Molokai Hoe 2014

What are the thoughts this year?

I think there are a lot of questions about this year. Does the attendance turn around from previous trend?

2010 Men's race-122 Crews
2011 Men's race-108 Crews
2012 Men's race-100 Crews
2013 Men's race-99 Crews

Will we have another flat year?
It looks like huge battles developing in the 40's and 50's races this year.
Does Hawaiian Airlines sponsorship change anything?
Is EDT coming to battle Shell again?
IS Mellow Johnny's a serious contender for 1st?
I haven't heard much from Team Primo or Lanikai.
Where does Team Kauai place?

Great race coming up.

Submitted by Kona J on Fri, 09/12/2014 - 7:24am



Kind of funny that I have to prove that "miles and time on the water leads to results."

EDT, Shell Vaa, Air Tahiti nui paddle together everyday and put in ton of miles they did good.

In terms of Hawaii crews (I am not at every practice) but from observing and Facebook posts of guys. Lanikai, Kauai, and Kailua, Hui Nalu did huge miles together this year and did island to island trips with a lot of V6 and OC6 paddling rather than OC1.

Team Primo guys have paddled together a lot over the years.

I don;t know what happened to Mellow Johnny's (I would like to hear)

In terms of poor results, our crew didn't practice much together and got smashed. ;)

Has it finally been proved that a double-bend paddle is better?


#71 Thu, 10/16/2014 - 10:10am


A lot of crews put in plenty time and miles and didn't do well. I"m sure some did worse and put in more time this year than last or they did worse and put in equal amt of time.
It's a key element but it ain't the key element to lead to results.


#72 Thu, 10/16/2014 - 10:54am


k


#73 Thu, 10/16/2014 - 4:06pm


Translation of that piece from the paper in Tahiti which tells why Tahitians win in Hawai'i:-Tahitians have mastered synchronization(timing),they paddle 6 out of 7 days with the same crew,they know each other and have developed what they call"feeling",an aptitude to adapt to whatever meteorological conditions there are.They paddle year long,for the races have gone from once a month to every Saturday,on different waters,sliding(Hawaiki Nui),swell(Tahiti Nui va'a EDT),upwind(marathon polynesie 1ere),and long distance.
In the years 2000,with clubs such as Fa'a'a,Pira'e Va'a mobil,Shell Va'a,OPT Va'a,EDT Va'a, va'a becomes the national sport.270 clubs,4700 members.The latest equipment,clean lifestyle,medical follow through(nutritionist,physiotherapist-masseur), high level training.The technique of Tahitians is diversified,to the "Huti pa'ari"(hard pull) of our ancestors is added the "Huti pe'e" (jump pull),70 strokes/min,and the mastering of sliding.At the 2011 Moloka'i,waves are over 4 meters,the Hawaiians are pleased and say that they will finally get their revenge.Three Tahitian teams are first,and the first Hawaiian team is way behind,the Tahitians are beyond doubt the 'Aito(Champions) of Va'a.These last few years,weight has become an issue,one must weigh less than 80 kilos(176lbs) so as to not weight down the canoe.What to do to reach the level of the Tahitians? Simply do as them,organize more races in Hawai'i,regularly come to Tahiti to gauge one's level,develop the recruiting ground of paddlers.Hawaiians detect a champion every 5 years,whereas in Tahiti we find ten every year thanks to learning the va'a in elementary school .To put it clearly, that va'a becomes,as Tamatoa Perez,former coach of EDT Va'a calls it,a collective state of mind.


#74 Thu, 10/16/2014 - 2:12pm


Such a humble article...


#75 Thu, 10/16/2014 - 11:19pm


it's a tough pill to swallow when everything that Kava wrote is pretty much the truth.


#76 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 5:14am


"These last few years,weight has become an issue,one must weigh less than 80 kilos(176lbs) so as to not weight down the canoe."

Wow, is this true? How can?


#77 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 6:18am


kileki, not doubting the article's substance or veracity, just making an observation on the way the message was conveyed, albiet--perhaps--unintended.


#78 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 6:19am


Keep in mind that this article was written by a journalist,not a paddler.Nationalistic pride.


#79 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 8:47am


also when run through google translate things usually get pretty jumbled.


#80 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 11:54am


jc9 I translated that straight from French,I did not even see that there was an English version available,it would have saved me a lot of time pecking away at the keyboard,cuz I can't type,only with one finger,sad.So if there are any mistakes,my bad.


#81 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 1:32pm


just checked again,no English on that article.But I watched a segment on Rete Ebb,(EDT),talking about so little time with his family,showing the guys have 4am practice,8 hour work day,4pm practice,race on Saturdays.Sacrifice.


#82 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 1:47pm


I was on my ski outside Royal Hawaiian right where/when EDT and Shell did their last changes- can't comment on the possibility of a fake change even though I was 50 feet from EDT because their escort was blocking my view but I do know for sure that Shell was on a disastrous outside line close to100 yards outside EDT and pointing wide. I actually didn't even spot shell at first because they were so far out. Shell's "1-boat lead" only looked that way because they were pointed way outside the turn buoy.

Immediately after the change Shell corrected and pointed in, that's when it was apparent EDT was in the lead, with the inside advantage. As we all know, if you get stuck wide through that section and have to come in against the wind, you are hosed.

At the time I thought Shell might have been pointing at the wrong buoy- there were 2 bright pink round markers way outside Ft. de Russy that they seemed to be heading for, perhaps not seeing the much duller orange triangle turn buoy at the channel?

Take my opinion for what's it worth I'm just an old d-bag that didn't even race this season.


#83 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 2:37pm


One fake change = one boat link.....not giving away strategy but bet some contenders will be doing those next year, like a lot of fakes!
I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of practices next year will be all about the fake change.

Oh great article by the way. I think it was perfectly said and real.


#84 Fri, 10/17/2014 - 3:04pm


kava, not giving you a hard time. just saying that some things are always lost in translation. especially if i use something like Google to do it.


#85 Sat, 10/18/2014 - 6:02am


I must say it was a pleasure to get the chance to see Shell Va'a and EDT pass us twice in a single race.

On the subject of feel, I think it is a very very very crucial part of a 6 man crew. After 1 month of Tahitian Training they paddle in their respective seats with their respective crew roughly 60 times.
The average Hawaii crew paddles 2 or 3 times a week plus 1 race on weekends during regular season, giving them maybe 20 "chances" to get into a canoe together... with 1/4th of that time with the same crew? maybe 5 times a month with their proper crew?

In my opinion a few minutes could be gained from this fact alone.

aloha


#86 Sat, 10/18/2014 - 10:14am


http://www.tahiti-infos.com/
http://www.tahiti-infos.com/Va-a-Rete-Ebb-Le-portrait-du-Super-Aito-2014...
hope these links work,scroll down to Local Sports,nice article about Rete,the peperu for EDT,and also about Molokai Hoe


#87 Thu, 10/23/2014 - 1:25pm


links work,but the English translation is really funny,Google translation gotta be,jc9 0


#88 Thu, 10/23/2014 - 1:29pm


Respect.


#89 Fri, 10/24/2014 - 7:02am


It's not easy to translate. Here's my interpretation of some interesting parts:

Question: How did you arrive at the decision to take a line closer to the shore?

The decision was not made in advance. It was based on the "feel" of the course. We wanted to try something to close the gap. It was a gamble that paid off. The coach told us we were getting close to the coast, after that it was up to me to pay attention, with the guys in the canoe, to put us in a good position. I made sure we didn't get too close to "eat a wave" and risk not finishing the race.

Question: Winning in those circumstances must have been an incredible feeling?

Leaving Coco Head you see the last point of Diamond Head, we were committed to the inside and we saw Shell tracking to the outside. We knew that, if we pushed even harder, we could close the gap. Then we made a fake change, which Shell bought and that allowed us to pull even and I felt that we were going to win because we were heading straight to the buoy but we had to give everything we had. To win like that, when [Shell] was leading up to 5-10 minutes before the finish, that was huge. We didn't really expect to do it, we were amazed and happy.

Question: Your next objective Hawaiki Nui with a new plan? Victory in 2012, in 2013 Paddling Connection were the winners. Are you worried about them?

We didn't train very much specifically for a change race. Maybe twice and without an escort boat. We managed Molokai by feel. (...) At that level [presumably now speaking about Hawaiiki Nui] everybody wants to win. You have to pay attention to this club [Paddling] but we're not in any kind of a panic. We don't listen to what people are saying randomly. We try to remain calm before the race and, when the race is on, we will see who is the strongest. May the best team win!


#90 Fri, 10/24/2014 - 10:37am


One thing to point out is that Shell Vaa needed to make a change in last .5 mile, since 3 of their paddlers didn't have the correct jersey on.


#91 Fri, 10/24/2014 - 10:57am


Aloha/Iaorana to All,

I've always been a huge fan of Shell Va'a, and I had the privilege to visit them a couple of years ago. However, in my opinion EDT Va'a is a better 'ambassador' of the sport from both a local and international perspectives.

Pacific Petroleum is a holding that has the right to sell the Shell brand in the South Pacific, and the major shareholder is Albert Moux (Le Patron). Even tough big from a revenue/infrastructure perspective, it is as a family business. The son who created the Shell Va'a team in the late 90s, Mr. Patrick Moux, left Pacific Petroleum to start Vodafone Polynesie, and that's why there is this 'branding' confusion between Shell and Vodafone in the Va'a team. Shell Va'a is a very closed organisation, a bit of a 'mafia' with no external sponsors and I was politely invited to turn off any cameras whilst in training. For those who don't know, the ex-paddler Roland Teahui is now the 3rd coach in 2014 after Gerard Teiva resigned (or was fired) after losing the Molokai Hoe. The TNTV coverage from last year's Hawaiki Nui shows that the team A fiasco during the 1st leg was because the business boss chose the route to be taken from Huahine to Raiatea, not the coach or paddlers....

On the other hand, EDT is a corporate organisation, the South Pacific branch of French GDF Suez. They have external sponsors such as Viper Va'a, STC Nutrition and Roberto Gym. They've always been opened to promote the growth of the sport by sponsoring Va'a schools in Tahiti, organizing canoe races such as the Tahiti Nui Va'a, sending paddlers to compete at the 2014 Molo Solo or spending time with Hawaiians from Mellow Johnny's to share their technique and training regimen.

To me, EDT Va'a is promoting the sport with a professional & corporate approach without losing the Polynesian fundamental values. I can only hope that in the years to come they can make the sport more professional and exciting. Viva le sport!!!!


#92 Fri, 10/24/2014 - 7:36pm


Thanks for the insights feirulegui
.(That red vodafone ferry sure is obnoxious)


#93 Sat, 10/25/2014 - 7:28am


Fucking right on feirulegui!

I feel gratitude to those who have supported the sport financially, albeit the canoe paddling community has thrived with or without corporate sponsorship or mainstream recognition. As paddlers we are in service to the community and the ancestry of the sport more then we are to the powers that be, be it political or corporate. The irony of the flag of Shell being the dominating symbol/name in the Molokai Hoe and around the world is unsettling.
Royal Dutch Shell is responsible for numerous environmental devastations and atrocities to the very ocean we all claim to love and protect.
That said, aligning with them is not necessarily a mistake, so long as we remember our priorities.

Thumbs up to both teams, and the organization of EDT, there positive vibes come through in all their interviews and soundbites. I hope we can come together as a community to support our sport with progressive vision and grounded values. The future is bright!


#94 Sat, 10/25/2014 - 12:48pm


EDT pissing off everybody in French Polynesia lately,trying to get the government to TAX people that have installed PhotoVoltaic ,EDT complaining that they are not making as much money now.


#95 Tue, 10/28/2014 - 10:58am


sounds like EDT is taking pointers from Hawaiian Electric.

not sure what this has to do with paddlers though.


#96 Tue, 10/28/2014 - 11:59am


well,ties in to the posts of feirulegui and joe above,about corporate sponsors.Would you paddle for Monsanto or Dow Chemical?


#97 Tue, 10/28/2014 - 2:02pm


this thread has taken a most refreshing turn! bravo!


#98 Tue, 10/28/2014 - 3:02pm


how much would they pay me?


#99 Tue, 10/28/2014 - 7:43pm


They would pay you with GMO corn.


#100 Wed, 10/29/2014 - 2:13am


Sorry to continue with the derailment of this thread, but why doesn't Hawaiian Electric or Hawaiian Tel have a team? With the crazy cost of electricity in Hawaii, HECO could afford to give back a little.


#101 Wed, 10/29/2014 - 12:19pm


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