HONOLULU — After a half-decade of patience by the tight-knit distance paddling community, Sunday’s Na Wahine O Ke Kai competition from Molokai to Oahu felt as much like a family reunion as it did a women’s world championship.
Hundreds of familiar faces and dozens of canoes were gathered first at Hale O Lono Harbor on the Friendly Isle, then hours later at Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki as the 41-mile race was successfully executed for the first time since 2019.
[Note: See below for more photos of the Na Wahine O Ke Kai finish.]
“You know, I’ve been a paddler for the last 50 years, and sitting out five years, it hurt a lot of us because this is what we do. This is what we love,” race director Luana Froiseth told Spectrum News on the sand outside a large presentation tent set up by event runner Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association. “And at the start of the race, just seeing the women so excited to go, and everything that we went through to make it happen – today was the day.”
COVID-19 pandemic-related fallout caused the race’s cancellation from 2020 to 2022. The August 2023 wildfire devastation to historic Lahaina town on Maui extended the competition drought a year.
Perhaps fitting on a day that was a return to the time-honored, grueling challenge of the Ka‘iwi Channel, the end result was familiar, too. The women of Team Bradley made it five in a row going back to 2016, as they crossed between the finish buoys in 5 hours, 44 minutes and 22 seconds.
Keiki, some of whom didn’t exist the last time the race happened, greeted the victorious women with lei on the shore. Team Bradley was presented with a large koa perpetual statue that will remain with OHCRA, which took over management of the race in 2023.
“It was such an awesome day, such a great feeling to be back out there,” said Bradley steersperson Lori Nakamura, a veteran of at least a dozen crossings who took part with her ninth victorious crew.
“We were training last year. But you know, we do understand (not racing),” Nakamura said. “We have teammates from Maui and people who were directly affected by it. So we were just more than respectful.”
Represented on the 10-person Bradley team are paddlers from Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii Island, who are part of separate clubs during the summer regatta season. For distance season, they train separately in single-person canoes during the work week and convene on weekends to practice at one site with their "Bradley Lightning" canoe.
It was a searing day with few clouds. The bumps in the channel were for the most part manageable, paddlers said.
Ka Lahui Kai finished runner-up in 5:50:01. The Maunalua Bay-based club added #MauiStrong messages to their traditional red long-sleeve shirts.
Jenna Kalei, who paddled shifts in the 1, 4, 5 and 6 seats over the course of Ka Lahui's race, had her three children since her last Na Wahine O Ke Kai.
"It’s always a blessing crossing Ka‘iwi, but to be able to cross with women that I love, I can’t describe it with words," Kalei said. "It was really hard not being able to cross (the last few years). But I would say there’s some blessings out of it."
Team Bradley had to make up some ground in the thrill and chaos of the race’s early moments. But after that, they maintained the lead the rest of the way.
“They’re definitely tough competition. They’re amazing out there,” Kalei said. “I feel like we were able to battle a little bit, then they were able to get a little ahead of us. Then they were able to take the win, but that’s OK. It was still a beautiful day out there.”
Hawaiian Canoe Club of Maui took third in 6:11:07.
Hawaiian’s Tiare Lawrence told KHON in a video shared by race organizers that her crew was the only one of the 47 in the race from the Valley Isle.
“The whole race I thought about Lahaina and I thought about my ohana and my community,” Lawrence said, “and that was the driving force behind all the mana that went into that waa today. I can say that for the whole entire team.”
The winning koa crew (ninth overall) was Outrigger Canoe Club in 6:23:05, and the top junior crew (13th overall) was Ka Lahui Kai in 6:41:30. The top international team was te Kahui Waka of New Zealand in 6:22:02.
The men’s version of the race, the Molokai Hoe, is set to take place on Oct. 13. Teams from Tahiti have won 13 of the last 14 editions.
“In two weeks we will have Molokai Hoe, and we invite everyone to come down and see the Olympics of Hawaiian canoe racing,” Froiseth said.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.