Paddling Season Ending … Even in Hawaii
14 Oct
We expect the paddling season to wind down when winter-like conditions come early to the Midwest, but we were surprised to see it’s also wrapping up in far-off Hawaii.
For the inter-island racers who paddle outrigger canoes at least, the season climaxed last weekend with the Super Bowl of outrigger racing: the Moloka’i Hoe. The 41.7 mile paddle between Moloka’i and Oahu brings the best outrigger teams together for a race across an gnarly stretch of water.
The Denver Post ran THIS story about the event, won for the fourth-straight year by Shell Va’a, a Tahitian team that currently dominates the sport. The team paddled between the two islands — and across the treacherous Ka’iwi Channel with its 20 foot swells — in 4 hours, 30 minutes. They averaged 15 miles per hours and outpaced their nearest rivals by 12 minutes.
