Broken fingers, surfing canoes and tons of fun

The moon was still out and the sky was dark as my sister and I biked up to Canoe Beach on Saturday, it was early but it was one of the rare occasions where we didn’t need coffee to aid our waking-up. We were too excited. At 6am a group of us were meeting at Lahaina Canoe Club’s hale – to load our two canoes and to car pool for the ride over to Kihei.

Long distance excitement or coffee? Both guaranteed to wake you up.

We were going to be taking part in a tag team relay from Ka Lae Pohaku in Kihei to Hankao’o/Canoe Beach in Lahaina. This race was hosted by Lae Ula O Kai and measures in at a cool 22 miles. As we drove there it was hard not to think – are we really paddling all this way back?!?

Literally speaking we weren’t all paddling 22 miles. Apart from the ‘iron’ crews, the race would be split into segments – of which two crews (one men’s, one women’s) would switch out at various points on the route to the finish line.

Once the boats were rigged and the crews were determined, we gathered to listen to the race blessing before getting ready for the first leg. I was to be seat one in our boat, with Jenny behind me, Eli in seat three, Michera in seat four, Aviva in seat five and Joe (an honorary wahine for the day) steering us in seat six.

Wahine crew member for the day Joe (sephine) Morgan.

The main thing, we were told, was to have as much fun as we could. We weren’t to worry too much about the water changes, as a lot of us had never had the chance to try one. This was an opportunity to enjoy a long distance race, check out the scenery from an incredible perspective and to have a really good time. We couldn’t wait to get going and do just that.

The start was a little different to sprints. Instead of three different colour flags being waved, there was just one and starting over the line wasn’t too much of a no-no. In fact, every single boat crept steadily forward until the starting flag was raised. Every other crew for the first leg seemed to be either all male, or mixed crews who looked very experienced

I hope I have got this in the right order – our changes were at Haycraft, “Grandma’s', Olowalu, Launiupoko and Mala Ramp – with the final stretch being from Mala to Canoe Beach.

We enjoyed our first leg – settling into the rhythm of our stroke and admiring the backs of the other canoes as they paddled away from us! The wind was blowing against us, but we got into our stride and headed towards our first water change with the men’s crew (Jordan, Mike, Spud, Mardy, Svar and Jonathan). The first change was fine, the canoe slowed to almost a complete stop and we jumped out on the right as the guys jumped in on the ama-side. Fine, that is, until we realised Jen had somehow broken her finger.

We swam to shore, by which time her finger was purple and definitely not straight any more, but she was determined to continue. “I’d have to break my arm to not paddle,” she said, “now lets get to the next leg.” Awesome effort Jen, we were all seriously impressed!

Way to go Jenny!!!

The men managed to make great time to the next change and, driving over the pali, it was incredible to look down and see this long line on bright canoes, snaking their way along the bottom of the cliffs. We had a slight mis-communication problem at the next change, which meant the guys had to do a U-turn to pick us up and wasted some of the amazing time they’d made in powering through their leg. Sorry guys!

Imua Lahainaaaaa!

All the other changes were much better and we were having a ball. It was interesting to experience the mental challenge of a longer race and ‘hitting the wall’ definitely happened once or twice along the way. The changes were fun and good to practice – it was amusing to see the traffic stopping along the highway as scores of paddlers ran across it to start their next leg. I’m sure plenty of tourists wondered what the hell was going on. There were so many of us though, that stopping cars was not a problem.

The Ole Longboard Classic surf contest was being held at Launiupoko that day and the men’s crew that we were tag teaming with wanted to make a cameo appearance. I wish I’d seen it, as they dropped in on a wave and did a variety of tricks in the canoe. From headstands, to tiki men, to the ‘dying cockroach’ – I bet it looked good and I’m sure there were a few bemused spectators on the beach as well.

The final leg felt tough for us and made me think I need a lot more long distance practice. My shoulders were aching, my bum was sore but I had a smile on my face. We all did. It was a really enjoyable event and well hosted by Lae Ula O Kai, who served lovely food and drinks once we’d crossed the finish line.

We got chance to compare notes with the other Lahaina paddlers, who we didn’t cross paths with very much during the race. Apparently on one of the first changes, Carlee was one of the last to jump into her canoe (which is no problem – one paddler has to be the last one, right?) when one of the men’s crew, who shall remain nameless, bellowed “leave her behind.” 

Now call me reactionary/sensitive/whatever you like here but that’s totally out of order isn’t it? Especially after all that was said about having fun and there being no pressure on the water changes. Just some food for thought. We’re not all at the same level and some of us did want to go out there and have fun without fear of being left behind…

*steps down from soapbox*

Thankfully Carlee didn’t end up being left behind, Jen managed to paddle with a broken finger (Imua Jenny!) and Joe was the best honorary wahine we could have asked for. The crew was great and we all had a blast. It was a truly fantastic day and for the Novice Bs it felt like a whole new adventure – one that we were so pleased to be a part of. A huge thank you to Lae Ula for a wonderful day and an even bigger IMUA to all the teams involved. Myself and the other Novice Bs loved it, thank you! 

Many mahalos for visting again. Aloha for now, Laura.

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