Never Forget

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Twentieth anniversary of plane crash remembered.


This Wednesday, half a dozen Molokai residents will gather early in the morning for a ritual they have completed every October 28 for the past 20 years. They will travel east across the island, stopping at cemeteries along the way before tossing flowers into the ocean at Kamalo Wharf. The group, the surviving members of the 1989 Molokai High girls’ volleyball team, is still tightly bound by the teammates and coaches they lost in a fatal plane crash that year. 

“We are all really close,” said Bill Dudoit, who was an assistant coach that year. “Of course we still cry during the sad parts, but it’s mostly remembering them in good ways now. We share happy memories and the nice things we remember about them.”

The afternoon after clinching the Maui Interscholastic League championship 20 years ago, Dudoit and seven members of the newly-crowned Farmers flew back to Molokai. The rest of the team was scheduled to arrive that night on Aloha Island Air Flight 1712. They never made it.

Priscilla Maliu, 15 years old at the time, was celebrating the win with a few of her teammates when she got the news.

“We were having fun at the park and a bunch of friends came and told us they didn’t know where the plane was. I was kind of in shock,” she said.

The girls spent the night at the airport waiting for news that never came. The following morning they learned that the plane had crashed on the cliffs of Molokai’s northeast coast and that none of the 20 people on board survived.

“It felt like the whole island was there when he heard. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my life,” Dudoit said.

Among the 20 passengers were five members of the girls’ team – Leilani Ahina, Lea Dunnam, Natalie Helm, Kaipo Maihiai and Aloma Spencer. Their head coach Odetta Rapanot was also on the plane, along with Athletic Director John Ino and three members of the boys’ volleyball team – Jared Elia, Testa Ku and Jovencio Ruiz.

The Molokai community immediately came together in support of the team and the families of the victims, but plenty of tough times were still ahead.

The Game Must Go On
The conference championship gave Molokai an automatic spot in the Hawaii state tournament on Oahu. The 20-year-old Dudoit and his players were faced with the tough decision of whether or not to play in the tournament with the seven remaining members of the team.

“At first it was a really hard choice,” Dudoit said. “The girls were so down and out. Every time we went on the court, they would just start to cry. But, one day we sat down and I told them it was really their decision.”

For the girls on the team, there really was no decision to make.

“We had to, for them. It was tough but we knew that we had to go on and play for our teammates,” Maliu said.

The team arrived on Oahu and was immediately swarmed by reporters who had heard about the tragedy. They hoped that getting back onto the court and playing would provide a brief break from the pain, but there was no escaping it.

“It was really hard to play,” Maliu said. “It was really hard to do anything at that point. I remember even things like showering and eating would somehow remind me of them.”

When the team walked into the sold-out gym for their first game they were greeted with a two-minute standing ovation.

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the gym,” said Barbara Helm, whose daughter died in the crash. “It was somber but we all wanted to go and be in the stands to support the girls.”

The girls played six games and didn’t win a set. It didn’t matter. For the team, just showing up was a victory.

Helm said the parents of the victims wanted the girls to play and decided that they needed to be there to support the team no matter how hard it would be.

Keeping the Memory Alive
Helm and her husband, Larry, are still regular fixtures in the Molokai High bleachers. In fact, many of the people most deeply affected by the crash are still very involved in Molokai volleyball today.

The five girls from the 1989 team that still live on Molokai play together every year in alumni tournaments and adult community leagues. Maliu recently started coaching a middle school team. Dudoit coaches the boys’ volleyball team and Matt Helm, Natalie’s brother, is now the head coach of the girls’ team.

“Giving back to the sport helps us all stay connected to those girls,” Helm said. “I would be lying if I said that wasn’t some of the motivation in coming out to coach.”

Both the boys and girls’ teams decided to dedicate their 2009 season to the memory of those that died in the crash. The girls have worn shirts with “1712” printed across their back all season to remember the flight.

The coaches, too, make sure that day is never forgotten. Helm, Dudoit and Maliu all said that they talk to their teams every year about the accident, the team and the students that were lost.

“I just want to make sure they know that part of our history and our tradition,” Helm said. “It helps them knowing what the ’89 girls went dealing with their own adversity. Mostly, though, it’s just to remind them that life is precious.”

Talks and time have healed some of the wounds for those closest to the crash, but the scars will never fade. When asked how often they think about their teammates both Dudoit and Maliu answered immediately, “Everyday.”

This weekend, at about the same time Dudoit and the surviving teammates are making their annual memorial trip, Helm and his 2009 Farmers will be back at the state tournament on Oahu to put their undefeated record on the line and fight for a championship. Helm said he already spoke to the girls about the crash this week at practice and he was sure it would come up again during the weekend.

“I think it’s a good thing to talk about,” Dudoit said. “A lot of the families of the girls were afraid that people would forget about them. They’re not forgotten.”

Masters in Disguise

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Thirsty competitors race for glory.


Wonder Woman beat a honeybee, and a fisherman beat a braddah. Why do folks from Molokai and abroad come together as wacky characters every year? The Master Blasters canoe race, of course.

In the 24th annual Master Blasters race, Molokai residents stepped into well-crafted costumes and paddled their way to victory. The race included its usual twist twist: one beer for each of the four stops along the six-mile course.

For all of its festivity, the race is still taken seriously by seasoned competitors and officials. There were four official boats on hand in the water, and a fire truck and ambulance followed the race in case of emergencies. Luckily, the good times have held out – race organizer and President of the Molokai Canoe Club Liko Wallace said these safety precautions have never been used.

Waiting for last Saturday’s race to start at Kawela Rice Patch, the paddlers milled around, joking about their costumes and posing for pictures. The canoes were waiting too, unrigged. As the start was announced, teams slugged their first beer, strapped together their canoes and slid them into the water.

At each of the four stops, teams return to shore to chug another beer. Phifer said the proper technique is to hold the can above your head and drink it straight down. Most of the paddlers chose light beers as beverage of choice.

Team Aloha dressed as fishermen this year and were sponsored by Kualapu`u Cookhouse. Another Molokai team, Poi Dog, was appropriately sponsored by Paddler’s Inn, but did not appear in costume. Other mens’ costumes included jesters and cowboys.

 On the wahine side, teams appeared as superheroes, salsa girls, angels and honeybees.

“The paddling is so second – the rest is all about the costumes,” said a member of the Superheroes, dressed as a Greek goddess.

“I can’t do this in Honolulu. I’d get arrested!” gibed Billy Rees of Team Hi Hoe Silver from Honolulu, referring to the race’s drinking challenge.

As the race neared its end, a fire truck stood at the ready – with an arch of water to spray the teams as they rounded the end of Kaunakakai Wharf. It’s something the paddlers look forward to, Wallace said. Malama Park served as the finish line, as well as the site for the celebrational party.

Winners Circle
The Blasters race also featured a Go Green theme this year. The costume contest winners, the Superheroes and the Braddahs (dressed as nerds) won beer-bottle-capped earrings for the women, and visors made of beer boxes for the men.

The North Shore Renegades from Maui finished first among the men, just a few feet in front of second place winners Hi Hoe Silver from Honolulu. Molokai’s teams, Team Aloha and Poi Dogs, came in third and fifth, respectively.

On the women’s side, a half–Molokai, half-Oahu team, Team Tamuretes, came in first – without a costume, but with a look of worn-out exhilaration on their faces. The Superheros came in second, made up of Molokai and Oahu team members. One paddler from Oahu, Alika Horner, said it was important to have half the team from Molokai.

“We wanted to join in” the Molokai tradition but not intrude by being outsiders, she said. Third place went to the Honeybees from Maui.

The two winning teams, the Renegades and Tamuretes, each won a grand prize: a gallon of dried squid, worth a few hundred dollars.

“It’s about comradery, the party at the end. Its not based off of winning the race,” Wallace said.

Philur agreed, “It’s a fun race. We have a good time after the regular season is over.”

Farmers Clinch Spot in State Tourney

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Sterner,” DeRouin said.

Sterner came in 33rd place overall with a time of 26:11. Kalani Wainwright and Candice Pauole rounded out the scoring finishers for Molokai in 43rd and 45th place.

DeRouin said that most of the girls on the team run to stay in shape for other sports like wrestling or basketball. However, he said this season both he and his runners learned how exciting race day can be.

“I think we improved greatly over the season and we all have a very different perspective on cross country as a sport,” DeRouin said.

 The Farmers were racing short-handed because of losing two runners during the race. One runner could not finish due to cramps and another was disqualified because she did not correctly complete the course.

“It was a pretty tough course. It was very confusing and things kind of zig-zagged around at the end,” DeRouin said.

Molokai wasn’t the only team that had trouble following the confusing finish. Maui High’s Rocky Balala was leading the boys’ race until the last 500 meters when he took a wrong turn and had to retrace his steps to avoid being disqualified. His mistake gave both Perez-Garreaud and Ringor a chance to pass him just before the finish line.