Another pre race update.
Thank you everyone for continuing to register! We will keep registration open all the way till race day.
We are excited to add that this year we will be having great paddlers attending RATH from both Kauai and the the Big Island. Several loaner canoes are committed from by Kamanu Composites, Tiger Canoe, and Foti Brothers. Also a huge mahalo to every paddler that has committed to letting others use your own personal watercraft for this event. You, along with our sponsors, are the people that make this race happen!
We will have paddle give aways from Kia Kaha and Kialoa paddles this year so wear your lucky shorts!

Aloha All-
Sorry it took me a couple days to get back and get my thoughts together. I feel even though I announced this at the race it bears repeating online as well. There is a rather long list of thank yous owed to the many people that made this year's RATH happen. Without them there would not have been any RATH at all this year. Literally 6 weeks before the race I was considering canceling the event for 2015 and moving it to another island in 2016. Because of a massive influx of energy and help from several people the RATH will continue on Oahu and HVA will be adding new races for 2016.
My apologies if I forget to thank any individuals or businesses.
Firstly thank you to Kapuni Patcho and Vance Hashimoto. They made the race happen this year. I contacted them in June saying the race was going to be cancelled. Their response was something like "just tell us what to do, we can take care of everything, the race has to happen". These two guys provided the motivation and work while I was on Kaua'i. Kapuni and Vance brought tables, a tent, a sound system, and trophies as well.
The Kamanu gang on Oahu. Namely Justin Watts and Keizo Gates. These two guys carried two cars worth of canoes and supplies to the race site, ran the registration, raced, AND then packed everything up and put it back in storage for next year. You also brought a pile of stuff for the annual prize massacre.
Tiger Taylor of Tiger canoe. I had never spoken to or communicated with Tiger in my life prior to this race. I sent him a text message looking for help 4 or 5 weeks prior to the RATH…maybe less. His instant response was he'd find us 4 loaner canoes and possibly ship canoes from the Big Island just for the race. On race day he himself showed up with no less than 6 canoes, maybe more! Tiger flew all the way from the Big Island to check out the race, provide canoes, and help any way that he could.
Tim Awaya has designed a new race shirt for the RATH every year. People are always stoked on his shirts.
To Christian Marston Sr and Junior for flying over to Oahu and racing. Not only did you come to play, but you ran errands before the race to pick up supplies, set up flags, a tent, and the finish line banner.
Luke Evslin and Manny Kulukulualani have both helped with the RATH and HVA's vision from the get go. PA'A has been a constant supporter from day one and has helped make sure we are legal by running the permitting process every year. Luke has shared in HVA's goal of providing a great event that is VERY fun, competitive, and provides a perfect arena for paddlers of all ages to get into V1 and be stoked about paddling..
Maui Kjeldsen for providing canoe paddles to give away this year. People are always jacked to win a paddle!! And Kia Kaha provided a couple beauties this year.
Kaholo Faulkner, for making our race shirts come out great every single year. He's a great guy and always manages to get the printing done for us even when we place last minute orders for our race shirts.
Ron Coteen has always taken care of the RATH as well. He has been one of our most vocal supporters throughout the years. He has always supplied tons of prizes for give aways at the race. This year many people went home with killer shirts, paddle covers, and paddle bags. Thanks to Ron.
Mahalo to Simeon Ke Paloma for bringing your four man canoe down this year and giving out free rides and cruises around the race course. People were pumped to go out. I hope all the people that asked me about rides got a hold of you eventually.
Lono Goo, saved us at the last minute. He showed up with an escort boat and made sure we were all safe. Lono also donated 5 Koa bowls which he carved himself for the division winners. Without a doubt the best winner trophies we've ever had.
To every paddler that comes and competes, smiles, and has fun. You guys remind me every year why this sport is so awesome and so much fun. I look forward to seeing everyone and saying hi every year. Seeing families with generations of new paddlers at the event was killer.
A couple last thoughts and I'll end this stream on consciousness. The turnout this year was incredible! We had over a 100 people register for the race. I don't think that's ever happened before. In the end we had a few no shows. But never before has registration cracked the century mark for the RATH.
Possibly the coolest thing I saw this year was that we had enough 18 and under paddlers to run a separate heat race just for youth paddlers. We never had the numbers to do this before! But the real kicker was AFTER the race. There were several kids who just grabbed boats and went out and caught waves all by themselves! These 9 to 11 year olds could carry boats into the water, take them out, deftly maneuver them in the water, then catch and surf waves under control all the way back to shore. They were so natural and having so much fun they weren't even thinking about not having a rudder, or crashing, etc. They were actually talking, yelling, and joking between each other while they were surfing. All of them were super stoked on paddling and had a solid grasp of the skill it takes to control a canoe using only their paddles. I'd personally had never seen kids in Hawaii that young be so comfortable in the ocean and able to control their wa'a so naturally. Being the old softy that I am now it literally brought tears to my eyes. Thank goodness I had sunglasses on.
What will the end result of all this be? I'm not sure. But hopefully these young kids grow up with a healthy love for paddling, competition, and carry a new self confidence into their adult years. See you all at Kualoa Beach Park next year. Sorry again if I forgot to thank anyone for this year's race.
Mahalo-
Jeremy Cole
http://www.ocpaddler.com/results/2015/race_around_hat_2015