It wasn’t close at all for the Paddlers of Laka’s Furious Five, who completed their Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association season with unprecedented brilliance and a collective winning streak that will likely go unmatched.
The girls 12, boys 13, mixed 12, boys 13, and girls 13 crews all claimed Aunty Maile Mauhili/Moku O Hawaii championships in their quarter-mile races on Saturday at Hilo Bay and drained any suspense from the start.
No club in Moku O Hawaii’s 60-year plus history has had the first five youth crews pull off winning streaks of at least six races capped by a championship. It stands among the grandest achievements in the association’s history.
The girls 12 crew (Kale’a Kuamoo, Precious Kuamoo, Dejalei Pakani, Kamaile Pakani-Flores, Selah Stefaniak, and Ka’ano’i Young) has won seven races in a row and finished in 2:15.51 to beat Kai Ehitu’s 2:17.79.
The boys 12 crew (Keoni Bacdad, Makana Bumatay, Dalten Fely-Sanborn, Alon Halsted, Skyler Macomber, and Kenan Quintons-Freeman) has six consecutive wins and placed in 2:01.48 to defeat Kawaihae’s 2:05.11.
The undefeated mixed 12 (Keoni Bacdad, Makana Bumatay, Dejalei Pakani, Kamaile Pakani-Flores, Kenan Quintos-Freeman, Ka’ano’i Young) blazed to a 2:06.91 finish to smoke Keoua Honaunau’s 2:10.29.
The girls 13 crew (Hinano Ahin Ganir, Maia Biegler, Hi’ilei Hauanio, Isabel Paulo, Sara Santos, Kaiulani Young) has seized seven straight victories and ripped to a 2:04.69 time to thump Kailana’s 2:08.03.
The boys 13 crew (Wyatt Andrade, Kainalu Bumatay, A.J. Germano, Jacob Pakani Jr., Tyler Spencer, Kaiulu Tiogangco) has pocketed the last seven races and sprinted to a 1:47.70 finish to blitz Kai Opua’s 1:50.54.
There were three keys to the Furious Five’s wide-margin wins: a proper mindset, a strong Thursday practice and a tone-setting start by the girls 12 crew.
“The one thing we talked about this week was we didn’t come this far to not perform well on the weekend,” youth coach Pua Kalaniopio said. “We left practice on Thursday feeling good. We poured our heart and soul into it, and we were hungry. The girls 12 set the tone for the rest of the day.”
Kalaniopio and Christine Brown-Pakani are the youth coaches and made sure not to push the paddlers to an early peak. Sometimes, a crew will peak early, win a bunch of regattas and fizzle at the championships.
The coaching staff had no such worries about early burnout. The Furious Five was always mentally ready to battle. The five crews were locked in each time.
“The nice thing as coaches was we would get on them, but they brought that fire and drive to practice and on race day,” Kalaniopio said. “It made it easy to coach them. It was just about applying what we teach them. They were doing it, and they did it today.”
Paddlers of Laka has two weeks to practice until the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association championships on Saturday, Aug. 4 at Oahu’s Keehi Lagoon, where the best of the best await.
It’s tough to compare times because each course is different. Hilo Bay has a break wall. Keehi Lagoon is surrounded by Nimitz Highway and swirling winds. Other association regattas are held at open-water beaches.
“The times are deceiving because every course is different,” Kalaniopio said. “Some Oahu crews race in fiberglass because they don’t have enough koa canoes. (Koa canoes are required at states.)
“Our kids can continue to do what they’re doing as long as they have that fire and drive. When I look at the standings, the top three and top four are all Moku O Hawaii clubs. That says something about our association.”