Australian crew won't defend title Sunday
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Mooloolaba is staying Down Under this year, so a new champion will come out on top at Sunday's Na Wahine O Ke Kai outrigger canoe race.
Mooloolaba, the two-time defending champion from Australia, is not entered this year.
"That means it's wide open," Waikiki Beach Boys coach Sean Monahan said. "There are at least five or six teams you have to look at."
The 41-mile race from Hale O Lono Harbor, Moloka'i, to Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, is considered the world championship of long-distance canoe racing for women.
In Mooloolaba's absence, Team Bradley is being labeled as the pre-race favorite.
Team Bradley will feature four paddlers from Maui, two from Kaua'i, and one each from O'ahu, Big Island, Australia and Canada.
They entered three "warm-up" races in the last month and won all three.
"We've never done this well before, so we know the spotlight is on us," team captain Noelani Auger said. "But winning some of those races has made us confident, and we're just hoping to have another good race."
Team Bradley won the Na Wahine O Ke Kai in 1999 (as Wailua Kayak & Canoe) and has placed in the top four every year since then. But during all those years, the crew did not practice together because the paddlers were from various islands.
This year, the paddlers made a commitment to practicing together, and found a coach in John Puakea.
"John really brought some direction and discipline," paddler Lauren Spalding said. "In the past, we had the talent, but we'd all just do our own thing and think that was enough. This year, we actually got together for a couple of weekends and I think it's made a big difference."
Other teams have been practicing together all year.
Among the other notable contenders:
Virtually the entire team is back after a fifth-place finish in the Na Wahine O Ke Kai last year.
"We're really excited just to be in this position," Monahan said. "But we know it's going to take a perfect race for us to win it."
"When ever there's surf, you have to watch out for Outrigger," Spalding said.
Other teams that could battle for the lead include Kai 'Opua, Hui Nalu, Healani and Newport Aquatic Center of California.
"That's what makes Moloka'i so exciting — nobody knows what's going to happen," Auger said. "There's so many factors that go into it. There's the conditions, the competition, the equipment. All you can do, really, is go out there and hope you paddle the best race you can."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.
