Pacific Paddler April 2014 - (Page 6)

Imua Kamehameha... barely! On a blustery, overcast day at Keʻehi Lagoon, Kamehameha Kapalama paddlers took home two out of three gold medals awarded in the annual HHSAA State Paddling Championships conducted over the half mile course. Kamehameha prevailed in both the boys and girls finals with Punahou taking the mixed division race. On the boys side however, it was the ultimate blanket finish with three top crews, Kamehameha, Punahou, and OIA champion Kalaheo battling it out right down to the line. No one was ready to celebrate a victory as not only the crews but also spectators were unsure who the winner was. It wasn't much easier for officials either, with the outcome in doubt for almost fifteen minutes of careful video review. Finally it was decided that Kamehameha Kapalama was first by a blink of an eye edging Punahou by 0.31 seconds in a time of 3:35.17 with third place Kalaheo only 0.74 off the winner's mark. It was the Warriors second straight boys title, and their last second surge may have been helped by memories of the 2012 finish in Hilo where arch rival Punahou took the title by 0.13 seconds in another nail biter. Senior steersman Kapono Fujitani said, "It comes down to who wanted it the most and trained the hardest. We put it all on the line. All the hours of practice and years of hard work came down to that fraction of a second." Kamehameha and Punahou dominated their preliminary heats and were primed to settle it when the finals took place. The Warriors were slight favorites coming in as ILH champions in the boys and girls divisions. The mixed division had a champion, Punahou, but only on the strength of a coin flip after splitting their regular season races. Defending 2013 State Champion Seabury Hall was right there early, but the last quarter mile saw Kamehameha pull ahead of second place Punahou as the three top crews swept across the finish. All three crews topped last year's winning time with Kamehameha first in 4:09.31, Punahou second in 4:16.77 and Seabury third in 4:18.39. The mixed title went to Punahou (3:47.20) besting three-time defending champion Kamehameha (3:51.16) and Kaiser (3:59. 54). Their winning time was faster than last year's winning mark of 3:52.73. It was a dominant performance by 'Oahus' ILH crews overall, and next year crews will travel to Maui for the 2015 competition. By Peter Caldwell 6 Pacific Paddler April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Paddler April 2014

Imua Kamehameha... barely!
Kanaka Ikaika
PAA: Koanui
SoCal racing
Race Against Skin Cancer
PNWOCRA Canada
Choosing a paddle: an interview with Dave Chun
Conditioning for paddlers
A new generation takes to water
Kanehunamoku Voyaging Academy
Hokulea update

Pacific Paddler April 2014