaukaha showing among the 56 canoes out on this longer race.

Long: Jose, Tyler, Tyron & Crystal, Eric, Greg, Grant, Jeff, Lauren, Kawena, Kawai, Brandi

Short: Warren

Keep training. November OC1 races will be here before you realize it.

This is a highly anticipated race on the Big Island pulling in top paddlers and wannabees to compete in a downwind run along the rough northern point of Hawai’i Island. The forecasts looked like a strong wind system was going to make Keokea to Kapa’a an exciting race.

Unfortunately an hour before the start the water safety team didn’t feel the conditions were safe for everyone due to the strong on-shore push on the first part of the course. Conditions weren’t improved by the low tide and rushing river making entering the ocean at Keokea riskier than normal.

With a promise of a “Bigger and Better” return next year, Eddie called it a day. There were rumors of a underground alternative venue that day and some paddlers debated doing this run unsupported.

Even though the race was called off the money raised by the event went to a Kohala family in need which was a good outcome race or not.

Don’t forget to get your jersey ordered by April 20th.

Everyone’s favorite one-man Hilo race took place Saturday. With strong winds forecast expectations were high, but rain filled clouds put a damper on the trade winds. There were plenty of bumps to ride but it was a technical run. Long course was a little over 10 miles and short course was about 6.

Both courses began at the same time in a back-to-back simultaneous start. Short course sprinted towards Hilo and long course went the opposite way around kings landing out to the black rock about 2 miles away. Kings landing was a challenge with swirling currents, bigger swells and a mix of waves.

Keaukaha paddlers not only packed the short course but also claimed the top spots on both courses. Jose was the first to finish the long course and Kyle was the first OC1 to finish the short course. Lots of KCC paddlers placed well in their divisions too. Great to see everyone out there on our home waters! We have short video included this week complements of Aaron Makaimoku.

• Long Course: Jose, Eric, Kawena
• Short Course: Kyle, Crystal & Tyron, Eha (Jr.), Keahi, Grant, Kawika, Greg, Rodrigo, Kawaipio, Loren, Nate, Gary, Clem, Kwai-Chang, Brandi