Crew lineups for men's Moloka'i

Don't know all the details but know 103 crews registered at this time maybe a few more by race time. Last year Record with 124 crews.

#1 Wed, 10/05/2011 - 2:56pm

about the link above : mwahahahAHAHAHAHA !

#3 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 8:33am

Thanks for the insults...

Of course Team Primo would do better than most of us... When did you read something else ? But when they claim they can beat Shell, anyone can give his opinion, and mine is that if Shell should be beaten by another team, taht would be EDT.

BTW, reading your profile shows your achievements... and the high opinion you have of yourself !

#5 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 10:07am

My apologies if I didn't understood the article and if I made a mistake.

But the title of the article linked is : "Team Primo aims to end reign of Shell Va‘a".
Further down the article "We really strive to bring the title back to Hawaii. Shell Va'a has won six in a row, a stranglehold on it, so it is time to bring it home."
Of course they don't bragg like "we'll beat shell..." but "It's time to bring the title home".
And last : "We are not out there to get second place."

Again, sorry if someone is upset when I say that I don't believe they can beat Shell or EDT this year...
Good luck to everyone.

#7 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 12:51pm

now now, calm down boys….
Hiro, I don't think you were out of line. I do however disagree and think this could be the year that Primo does it. After watching Hawaiki Nui and seeing Shell fall apart day after day as soon as OPT pulled up next to them and added some pressure, I strongly believe that if Primo can stay calm and slowly track Shell down that they will rattle Shell leaving them scrambling and soon blowing up. So thats a big IF, but again I think it is with in reach. Shell is definitely not as strong as they were last year and I think you can confirm that, yes? No Dubois, No Rolland, No Seat 2 (the one from Moorea), who else did they lose?… yes they still have Yohan, Bruno, Moana, their steersman (his name slips me) and others but its clearly not the Shell Vaa of years past and the results of Tahiti races shows that. OPT also took some hits this year and I wonder if thats why they are here in Hawaii? OR are they just saving up for Hawaiki Nui and Olumau? Hmmmmm…..
It is clear that EDT is the powerhouse this year in Tahiti, but will their young, talented, yet inexperienced (molokai Hoe) crew be able to hang with veteran steersman of Primo and Shell?
Shell, OPT and EDT have all won, and lost some races this year in Tahiti…. with Shell and OPT seemingly rebuilding again later in the season. But EDT has been pretty consistent.
Either way, it will be a good race and should provide some excitement for those you watching at home on the live feed that Ocean Paddler Tv will be making available via www.molokaihoe.com

#9 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 12:19pm

Aloha everyone,

As any other sport, when it comes to top level competition, anything can happen...Personally, I don't think the Hawaiians are on the same level of the Tahitians. The Tahitian top teams (Shell, OPT and EDT) are professional paddlers paddling twice a day, unless when they go to the gym early in the morning followed by a 7km run on the mountains (and then paddle in the arvo). Considering the long trains on saturdays, they are paddling around 20-25 hrs per week. On the top of that, they have a staff to support the team in all aspects: supplements, massage, physical trainer, coach, etc. At the end of the day, just like most of us Primo is just a group of friends, who all have jobs and paddle for fun. To be a top 5 (and eventually winners) on this race, it shows their huge talent and dedication.

In my opinion, and Hiro can clarify that better even tough he is based in Huahine, Shell Va'a is on a transition mode. Gerard Teiva left the team in 2010 and the previous captain - Jimmy Pirato ended up taking the coaching role. And that changes everything. Mauitim, you saw that during last year's Hawaiki Nui, OPT did not change the key paddlers throughout the 3 days: Mike Varney (no.1), Teakura (no.3), Steeve (no.4) and Eric Deane (steersman) paddled on the same seat all 3 days. On the other hand, with the exception of the peperu David Tepava, Shell changed every single paddler every day....To me, that shows inconsistency. Aditionally, you have a transition with the paddlers where the older ones either retired (e.g. Karyl Maoni, Pirato) or lost (e.g. Roland Teahui, Lucien Tara - the one from Moorea) their seat to younger ones. It's natural, Shell was the 1st one to professionalise the va'a sport in Tahiti, they won everything during 4-5 years, and then OPT & EDT decided to invest heavily by hiring top level coaches and paddlers.

EDT is a good example: only this year, after hiring a new coach (Tamatoa Perez - ex-Pirae), Steeve Teihotaata from OPT and some other young guns such as the 2011 Super Aito champion (Rete Ebb - peperu) and Kevin on the top of a solid base, which includes ex- Shell paddlers (Matatini Dehors, Heiarii Mama and Jason Ori) that they became strong contenders for any given race. That takes a lot of $, leadership, etc....

I believe that OPT is basically focusing their energy to win the 2011 Hawaiki Nui Va'a, which is celebrating the 20th edition this year, and is by far the most prestigious race for all French Polynesians... Good indications of this are:
- they hired Taaroa Dubois and Hambin from Shell Va'a;
- Even tough Heiva Paie Amo was 3rd place overall at the 2011 Super Aito, other top OPT paddlers such as Georges Cronsteadt, Taaroa and Mike Varney did not even paddled the main 2011 V1 races such as the Te Aito & Super Aito. Training focused for Hawaiki Nui?
- OPT did not go to Molokai Hoe (?)
Considering that the most prestigious race so far - Faati Moorea has been won by OPT, and they won the last 2 Hawaiki Nui Va'a races after Rene Avaepi took the coaching role, to me they are the favourites again!

I believe that is awesome to see the sport growing, and everyone learning from each other with the industry growing (canoes, equipment, etc.) where we can watch these big races on the internet and/or on DVDs... I believe this sport has so much potential to become mainstream, as we've seen what happened with surfing and more recently stand up surfing. Pls leave your individual preferences and negative opinions somewhere else before posting on this forum.

We will not agree with everything, but the more we paddle as one, the more unity we'll have and sport is only gonna grow...Good luck to everyone paddling on the 2011 Molokai Hoe!!!

#11 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 1:35pm

i'm surprised no one mentioned lanikai in this thread. one of the top club crews from hawai'i for sure. i thought they actually won the last race against a full strength primo, right? no offense to primo, but perhaps they're a favorite for the first hawai'i crew across the finish line.

#13 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 3:49pm

Did I hear right that Primo did a practice Kaiwi crossing the day before the henry? May have slowed them down some that day ...

Wind and tides are favorable for good times from everybody this year, record in sight perhaps? Maybe the longer first change will affect some teams more than others?

#15 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 6:12pm

Hey man, i don't think its fair to bag on Primo, their attitude shows a competitive aptitude that respects Shell but doesnt bow down in awe, but I can fully understand why Hiro would be annoyed . if there was a Huahine team we would be cheering for Huahine instead of Shell? glad to see EDT here and good Good luck and Faitoitoto to all crews. We'll see what happens on the day and looking forward to watching! I'll be changing nappies... ha ha!
Kingi

#17 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 6:27pm

Team Primo did the Pailolo Challenge the day before the Henry Ayau race. They completed the 26 mile course in 2:42 and 11 minutes ahead of the 2nd place Livestrong.

#19 Sat, 10/08/2011 - 8:51pm

SHELL FIRST WITH A RECORD (What do you said)

Shell is definitely not as strong as they were last year and I think you can confirm that, yes? No Dubois, No Rolland, No Seat 2 (the one from Moorea), who else did they lose?… yes they still have Yohan, Bruno, Moana, their steersman (his name slips me) and others but its clearly not the Shell Vaa of years past and the results of Tahiti races shows that

EDT SECOND FOR FIRST TIME on this race (what do you said)

It is clear that EDT is the powerhouse this year in Tahiti, but will their young, talented, yet inexperienced (molokai Hoe) crew be able to hang with veteran steersman of Primo and Shell?

AND NOW.TAHITI FIRST OPEN MAN AND LIVERSTRONG TAHITI FIRST VETERANT +40

WHAT EXCUSE NOW

#21 Sun, 10/09/2011 - 1:12pm

Bravo ! Congratulations to all paddlers who crossed the kaiwi channel today.
Shell va'a did quite well for a team that's on the decline... :)
I would really have been happy for EDT had they won. Anyway they did a fantastic race : 2nd place for their first time in Molokai !
Special note about Air Tahiti, or Team Livestrong Tahiti : They are total AMATEURS... You can call Shell Va'a or EDT professionals if you want, but those guys are not. And they rank in the top 6.

There's no secret but passion, hard training, will and sacrifices (no family time).

See you all in Hawaiki Nui.

#23 Sun, 10/09/2011 - 2:21pm

i'm not sure anyone gets to take the trophy home, no matter where they're from. the original trophy sits in a building in downtown honolulu where no one can touch it. pretty sure the current trophy is perpetual so no one gets to keep it. they take a picture with it and hold it... right? wasn't this whole story told on ocpaddler last year?

anyway, congrats to everyone. all the paddlers out there did it faster than i can or will. all i did today was get updates online while eating peanut m&m's. as always the tahitians, lanikai, primo, and many others inspire us all to try and get faster. too bad hawaiki nui is unable to get a broadcast online too! mahalo to ocean paddler and the molokai hoe organizers for a job well done and creating more excitement about this race than ever.

#25 Sun, 10/09/2011 - 5:54pm

too bad hawaiki nui is unable to get a broadcast online too!

Yep ! They did it once. 2005 I think. Was filmed and aired by the staff that usualy covers the "Tour de France" ! Was great ! They even had an Helicopter and took some incredible views from the air. Too bad they don't do it now :(

And once again thanks for the show Terry.

#27 Sun, 10/09/2011 - 8:58pm