Apr 4 - Kalapaki-Poipu Kaua'i Hoe Wa'a Race 8

[Photos] courtesy Makana Denton
story by Kimberlee Stuart
A break in the clouds and decent winds made the run a good one for Kaua'i Hoe Paddlers in the 7th series race sponsored by Kai Kane's. The cliffs at Mahaluepu looked like a beautiful misty Chinese painting from out in the ocean (for those who perhaps weren't as race-focussed as they should have been!) Long distance competitors paddled from Kalapaki to the Kukuiola Small Boat Harbor in a distance of about 14 miles and the short distance paddlers came in about 2 miles earlier at the Waiohai in Poipu. Paddlers were greeted with food and beverage at the finish down at Brenneke's Beach Park.

David Beck was once again the overall winner but Steve Cole and Butch Keahiolalo inch closer every race, this time coming in second and third respectively, both less than three minutes behind Beck. The question remains; "Will anyone catch Dave for the Island Championships?" Noe Sawyer remains the woman to contend with in the OC1 open women's division. Maui paddler Zoe Nu'u Norcross gave Noe a run for her money through much of the race but in the end was beat out by Katy Curtis by only 3 seconds. The OC2 seems to be a growing division on Kaua'i and the combination of Sanoe Hookano and Justin Tabalno were the winners in this race. Arthur Chow clearly dominated the short distance division and Laola A'ea is really beginning to shine with her wave-riding skills in the women's short distance race.

Kaua'i paddlers have one more chance to prove themselves in the Kaua'i Island Championships on April 18th. After that they'll look foward to the Steinlager PAHIO Kaua'i World Challenge Relay on May 8th, when top paddlers from around the world will meet on the Garden Island to compete for the highest purse in the world of OC1 paddling. Competitors are urged to register on the link at this website as soon as possible. You need not register your relay partner at this point but registration will close soon so get those entries in!

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Long Course - Kalapaki Bay to Kukuiula Harbor/Poipu (approx. 14 miles)
            Name             Overall    Time          Division
Beck, David                    1st     1:31:56      1st Men Open
Cole, Steve                    2nd     1:33:34     2nd Men Open
Keahiolalo, Butch              3rd     1:33:56      3rd Men Open
Princena, Hipo                 4th     1:35:30     1st Men 40-49
Denton, Ken                    5th     1:35:42    1st SURFSKI/Men
Jumper, Leroy                  6th     1:39:04     1st Men 30-39
Rafter, Eric                   7th     1:40:09     1st Men 20-29
Goodale, Kawika                8th     1:40:37     1st Men 50-59
Tabalno, Justin/Hookano, San   9th     1:41:09     1st OC-2/Mixed
Gray, Darcy                    10th    1:41:59   1st SURFSKI/Women
Auger, Noe                     11th    1:45:27     1st Women Open
Grover, Cindy/Weiss, Jeff      12th    1:45:40     2nd OC-2/Mixed
Denton, Laurie                 13th    1:45:47   2nd SURFSKI/Women
Mersberg, Art/Anderson, Laur   14th    1:45:49     3rd OC-2/Mixed
Nichols, Mac                   15th    1:45:51     2nd Men 30-39
Jones, Donny                   16th    1:46:38     3rd Men 30-39
Curtis, Katy                   17th    1:47:24     2nd Women Open
Nu'u-Norcross, Zoe             18th    1:47:27     3rd Women Open
Goodno, Margie                 19th    1:51:53    1st Women 40-49
Callahan, Mick                 20th    1:58:44     2nd Men 50-59
Otsuji, Katy                   21st    2:00:46    2nd Women 40-49
Acoba, Fran                    22nd    2:04:38    3rd Women 40-49
Stuart, Kimberlee              23rd    2:10:07    4th Women 40-49


Short Course - Kalapaki Bay to Waiohai/Poipu (approx. 12 miles)
            Name                        Time          Division
Chow, Arthur                   1st     1:25:26      1st Men Open
MacCready, Marshall            2nd     1:27:25    1st SURFSKI/Men
Pettigrew, Richard             3rd     1:29:03      2nd Men Open
Celestino, Marshall            4th     1:29:10      3rd Men Open
Kegle, Jon                     5th     1:29:25     1st Men 30-39
Yee, Steve                     6th     1:29:34      1st Men 60+
Bartlett, Tom                  7th     1:33:42     1st Men 50-59
Scott, Basil                   8th     1:34:12     1st Men 40-49
Spanski, David                 9th     1:36:04     2nd Men 40-49
Aea, Laola                     10th    1:39:02     1st Women Open
Horwood, Midge                 11th    1:41:33     2nd Women Open
Chow, Joy                      12th    1:43:10     3rd Women Open
Graf, Nancy                    13th    1:48:10    1st Women 50-59

Posted by keizo on Tue, 04/06/2004 - 4:33am