June 2009 - Pacific Paddler

Why we race
As a member on the committee of
the 2009 Kaua’i World Challenge,
words cannot express the gratitude
I have for all the paddlers, sponsors
and volunteers who made this event
possible. This was our most difficult year
and I hope it didn’t show too much.
Like any venture, be it a business
or sporting event, sustainability, especially
during our current economic
period is a real issue.
Differentiating between what is an
essential item and what is a luxury
item and what services could volunteers
handle and what services needed
to be purchased became an ongoing
coin toss.
Coordinating events is not as
simple as before and personally, it has
become a philosophical challenge. I
clearly remember the winners of the
Duke Kahanamoku Invitational and
Makaha International proudly holding
their trophies. Does size matter Does
prize money matter What really
matters to the pure competitor Many
of us who grew up competing have
not only witnessed the transformation
but must also share the blame of pressuring
today’s race event organizers to
mirror western thinking that money and
size is the answer to everything.
As a coordinator and competitor, I
understand the dynamics of being on
both sides of the registration table. I
experience the tension of paying my
registration fee while asking myself
why am I paying so much, is it worth
entering this race I also know the
anxiety of receiving registration fees
and hoping there will be enough
entries to cover the cost of the escort
boats, trailers, food, awards, etc., not
to mention the prize money associated
with this race.
Unknowingly in our effort to
grow the sport, we may be steering
ourselves towards a course that
cannot be sustainable. Using outside
resources beyond club fees, car
washes, huli-huli chicken sales, etc. to
operate is now the standard practice.
We’ve worn thin the welcome mat of
our faithful sponsors when we want
to organize a race. In return, how
often do we buy their products or eat
at their restaurants. Sponsors and not
Danny Ching and Mael Carey, 2nd overall (black with green checkerboard
canoe), above and below
On the blue tiger striped canoe, Jimmy Austin and Simeon Ke Paloma
were 1st overall
competitors will determine what races
will be held. Expedia no longer sponsors
us, Epic recently withdrew from
the Molokai surf ski event, Na Wahine
has been having
sponsorship challenges,
Quiksilver
pulled out of
the Molokai
Paddleboard
Race, Hennessey
pulled out of
the Hennessey
International
Paddleboard
race and the list
of anchor sponsors
continues to shrink. This is a wake
up call for all of us. Let’s be grateful for
what we have and malama the small
funding streams that nourish us.
We compete to win honor among
our peers, and money will never
substitute for a Masters green jacket;
or the yellow jersey that the Tour
de France rider wears; or the olive
Tony Zina (OC-2 Mixed winner)
leaf that the early Olympians won;
or immortality that exhausted senior
men find by sipping champagne from
the MacFarlane cup on the sands of
Waikiki. Unless we
become turnstile
fan based or clubs
become a corporate
franchise, we have
the responsibility
to demonstrate to
the next generation
that money cannot
replace the fragrance
of a maile lei,
the white cooler,
musubi, pulehu
anything, kanikapila, ohana, friends,
laughter, aloha and of course bragging
rights. My deepest respect to all
past and current race directors. Aloha.
The opinions expressed are my
own and not necessarily representative
of the YMCA Kauai Hoe Waa
or any of its members.
Laola Lake Aea
Boy Kaluhiokalani-Chun Fook
Pacific Northwest Outrigger Racing
Canoe Association (PNW-ORCA) is
a coalition of 17 clubs in the states of
Washington, Oregon and Montana.
Their president Boy Chun Fook is 49
and lives in Tacoma, Washington with
his wife Brenda and their four children.
He is also the Juniors Coach for the
Kikaha O Ke Kai Outrigger Canoe
Club in Federal Way, Washington.
Boy Chun Fook grew up on the
island of Oahu for 31 years, moved
to Salt Lake City, Utah in '89, then
to Tacoma in '92. He helped start
Kikaha O Ke Kai in '96 and was also
the head coach. Boy was elected
PNWORCA secretary in '96 and then
elected president in '98.
Being part Hawaiian ('mixed plate'
he says - Hawaiian, Maori, Filipino,
Chinese, Puerto Rician and Irish) and
very involved with the surrounding
Pacific Northwest Hawaiian community
and paddlers, his passion for outrigger
canoe paddling has been the link to
keep the culture and sport alive for all
to enjoy.
Where did you first paddle
I started in '73 on Ewa Beach,
Oahu, with the Ewa Beach Outrigger
Canoe Club, practicing out from the
rough and sometimes limu infested
Ewa Beach Park and Iroquois Point
Lagoon. I also paddled with Kukini CC
and Koa Kai CC before coming to the
mainland and joining Kikaha O Ke Kai
OCC in Washington
Who were your coaches
My first coaches were Kammy and
Sonny VeraCruz, the original Beach
Boys from Waikiki. They paddled for
Hui Nalu way back then. I learned the
What is the PNW-ORCA
PNW-ORCA started in the early 90’s when former
President Torey Browne brought an OC-6 up from
California. Torey has been the backbone in outrigger
paddling here in the Pacific North West (PNW). With her
and Brenda’s help, we continue to move our association
forward.
Our racing season is primarily April through September.
There is an OC-1 winter series. When the air temperature
is in the thirties and the water isn’t much warmer, the
hardcore paddlers still come out.
There are two big races in the summer series, the Gorge
Games and the PNW Challenge. This year’s Gorge race
old 'Hawaii Five-O' stroke where the
reach was so way out your chest hit
the gunnels and the paddle was old
style, no T-top, and very big blades.
Here in Washington, Nolan
Cabellero taught me to update my
paddling stroke. I still had my old
paddle from '84. Nolan, now living
in Mililani, was the one person that
willingly shared his knowledge when I
first started paddling again here. We
always talk story on the phone, and I
update him on our style up here now,
and he still shares his memories.
What memories of paddling in
Hawaii come to mind
In '75, I helped start the Na Opio
High School Paddling Scholastic
League with Gardner Brown. Our team
won the state high school men’s onemile
race in '77 over Kamehameha
and Mililani whom took 2nd and 3rd
with about seven other clubs in the
race. That victory was sweet given that
we had battled all season.
We paddled, practiced and raced
in the Old White Horse Koa Canoe that
had a banana bend in it due to leaning
against a coconut tree for years before
we restored it. The Bishop Estate leased
it to us for $1 a year because we did
the restoring. Paddling that Koa canoe
was so much different than paddling
a fiberglass canoe. You could feel the
'mana' when you were racing or just
paddling along.
How is paddling different on the
mainland
Outrigger paddling is pretty new
here in the Northwest. Our paddlers
come from kayaking, dragon boating
or rowing, or are just recruits attracted
Photo by Scott Moody
by the competition and opportunities
for making friends. Many see our
canoes and ask, 'what’s that'
Why is paddling so important
While living and paddling in
Hawaii, I made lots of bad choices
and took paddling and living in
Hawaii for granted till I got married
and left the islands in late '89. So
when I heard of a new Washington
outrigger club forming, I got involved
to give-back my knowledge and love
for the culture and sport. Our ohana
here has as much aloha spirit as the
Kamaaina, which makes it feel like
home.
It’s hard, constant volunteering
work, to paddle and keep a club or
association moving forward. If you
stop supporting, it slows down or
sometimes folds and it’s so hard to
build a club over. You have to have
a passion for what you do and love.
Paddling brings the best out of me and
I don’t want to stop working behind
the scenes. If it weren’t for a loving
and understanding wife and supporter
who are also dedicated to hard work,
I probably wouldn’t be able to do it
every year. Where can you get all of
the family into one sport and culture
and always have the best potlucks
after the races
by Andy Michels
is set for July 18 and 19 on the Columbia River, upstream
of Portland, Oregon. The area is famous for its windsurfing.
The wind constantly blows up-stream producing
surfing opportunities we just don’t get in most of our
races. The Gorge Games include white river paddling,
wind surfing, and mountain bike competitions. Tui Tonga
won the race in '07.
The PNW Challenge is August 29th on Lake
Washington in Seattle. — see the Oct. '08 Pacific
Paddler article. Crews from Hawaii and California have
expressed interest in coming this year to paddle a 26
mile, nine man change-out race, that goes under two
floating bridges and past Bill Gates’ house.
32 June ‘09, Pacific Paddler pacificpaddler.com June ‘09 33