Regatta Season Kicks Off at the Wharf

Photos by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja
The Molokai Canoe Racing Association kicked off the regatta season at Kaunakakai Wharf last Saturday. At least 300 people came to the wharf to cheer for competitors from two canoe clubs on Molokai.
“This is the first regatta of the season,” coach Kekama Helm said, adding the results will count points toward qualification for the upcoming Hawaii state championships.
It may have been a friendly gathering, but in the water it was a fierce competition among Molokai’s best paddlers. Wa‘akapaemua Canoe Club and Molokai Canoe Club battled each other in 25 regattas — sprint races — divided in experience levels and different age groups from under 10 years old to more than 70 years old.
“This is our way of life. We are voyagers, sailors,” 17-year-old Akio Tanaka said of Hawaiians. This was Tanaka’s first regatta. Competing as a novice, he said it was a new and different experience for him, and he was thankful to participate in it.
Last week’s regatta was hosted by Wa‘akapaemua Canoe Club. The club sold plate lunches, musubis, sushi rolls, bananas, baked goods, chips, cookies, brownies and drinks to fundraise for their participation in the state races on Maui in August. Halfway through the event, most of the food was already sold out.
The next race will be hosted by Kukui Canoe Club July 5. The Molokai Canoe Club will host the final leg of the season July 19.
The Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association will host the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association’s state regatta championship on Maui Aug. 2.