HILO — Koa Wood canoes have long brought communities together and carried people forward.

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HILO — Koa Wood canoes have long brought communities together and carried people forward.

Late Saturday morning under clear Hilo skies, six girls from Kawaihae finally overcame their season-long rivals by winning the 15-year-old division with a commanding lead. The victory ended Kai ‘Ehitu’s previously undefeated season.

Hulili Ah Lo, Hali’a Drummondo, Kaimahie Hooper, Kuili Livingston, Maile Revilla, and Laua’e Silva humbly congratulated one another as they paddled powerfully across the flags proving the prowess and progress of their training.

Seventeen crews remain undefeated on Hawaii Island this season, and each has officially qualified for the State Championship Regatta on Aug. 1 on Oahu.

Puna’s Women’s Master 60 crew has not lost on Hawaii Island since the second regatta of last season and earned fourth place at the 2025 state championships in Maui. Kai ‘Ehitu’s Senior Men’s Master 50 crew has also dominated, suffering just one loss over the past two seasons after finishing second in a hard-fought battle against hot shot paddlers from Lanikai Canoe Club at last summer’s state championships.

As crews prepare for the season’s biggest races, every team continues refining its technique to move the wa‘a as efficiently as possible.

One young Kai ‘Ehitu Paddler, Hina Tan, told the paper she “prays” before a race as she prepares to paddle and lead two top teams.

The wa’a community continues to glide towards a triumphant finish as 1,200 islandwide paddlers descended upon Hilo Bayfront for the second-to-last time this year. Forty-four races were hosted through a partnership between Na Wa‘a Hanakahi and Paddlers of Laka, two Hilo canoe clubs with deep roots in perpetuating the sport.

Paddlers ranging in age from 12 to 81 competed on the same canoes on the same course representing their crew, club, and community. After seven regattas, familiar rivals have emerged, with many paddlers now recognizing the teams they have battled throughout the summer.

Dominance
established

Classic late-summer trade winds added texture to the course, forcing every crew to stay active through changing conditions.

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Two groups set their division’s fastest times across the entire archipelago as Kamehameha Canoe Club Women’s 70 crew and Kai ‘Ehitu’s Novice B Men established the current statewide benchmarks.

As the sun lowered over Mauna Kea, Puna made a powerful statement across the adult divisions capturing back-to-back gold in the Junior Women and Junior Men mile long races.

Next week’s regatta will feature the longest race of the season as Moku sanctions their first and only run of the revered Senior mile-and-a-half race with a dizzying 5 turns where steersmen and steerswomen need to actively stay engaged with their course to stay on track in this endurance sprint race. Championship qualification is at stake for the top three finishers in that race.

Rivalries intensify

The Freshmen Women division remains one of the closest competitions of the season. Kai ‘Opua and Keoua Honaunau have been separated by less than one second across two races, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion in Hilo before meeting again at the state championships on O‘ahu.

Two divisions are locked in a dead heat tie for first place after seven weeks of racing.

The Sophomore crews from Kai ‘Ehitu and Puna have gone back and forth raising the level of achievement pushing each other to greater heights. Kai ‘Ehitu squeaked out a narrow victory by one second over Puna to tie the division with three consecutive first place finishes!

Lia-Lucine Cary, Nicola Dudoit, Eleina Hayward, Brenna Heiss, Sarena Heiss, and Tatiana Tan have the opportunity to take charge in this division next week, win one more time, and fly to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport with the top pick of lanes for the state regatta on Aug. 1

Twenty-six races came down to a close finish. For a full break down of close races, masterclass paddling exhibitions, and undefeated crews visit https://substack.com/@ocjuan

Top crews start preparing to draw lanes for their big showdown at Ke’ehi Lagoon, where they will compete against the best paddlers from Kauai, O’ahu, Maui and Molokai.

The final Moku ‘O Hawaii regatta of the season, the Annual Auntie Maile Moku Island Championships, returns to Hilo Bayfront next week. All races will be broadcast live by Big Wave Media Hawaii on YouTube.

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