Novice B Women

On April 2, 2011, Hon Pearl participated in the 5th Annual POCC Iron Challenge with 3 crews.  Hon Pearl paddlers competed in Novice Women and Men, and Open Men categories.  The race was sponsored by Pu’uloa Outrigger Canoe Club and it was in honor of Kammy VeraCruz.

The race had a short course and a long course and was held at Keehi Lagoon.  The short course was similar to previous week’s Kahiau race.  Teams paddled out of the Keehi Laggon and back in.  The long course was little different and went out side of the harbor, and came back to lagoon from Sand Island side.  The conditions were calmer and there weren’t much wind or surf.

Hon Pearl Novice B Women came in second place and finished seconds behind the first place Kamahao team.  Olelo o Ke Ola team came in 3rd place after Hon Pearl team.  Paddlers in the Novice B Women’s team were Patricia Russ Lee, Andrea Dolera, Brandi Devall Brickler, Adrienne Hopper, and Erica

Honolulu Pearl Novice B Men and Women

Entz. Congratulations Novice B Women, we are proud of you!

The Novice B Men team also performed incredibly well.  They started the race full speed and they were heading for the lead position and going strong.  But an unfortunate and “undeserved” huli brought them to a stop.  But it didn’t deter them.  They quickly recovered from the huli and went back paddling full speed.  In spite of the “undeserved” huli, they finished the race only 8 minutes after the 1st place Kamehameha Novice B crew.  They are the number one in hour hearths. Good job Novice B Men, keep up with the good performance.

Hon Pearl Open Men competed in the long course.  They came in 9th place overall, and only 4 minutes short of the Open Men 3rd place.

Here is the 5th POCC Iron Challenge Official Results.

During Molokai Hoe 2010, Kaua‘i native Luke Evslin was seriously injured when the propeller of the escort boat hit him

Paddlers in the water

at the back.  Luke Evslin is a seasoned paddler with more than 20 Molokai crossings.  He is also one of the best OC1 and V-1 paddlers, and one of the founders of the Kamanu Composites.

Although a lot of fun and thrill, the open ocean long distance outrigger canoe races can present some dangers.  Especially the crew changes are the riskiest part of the long distance races.  Specifically the first crew change is the worse, because all the teams and the escort boats are still close together and there is not much room to maneuver.   Every crew member in the canoe, coaches

Escort boat in full speed

and team members on the escort boat,  and the captain of the escort boats needs to be alert and watching for each other the entire time.  It is very important to have a well understood and rehearsed protocol.  Nevertheless, sometimes with the best preparations and most experienced crews, there will be conditions which might still put the crew in harms way.

Recently Ocean Paddler TV had an interview with Luke Evslin.  You can listen to the full story from Luke’s own words.  He talks about how the accident happened, how he was taken to the hospital and treated, the dangers of open ocean races and some of the precautions that we can take  such as using propeller guards and having a good protocol.

Find the whole story at Ocean Paddler TV.  You may need to choose Episode 33 from the list.

Hon Pearl Team at Kahiou 2011

On March 26th, 2011 Saturday, Honolulu Pearl participated in the 6th Annual Kahiau Canoe Race at Ke’ehi Lagoon.  The race was sponsored by Keahiakahoe Canoe Club from the Windward side.

Honolulu Pearl had 2 men’s crews, one mix and one women’s crew competed at the event.  This was the first race for the season for us and we had many new members first time racing at an outrigger canoe race.  It was a blast.

There were two parts to the race.  The first part was a short course where teams headed out from Ke’ehi Lagoon to outside of the harbour and turned around two buoys and came back in the harbor.  Women’s and mix teams raced at the short course.  The second course was a longer one and stretched toward to downtown Honolulu and back.  This course was for the men’s crews.

It was the perfect fist race for the new paddlers. We had some strong Easterly winds and as soon as we headed outside of the harbour, we were greeted by 3-4 footers.  It got quite choppy with some wind swell from East and ground swell coming from South.  Stronger crews got to catch bumps on two of the legs, while all the teams also had to fight against the head on wind and the surf during part of the course.  There couldn’t have been a better ice breaker for the new paddlers for  the open ocean.

At the event we were lucky to have sports and events reporter Alan Kang.  Alan covers all kinds of local sports and events  in Hawaii at Alan K Sports Hawaii.  You can read his articles at HawaiiLocalNews.BlogSpot.com .  Alan was invited by Mr. Gilbert Silva, Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association, and Tom Connor, Legendary paddler and Hawaii’s best competitive steersman, and Stan Dixon, Board President of the Keahiakahoe Canoe Club.  Alan took some professional photos of the event and they are awesome.  Just to get the feel of the event, visit the Alan Kang’s event photo gallery.  One picture worth a thousand words.  You can find the links right below:

• Women / Mix Course Photos
• Men’s Course Photos
• Candid and Awards Photos

And here is the link to Alan’s article covering the event.

Alan, mahalo for coming and capturing the first ever canoe race of our new paddlers.

You can find the official Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA) 6th Kahiou Outrigger Canoe race result here.

Great start Honolulu Pearl!…  Dhoom Machale 2011 !!!!!

Note:  The group photo in this posting is courtesy of Alan Kang.

I have written this article after 2010 Na Wahine O Ke Kai race.  It was sent to a local military publication, but it did not get published.  Because it was intended for military publication, you will notice the formal titles and ranks of the paddlers in the article.  I am just keeping the article as is with all the ranks and titles, since our military affiliation is one of the distinct identities of Honolulu Pearl.  The article was getting dusted in my Google docs and I thought it will be put in better use, if I finally share it.

What is up with the title?

LoL.  I expected you ask that.

Dhoom Machale is a phrase in Hindi language (one of the languages spoken in India).  It loosely means “Let’s Rock!” in English.  I heard about it in a Bollywood movie Dhoom 2.  They were dancing to a song with the same name “Dhoom Machale“.  I love Indian music, especially the modernized versions.  The cast danced to the music in a crazy fast pace.  It just reminded me the Hon Pearl ladies.  If you ever get the pleasure of paddling in a 6-man outrigger canoe as the only man with 5 other Hon Pearl ladies, you will understand what I mean.  Just try to keep up with the pace, and see what happens.  So, I though it would be proper to name the article with the song’s name.

Actually I though about naming the article with another song “Crazy Kiya Re“.  But I may get in trouble for that one.  So maybe we just keep that one for another article.

BTW - The song names above are actual links to the YouTube video clips.  Have fun!

Who is that guy in the video clips?

I though you would ask that too.  His name is Hrithik Roshan, the Indian actor from the movie.  I hear women find him cute.  Ok, ok … “HOT !”.  So enjoy it!  And please Dhoom Machale in 2011 again.

And finally here is the article……

Ladies – Dhoom Machale!!!!!

On September 26th Sunday, 2010,  Honolulu Pearl canoe club women’s team competed in Na Wahine O Ke Kai (Women of the Sea).  The race started at Molokai and ended at Waikiki Beach after 42 miles.  This year 82 teams from US Mainland, Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand participated in the race. 

Charissa Ono

Ten crew members who paddled in the race were Captain  Tracy Sampson, Marine Corps; MSgt.  Elizabeth Sabog, Hawaii Air National Guard; Senior Airmen Emily Huggins, US Air Force; Megan Broadway, Chantel Ching, Kim Hasegawa, Charissa Ono, Kim Falinski (Jersey), Maxine Mendes and Elizabeth Cawrey. 

All 10 crew members crossed the Kaiwi Channel first time.  Molokai race is a very significant event and in the international paddling community, the number of times a paddler’s crossing the channel is an indication of experience.

“There are several teams compete for the top positions every year.  For many other teams the success is finishing the race safely.” said coach Tammy Dureg.  “It is not uncommon to see teams fail mid way.  Sometimes several canoes end up getting towed back to shore.  Our team actually did really good.  I am very proud” she added.

Kim Falinski

The team had some thrilling and funny moments in between islands.  “If there were a category for teams that had the most fun and thrill, we definitely would be the first place.” said Maxine. 

Megan Broadway

One of those thrilling events happened at a water change.  At water changes, 3 paddlers jump off the escort boat to replace 3 other paddlers in the canoe.  That way paddlers can take a 20 minute break before they get back to paddling again.  “Coach called a water change, and I jumped off the boat as usual.  Next thing I know is everybody was yelling at me to watch out and get back on the boat quick.  I was the only one in the water.  I was confused.  Then I started to think all the things that can be in deep ocean.  I don’t want to name it, but starts with letters ‘sh’ ” said Chantel. 

“I called for the change. Then at the last second I noticed it.  I said oh my, it is not safe to put the paddlers in the water now.  I called to abort the change.”  Said coach Tammy.  But it was too late and Chantel was already in the water.

After some turmoil, ladies quickly pulled Chantel back to boat with no harm.  Later on, Harvey Huckso, who was helping with logistics, explained:  “We have seen it the previous day when we were taking the escort boat to Molokai.  I though it would have been gone already on the race day, but it was still there.  A big ship must have dumped its entire waste tank.  It was bad. The stuff you don’t want to be in.”

Two teams paddle fiercely for the finish line

Chantel continued “I got back on the escort boat.  The other ladies insisted that I took a good shower before joining them back”.  Luckily the team had one of the bigger escort boats with fresh water tank and a shower.  After the race the team had a big lough over the incidence. 

There was another close call at another water change.  “After a change, we were swimming back to the boat.  Then theycalled for heads up.  When I turned back, I saw another team’s canoe rushing towards us.  We yelled and waved.  But Chantel got stuck in the front.  She got  hit on the head and then she went under.” said Liz Cawrey.

“I tried to swim away, but wasn’t fast enough.  The front of the canoe hit my head.  I dived down to protect myself.  When I thought I was clear I went up. Then got hit again.  By a paddle this time.”  Chantel added.  “Luckily I did not get hurt and  could continue.”

Almost at 7 hour point when the team was finally across Diamond Head, it happened.  The canoe swung around and hulied.  Huli is the local term for capsize.  Although the outrigger stabilizes the canoe, it still can capsize in choppy water.  “We do regular huli drills, so paddlers can recover as fast as possible and continue with the race.”  Tammy explained.

Msgt. Sabog giving final directives

MSgt. Sabog was in the canoe when it capsized.  “We did not expect to huli.  We were so tired. Recovery was taking a little longer than I thought it should.  I felt like I needed to take charge.  In a loud, and firm manner, and as kindly as the conditions permit, I reminded the ladies that we needed to move faster.  They quickly agreed.” said Sabog. 

“I heard Liz yelling, and I said ‘oh boy!’.  But that is what you need sometimes.”  said Tammy.  And it worked.  Paddlersquickly turned the canoe up, bailed the water, and continued with the race.

Senior Airmen Emily Huggins

After 7 hours 38 minutes and a huli, the team passed the finish line.  “I am hurting all over.   But I am very relaxed now since it is over. I am ready for a celebration.” said Kim, when asked how she was feeling at the end.  Team spent the rest of the day together celebrating their achievement. 

 

 

 

Honolulu Pearl volunteered to help Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam MWR during the 2010 All Military Wounded Warrior Regatta event on September 6th.  Local outrigger canoeing magazine Pacific Paddler published an article about Honolulu Pearl’s involvement at the MWR Wounded Warrior event.

And here are some pictures from this event.