KAILUA-KONA — As the surf dies down from the winter season canoes take to the ocean during the calmer spring and summer months, gliding through the water in Kailua Bay in preparation for the new Moku O Hawaii season.
As usual, the club paddling season opened with the Papa Kimitete Regatta, hosted by Kai Ehitu.
Honoring club founder Bernard Pierre “Papa” Kimitete, who passed away in 2002, the 2019 regatta opened with dance and a prayer, signaling the start of the 37th annual race.
“I am really thankful that dad taught us everything we needed to be taught about paddling and every year we try to make this regatta special,” said his son, and currently club president, Richard Kimitete. “The coaches and paddlers do a wonderful job getting ready for the event and I know dad is happy. I can always feel him around.”
Led by a hike in the number of women paddlers, Kai Ehitu finished second on the day, trailing only Kai Opua 222-199. Two-time defending AAA state champion and four-time defending Moku O Hawaii champion Puna rounded out the top three with 185 points.
“We celebrated a great day of racing,” said Richard Kimitete. “It is always nice to host the first race of the season.”
Kai Ehitu saw a growth in its adult membership since last year. The men added enough paddlers to fill two more canoes, but the biggest difference came in the women membership.
Last year, Kai Ehitu won a state championship in the Women Junior division thanks to the crew of Leann Alani, Kayti-Ann Bowman, Darcy Daniel, Dondi Dawson, Tatiana Tan and Tiapepe Ulufaleilupe.
However, overall the club only had enough women to fill one or two crews. But, this year, Richard Kimitete says Kai Ehitu has enough women to fill eight crews.
“It’s a big change and we may have enough to fill nine,” he said. “People are really liking what we do and a big part of that is ohana. We also try to give everyone a chance to paddle, no matter their age or experience.”
Every one of the state champion crew members for the club returns this year, but they will be split up to compete in different events.
“Last year we did not have a choice but to put them together,” Richard Kimitete said. “This year we have more options and it will make the entire team better.”
Daniel, Alani and Ulufaleilupe competed in the Women’s Masters (40) race in the opening regatta. With a time of 4 minutes, 20.99 seconds, they teamed with Emma Chandler, Corrine Convery and Ramona Crivello to beat the field by nearly 18 seconds. That is a blowout in paddling time.
“I am expecting some wonderful things from them this year,” Richard Kimitete said. “They won by a lot and I am very proud of them.”
Kai Ehitu also picked up wins in the Senior Men Masters (50), Men Masters (40), Girls 18-and-Under and Girls 14.
The youth division has always been something Richard Kimitete prides himself on. The girls 18-and-under crew was comprised of Trinity Ballesteros, Kihalani Gardner, Kailynn Kahoonei, Shaylee Kanuha, Kira Spencer and Laiku Spoon. The girls 14 crew members were Gardner, Kahoonei, Kanuha, Spencer, Brooke Ballesteros and Mikayla Stevens. They won with times of 4:55.39 and 2:06.67 respectively.
“It is all about the kids and I am always really proud of them,” Richard Kimitete said.
Some paddlers not happy with new DLNR pier policies
While the actual race went off without a hitch for Kai Ehitu, the club was the first to host a regatta under the DLNR’s new pier rules.
Some of these changes have made it more difficult for the set up a regatta.
Kai Ehitu men’s coach Eddie Hayward was not happy about the changes and he had no problem letting people know it.
“We have been doing this a certain way for 30-plus years and everything has been running smoothly,” Hayward said. “But these new regulations are now limiting our ability to get to the pier.
“Friday we had to carry all of our equipment in to set up because were not not aloud to drive on to the pier,” he added. “In the past, every club was given x number of keys and was given a pier pass. Now they have taken that away and it is affecting set up time.”
For Hayward, he sees the changes as a possible attack on the culture of the sport.
“It seems like, maybe, canoes are not that important anymore to those who operate the pier,” he said. “It is becoming cash over culture.”
Another thing made more difficult is the loading and unloading up canoes. Instead of doing this on the pier, Hayward said clubs had to unload in the cul-de-sac in between King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel and the Kailua-Pier.
“The community has been very supportive and we try to be as respectful as we can when we use the cul-de-sac,” Hayward said. “We are working with the community and the community is working with us, we just need the DLNR to get on board, but I don’t know if they want to be apart of the equation.”
Hayward says the most shocking part of the entire ordeal is what he believes is a lack of fair play.
“On Wednesday, they allow all the tour buses, tour vans and cabs on,” he said. “Some vehicles are allowed on the pier for three or four hours and we can’t get on the pier to drop off a few items and leave in 10 minutes. Where is the balance in that?”
Hayward has sat down with DLNR and is willing to do it again, but what he would really like is a group meeting with the paddlers and other businesses at the pier.
“We all want to sit down and have a meeting with the DLNR but they do not want to have a big group meeting,” he said. “They want to do it one-on-one and we will never get to a resolution that way. We have to have everyone come together at the table so we can come up with a plan that works.”
Hayward says what he believes is a disconnect with the DLNR and the paddling community lead to a scenario similar to what took place on Mauna Kea with the telescopes and protesters.
“Hopefully we don’t have to do an uprise like that here, but if we have to, I think all the clubs are on the same page,” Hayward said. “A lot of good comes from paddling. It is good being down here for the kids, for new paddlers, for open paddlers and for all the age groups.
“The DLNR says they are trying to work with us but it is not a fast process right now,” he added.