KAILUA-KONA — Between the usual hugs, high-fives and pats on the back, Kai Ehitu head coach Richard Kimitete found himself answering a consistent question after Saturday’s regatta.
“Did we win?” anxious paddlers wearing Kai Ehitu Red asked.
With his patented big smile, Kimitete relished repeating the answer over and over.
“Yes,” Kimitete said. “We did it — finally.”
Kai Ehitu edged Kai Opua by a single point (215-214) to take home the top overall honors at the Keauhou Canoe Club-hosted regatta — the club’s first in nearly four decades of Moku O Hawaii racing.
“Today was history,” Kimitete said. “I owe it to all the paddlers, coaches and board members for all their hard work. Men, women and kids — everybody had a hand in it. We didn’t expect it, but we felt we had a good chance after last week’s second place finish (also a first for the club).
“What a great day,” continued Kimitete, whose father, Bernard “Papa” Kimitete, founded the club in 1982. “Papa would be proud.”
Adding to the degree of difficulty was that Kai Ehitu competed in only 33 events. Powerhouses Kai Opua and Puna fielded 42 and 37 crews, respectively.
”We are very fortunate,” Kimitete said. “Our women’s program has flourished, our kids program is growing and our men are strong.”
The long day always features its share of peaks and valleys for clubs looking to take home top honors. But what added some major anxiety later in the day for Kai Ehitu was that for a five-race stretch – from events 32-36 — the club did not field crews, giving those playing chase a chance to pile on points.
“Our canoe is just on the beach for those events,” Kai Ehitu men’s coach Eddie Hayward said. “It’s tough.”
But those on shore started to do the math, and facing just a small deficit following Event 36, Kai Ehitu started to see the path to the historic victory.
Every point mattered, and what helped Kai Ehitu’s cause was a whopping 12 crews taking home gold and a regatta-high 21 finishing with a medal (six silver, three bronze). It came down the slimmest of margins, but the Red Machine had just enough gas to get to the finish line.
“The points we are producing speaks volumes about our paddlers understanding they are racing for their club. That was big for us,” Hayward said. “We had a lot of people that had never placed getting a medal around their neck. It was great to see.”
Keauhou picks up hosting duties
Keauhou athletic director Daniel Legler was a busy man on Saturday. On top of the usual heavy workload that comes with host duty, Legler also put in some work on the water, participating in a pair of races.
“I’m just filling in for the young boys,” Legler said with a laugh. “It’s been a busy day. I’ve been here since 5 a.m. Everyone with our club works so hard to make this happen.”
Legler is in his first year as athletic director at Keauhou, and has been happy with what he’s seen so far. As he puts it, the foundation has been laid. Now, it’s time to start framing the house.
“It’s growing,” he said. “We are seeing a lot of boys coming back to the program. Our kupuna program is big and the kids program is huge. Everything is going the right direction. I just want us to stay humble, be the best we can be and keep building.”
Keauhou fielded 23 crews for the regatta, and finished runner-up in Division B to Paddlers of Laka.
The host’s golden crew came in the men’s junior race, with the squad of “Stevee B” Berengue, Nichalas Lane, Kua Nolan, Jerome Slade, Kenui Viveiros, Chase Vonnordheim winning by more than 10 seconds.
Dealing with changes
After some changes to rules and enforcement by DLNR at Kailua Pier caused some commotion last week, there was less issue on Saturday.
“Things ran pretty smoothly today,” Legler said. “A lot of rules were already in place but had not been enforced. I think it’s difficult because we are used to doing things a certain way. We just have to work with it and do the best we can. It’s a learning curve and we have to adapt.”
Hayward was among those who were critical of DLNR’s response last week when Kai Ehitu hosted, feeling that it was a “cash over culture” issue. Hayward said he’d heard from various people about the issues — most notably the Office of Hawaiian Affairs — but agreed there were fewer problems this time around.
“Like I’ve said, it’s our right to gather and they really don’t want to get into the cultural side of things,” Hayward said. “I didn’t see any DLNR down here, so maybe last week was just to flex their authority. It all seemed to work out well. Everybody worked together and there wasn’t any complaining.”
In an email to West Hawaii Today, the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) addressed some of the changes.
“With the positive growth of paddling and the sheer numbers of spectators that are drawn to the regattas, it was necessary to create a space allocation plan to ensure permitted businesses can operate safely,” DLNR senior communications manager Dan Dennison wrote. “It was also essential to include an ingress/egress route for emergency vehicles while a portion of space by the ramp needed to remain clear of tents to ensure commercial ramp boats can operate. This space is also crucial, in our opinion, for the fire department’s rescue boat to be able to utilize the ramp in order to respond as rapidly as possible to any on-water emergencies.”
DOBOR said it has an “excellent working relationship” with canoe club leaders and hopes to continue that as they work to improve the processes.
“Understand that the Kailua Pier is a shared space, and we need to work cooperatively to make it all work. If you do not understand something that is going on, ask your canoe club’s leaders – they are the direct conduit to our office. We will clarify issues with them and then allow them to disseminate the information back to their clubs.
“DOBOR’s vision from the onset was to ensure that both cultural and commercial activities can take place side-by-side and without exclusion. Both activities are vital for our community, and we want to help develop a framework to ensure they are both successful.”
There is only one regatta left on the westside until the season shifts to the Hilo side for the remainder of the season. Kai Opua will host on June 8.