A team of long-distance canoe paddlers reached Mokumanamana Island shortly before midnight Wednesday after a 180-mile passage that took them close to 31 hours of steady paddling.

They were forced to end their trip there, not because of fatigue, but because their escort boat was short of fuel.

Paddler Matt Muirhead reported they anchored in the lee of the island, also known as Necker Island, and woke yesterday to the sight of the rugged coastline and clear waters.

"The island is very dramatic. The very clear, blue water is brilliant," Muirhead said.

The paddlers, part of the Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society, are attempting to paddle the entire 1,400-mile length of the Hawaiian archipelago.

The canoe was loaded aboard the Makani Olu. The team is scheduled to return to Kaua'i Sunday.

The society used 18 paddlers, on hourly shifts paddling the six-seat Hawaiian outrigger canoe.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.