KAILUA-KONA — When a race carries nearly a century of history, there are not a whole lot of firsts left to be made.
However, a group of keiki paddlers from the Big Island are looking to blaze their own trail at the 90th annual Queen Liliuokalani Long-Distance Canoe Race on Saturday.
Big Island Junior Va’a, which features paddlers ages 14-16, is looking to become the youngest crew to complete the legendary 18-mile trek from Honaunau to Kailua Pier.
“I’m not totally sure what we are walking into,” said crew member Finnigan Morton, a sophomore at Kealakehe. “There hasn’t been a division for us at this race. It’s mostly been just men and women. I think we are just trying to show it’s possible for other kids our age to compete.”
Veteran paddlers Nue Youderian and Charlie Becerra — who used to paddle together on the Livestrong crew back in the day — are coaching up the kids. The duo are hoping to pass on the knowledge they learned to the next generation to both perpetuate the culture of the sport and help build a competitive future for youth on the island.
“We brought all the Tahitians in and learned the techniques. I got blessed and now I want to give back — teach these young guys so they don’t come up with any bad habits,” Youderian said.
“We’d go do regattas and then the season was over,” Becerra added. “The junior division for kids around these ages has been going on for a while on Oahu and other places like Tahiti. It’s catching on and we have to catch up.”
Queen Liliuokalani race director Mike Atwood said the race has offered a junior division for some years, but it’s for paddlers 16-and-over. Never have racers so young tried to take on the task of the world’s largest long-distance outrigger canoe race.
“It’s not really intimidating,” Morton said. “I know we should just stay humble and not expect too much. We are really out there to have fun.”
The keiki paddlers’ inclusion comes with appropriate timing. This year’s race is dedicated to Lawrence “Uncle Bo” Campos, who was the president of Kai Opua Canoe Club, race commissioner of the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association and the driving force behind the Queen Liliuokalani Races. Campos died on Dec. 13, 2018 after a short but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
When talking to Campos about paddling there would be two things that constantly came up.
“The culture and the keiki,” Atwood said. “Those were the two things Bo cared about the most. It seemed appropriate.”
Atwood is considering it a trial run and the crew is an unofficial entry — as is another with paddlers the same age from Oahu’s Outrigger Canoe Club. He didn’t want to open the division up without some assurance that it was even possible for kids that age to compete in the grueling race safely.
“There are some really good paddlers in Hawaii that are that age,” Atwood said, “but most just aren’t acclimated for this kind of race.”
The crew has been training around seven weeks for the event, meshing as a team while building their chemistry and endurance.
“We want to help show the talent the Big Island has to offer,” Avan Makoa Becerra said. “There are kids so much younger than us in places like Oahu and Tahiti that are doing it and probably way better. We just want to get to that level.”
But there have been some hurdles, as Alii Youderian disclosed.
“It’s been about finding blend and getting our technique so we are not tired and all sore,” he said.
Charlie Becerra is hoping his young guns — who race with either Kai Opua or Kai Ehitu during the regatta season — can show the extent of what is possible.
“These kids worked really hard. I hope other people can witness them accomplishing what no one else has yet,” Becerra said. “Hopefully it will inspire other people to want to put crews together to race so we can make it a big, official event down the road.”
The crew is made up of Finnigan Morton, Avan Makoa Becerra, Alii Youderian, Nolan Morton, Kai Gonzalez, Kainalu Brewbaker, Kamrin Kam, Kaipo Llanes, Kaden Lund, Noa Riznyk and Nathan Grocholski Jr.
The race begins at 7:30 a.m. with the women and mixed crews paddling 18 miles from Kailua Bay to Honaunau. The men and mixed open crews bring it back 18 miles to Kailua Bay. The Ironman division crews race the entire course — no changes. The top crews should be arriving back at Kailua Bay around 1:30 p.m.