Keaukaha Canoe Club - Hilo Hawaii Paddling Club on the Big Island

Our 3rd Kailua-Kona regatta was definitely challenging, but everyone pulled together and pushed forward with good progress. The 2nd regatta probably had the most favorable conditions for sprints making direct comparisons between regattas harder.

Times were improved by almost all divisions again with the Keiki and Novices making some big gains along with the open divisions. There is consistent weekly progression in speed and teamwork. Several groups steadily climbed the leaderboards, successfully moving from middle-of-the-pack placements into solid finishes.

Huli Happens

There were 4 huli events which was a lot for one day and it is probably because of the larger swells. One of those happened before the race start to our women’s crew. It happened before the race start which allows for outside help and a delay. It’s a terrible way to start a race however, they managed to make it to the start and work together to compete even with fried nerves.

Clearing the koa canoe is more difficult than the fiberglass canoes. They won’t sink like a fiberglass canoe can, but they also don’t have flotation bulkheads like the glass canoes. As a result they tend to sit lower in the water and hold more water. It’s unusual in a fast paced regatta environment for a crew to clear it on their own and still finish. And there are times when it’s important to know the rules about outside help.

Most importantly we all have to keep our ears open for that dreaded “Huli!’ in the crowd and be ready to respond, even if it’s another club. Large bailers, buckets and extra hands if they need them are usually never turned down.

Kai’Ehitu and a few others were quick on the scene to help along with our own club members – mahalo to everyone for jumping into action.

Race Rules

http://www.mokuohawaii.com/documents/2025MOHRaceRules-v2.pdf

The Moku O Hawaiʻi Outrigger Canoe Racing Association 2025 Race Rules outline the protocols for swamping, capsizing, and recovering under Article IX (Flat Course Rules):

Swamping or Capsizing Before the Start

• During the Staging Phase: If a canoe capsizes, swamps, or experiences equipment breakage before the race officially starts, they are entitled to a race recall to allow them to recover.
• Equipment Breakage Allotment: If equipment breaks during a capsize or swamping prior to the start, the crew is allotted fifteen (15) minutes to repair the breakage.
• Once the Start Signal Begins: The rules explicitly state that a race will not be restarted or recalled if a canoe capsizes or swamps after the yellow flag starts waving (which indicates the race is about to start). The starter will continue waving the yellow flag and proceed to start the race.

General Race & Crew Completion Rules

• Full Crew Requirement: To successfully complete and clear a race, each canoe must start and finish the race with a full crew of 4 or 6 paddlers (depending on the event). If paddlers are separated from the canoe during a huli, they must be safely back in the wa’a when crossing the finish line to avoid disqualification.
• Disqualified Canoes: If a crew experiences an infraction during a huli recovery but is not pulled from the water by officials, they are generally allowed to continue racing unless the Race Director decides otherwise for safety reasons.
• Also according to Moku O Hawaiʻi rules, the Race Director and the Officials have the ultimate authority over the course and will not wait long for a crew to recover during a race.
• If a canoe is swamped, drifting dangerously, or unable to make forward progress, an official safety boat or jet ski will intervene for the safety of the paddlers.
• The moment an official boat assists the crew or touches the canoe, the crew is automatically disqualified (DQ’d), effectively ending their race clock.

Keaukaha Regatta 6/20

We were spoiled with all the home regattas the past few years, but were back now and our club’s regatta is quickly approaching.

Like past regattas we will be hosting vendors and food trucks to help raise funds for the club while providing logistics, official support, water safety, lane markings and a variety of all kinds of things that keep regattas running.

Each division will be assigned a set of tasks to help out from vendor setup and parking to decorations to helping officiate. Mark 6/20 on your calendar because we always need lots of hands to keep everything running smoothly. More announcements will follow soon about the preparations.

Meanwhile it’s back to HILO ONE!

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.

https://youtube.com/live/W6mWycMMvEY?feature=share

We’re back!

This time parking was a lot more manageable if you got space in the dirt lot. Beware though they seem intent on closing parking at 5pm next time so have an escape plan.

Our Moku O Keawe regattas have started earlier than others and during graduation so these early Kona regattas usually leave us a bit short handed and we had to scratch 11 events which made it tough to make points in our division. This upcoming weekend also coincides with Kamehameha graduation so we’ll be short handed again. If you can paddle come down and stick around. On the plus side we had ZERO DQ’s and ZERO fines which is always a bonus. And the Women 70’s had to fight that flag pretty hard to keep from getting DQ’d.

Mahalo nui to all who could make it and were around to hold boats and cheer the crews on. It was a good shake down regatta to reset and focus on the hard work ahead. We didn’t get the wa’a back on the trailer until around 6pm so it was a long one.

Big thanks to the Kiyunas who arrived the day before and carved out a place for us among the shrinking pier space. Without them we would have had a hard time organizing together as a club.

We hope to have Waimāpuna back in top condition again without the drag of the uncured epoxy coat. We removed the epoxy coat and tested the wood for percentage water intrusion and didn’t see any problems. Clear coat will be applied this week and we should be ready for action.

Let’s get prepared for this coming Saturday.

Regattas at the Kailua-Kona Pier are back for 2026. They have built a large system underwater to anchor the marks after a lot of expense and permitting. Check our Event Calendar for all the upcoming paddling events.

We will be weighing Waimāpuna Thursday May 14, around 3:30pm in preparation for Saturday’s regatta. Order of events can be found on the Results page: https://www.hcrapaddler.com/hcra_results.php?view=byevent&rid=1237

70’s/65’s go first at 8am and Novices are also in the morning. Please come down and cheer your teammates and all our keiki.

Parking

Honda is letting us use their dirt parking lot and in return paddlers are asked to bring canned food items to contribute to the Food Bank — Non-Perishable Items Only. The entrance is roughly here on this link below but it’s not clear where they will setup:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xaGkP4maAUZp14ou7

This parking is for paddlers ONLY. You might be asked your two digit club id #. So if you don’t know what that is, ask someone.

Setup

The pier seems to be getting smaller and smaller. We’re going to have to fight for space again if you want to setup down there. There’s still no tents allowed on the shore and paddlers are supposed to stay in the yellow areas on the map, somehow. You’ll see our normal spot has been removed from the usable area.

Want to Race?

Time is almost up for you to get your e-waiver signed and you should have had all your paperwork and dues completed long before now. You can log into your account here and see your status. Look for all YES ✓ under Approved to Race:

Contact us if you have a problem with your status.

As we wrap up the event, we’d love to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to complete the attached survey and share any feedback—positive or constructive—so we can continue improving the run for you and future participants. You can see the full race with finish times here too.

10K Top Runners

• 1st – Leighton Aves
• 2nd – Ivan Kuencer
• 3rd – Joshua Sappington

5K Top Runners

• 1st – Naeem Gleason
• 2nd – James Eller (Keaukaha Paddler!)
• 3rd – Kanahe Akau

Our States crew scrapped for every point in Maui and we tied in our division for First Place. HCRA had their big annual meeting and they presented us with our trophy as they did not expect our two-way tie for first with Kilohana Hoe and had to make a new one for us.

Mahalo nui loa to everyone who supported those 6 crews who managed top seeding in the states. It takes a strong unified community to put together such a powerful showing at States from our kids to the Kupuna racers.

States for 2026 will be back in O’ahu which is more accessible and has a more level race course and should allow us to compete with many more crews in a bigger division. Stay hungry!

Get a Wa’a

With one-man season gearing up and High School regattas starting soon, it’s time to think about getting serious. Both Jose and Keahi have some great equipment for sale, so check them out and contact us if you need to get a hold of them.

• Ares $3,000 (Jose) SOLD 1/22/2026
• Drako $4,000 (Jose)
• V1’s of various types (Keahi)

And for those of you ready to lose the “training wheels” talk to Keahi about picking up a V1.

HCRA Changes

HCRA is trying to modernize some. They have updated their website and are going to implement electronic waivers statewide. We don’t know how this is all supposed to quite work yet but we’ll all figure it out together.

Club Updates

We are trying to put together a comprehensive 2026 schedule from major international paddling events to our club activities so we can all prepare together better.

In that spirit, there is now a bulletin board in the back area of the Hālau to help us communicate activities with each other – old school style. Feel free to post items of club interest – photos, activities, etc.

Don’t forget OC1 stall rentals roll over in February and renewals will open in January after we understand what to do with the waiver situation.

Some things to look forward to include hosting both a regatta AND a long distance race. We are still working on the details but it would be a club first. Also we will likely be hosting one or two big fundraisers

This seasons goal is to raise funds for wa’a repairs and if we do well enough, get a few new wa’a as well. Right now we are pretty broke after the Hālau rebuild but we’re coming back strong for 2026.

As usual we can always benefit from new paddlers, so encourage family and friends to come join us on the water this season. Just have them go to our contact page in Feb/March and we’ll help get them going.

Na Wahine o Ke Kai

After a long drought, we had our first womens crew paddle in the Na Wahine o Ke Kai 2025 in many years. It was a combined effort with help from Kai ‘Opua who had already made some arraignments but most of their paddlers dropped out, so our women teamed up with them and got 4th in their division and 42 overall. Amazing work in some lively conditions.

Here’s their GPS replay in 200x speed with our heros highlighted.

Full results: https://www.pseresults.com/2025-events/na-wahine-o-ke-kai-2025

Crew List: https://www.khon2.com/na-wahine-o-ke-kai/list-meet-the-crews-of-na-wahine-o-ke-kai-2025/

Moloka’i Hoe

Under lighter wind conditions we saw 4 of our men’s crews battle it out following in the wake of the Nā Wāhine. There was some intense competition from some of the best paddlers in the world with the top crew OPT breaking into the top 10 of fastest crossing times.

• Men Open #87 in Micah Wai’oli – 6th Overall
• Men Open #88 in Kuamo’okane – 17th Overall
• Men 55+ #14 in Wailani – 62nd Overall (Division 2nd Place)
• Men 40 #18 in Mio – 73rd Overall (Division 9th)

Here’s their GPS track with all 4 crews highlighted.

Results: https://www.pseresults.com/2025-events/molokai-hoe-2025

Crews (not entirely accurate): https://www.khon2.com/molokai-hoe/list-meet-the-crews-of-molokai-hoe-2025

Mahalo Nui Supporters

All you supporters out there made a big difference. We will be having the raffle and ordering the jerseys soon – standby. If you still want to contribute all the funds will go towards 2026 and we have some great prizes on the raffle too.

Reboot 2026

Training never stops. OC1 season is gearing up and its critical to use this time to get in shape and tune up.

Let’s get out on the water to prep for 2026.

• Halloween Zombie Fun Race 24th of October is a short 2 races full of fun costumes and paddling. https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=408337
• Nov 22 is the Abbot Galaher Seaman Race – nothing like burning extra calories around this time of year. Get out there and go.

The 2026 HIPA schedule should be out soon. https://hipa.clubexpress.com/

Now that’s a confusing title but it got you here.

Tsunami Warnings

Mahalo nui to those who helped protect our canoes from a possible tsunami on Tuesday. Most of the world was spared from tidal waves from that huge release of energy in one of the biggest recorded earth quakes in history. It’s important to remember that material things are not as important as people, so don’t put yourself in harms way unnecessarily. And when it comes to tsunamis it’s best to ignore the skeptics and find higher ground for the duration. Fortunately we have the NOAA warning network with excellent analysis, sensors and simulations to provide accurate timely warnings. Check out the video re-creation based on live buoy data.

1st Place In State Division A

On Aug. 2, 6 crews with number 1 seeds went to Maui to compete at Hanaka’ō’ō Beach. There were on-shore breaking waves all day but most of the course was protected from the strong winds. However there was a strong rip tide running all through the course making for challenging steering especially for non-local crews.

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that it takes the whole club pulling together to help propel these 6 crews to represent all of us at States. We fielded the M70, M65, W18, Mfr, Mjr and M55. It’s no easy feat to qualify for States and it’s not a cheap endeavor for crews or our club. All our crews trained hard and did a fantastic job at states in Division A.

We finished the regatta with 71 points, tying with a local club for first place. Full results here.

Congratulations to Zoe, one of our youth paddlers, who qualified for a $1,000 scholarship from HCRA based on an essay contest. Each year HCRA holds an essay contest for youth paddlers and the odds are good, so all you 18 and under paddlers submit one.

Dragon Boats in Hilo

Every 2 years Hilo hosts the Haarii Boat Festival and they need some steersmen to help out. They tend to provide some donations to clubs that help them. So if you’re interested, sign up and help them. There’s a practice day Aug. 15th and the race day is Aug. 16th. By all accounts from previous races volunteers have a great time an you typically only need to steer about 3 events.

Please contact Grant to assist:
Grant T. Miyashiro
Co-chair, 2025 Haarii Boat Festival
📧 gtmiyashiro@gmail.com
📞 (914) 721-0393

Jersey Pickup 4/23 4pm-6:30pm

The first round (ordered prior to 3/16/25) of jerseys are here. They will be distributed 4/23 at 4pm to 6:30 pm at the Hālau. Please come get your stuff!

We have a 2nd round of orders going if you missed it. Order now: https://keaukahacanoeclub.com/store

5K Fun Run

Big thanks to all our early-bird volunteers who showed up and made this event happen. It was our first time doing this and organizing a 5K run on the land, but everyone had fun. The start photo says it all. And yes, we have an IG account now @keaukahacc53

Next year we’ll start planning earlier and be better equipped now that we know more about running this event. Expect more fun and more run.

Hālau – Mahalo to All of You

I (Eric) was personally overwhelmed with the outpouring of gratitude and couldn’t speak at the blessing. So had I found my composure, this is what I would have said.

When people ask about our club, I tell them we are more like an ‘Ohana than anything else. We are de-centralized and a bit chaotic at times, but we do our best. We have a wide range of characters and we all try to come together on the land and in the water to make us all better as a team and individuals. You can train to become a super competitive paddle-warrior. You can come out just to enjoy the company, culture, and ocean. Or, like most of us, do both of those things. And like a family we strive to be accepting and do our best to be fair. With all those moving different parts, somehow things always seem to get done.

Much like the large lei we wove together from all variations of ti leaves, we try to find unity and purpose together from a variety of parts. We recognize none of us are perfect but perhaps we can all find ways to be better together.

“Be curious, not judgemental.”

Marguerite and Marshall Shearer

“Be curious, not judgmental” encourages us to approach people, situations, and even ourselves with openness and inquiry instead of criticism and assumptions.

Being judgmental means jumping to conclusions, labeling others, or dismissing them without trying to understand their story.

Being curious means asking why, being willing to listen, learn, and understand before forming an opinion.

Keola and I were fortunate to have a lot of supporters and helpers. It’s almost impossible to thank everyone individually as literally 100’s helped out from donations to sweat and blood.

Let’s make 2025 another great season!