Four Decades of Molokai Champions

Transcription

1 Four Decades of Molokai Champions By Marilyn Kali Outrigger Canoe Club has won eleven of the 30 Molokai-to-Oahu canoe races it has entered since the event started in Only Waikiki Surf Club, which dominated the event in the early years, has had more victories OCC's first victory came in 1956, the third year we competed in the race, and the lirst year that George Downing coached the Club's crew. Back in those days there were limited substitutions so the race was essentially an ironman race for miles from Kawakiu Beach on Molokai to the Hawaiian Village beach in Waikiki. Only two substitutions were made in The Outrigger men, steered by Downing. set a course record of 7 hours. 54 minutes. Other members of that winning crew were Mark Auerbach, Bill Baird, Doug Carr, Bob Daniels, Archie Kaaua, Merlyn 'Frenchie' Lyons and Dennis O'Connor. Other wins have come in 1965, , , 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984 and Outrigger linishcd second in 1959, 1960, 1969 and 1971, and third in 1970, 1974, 1982 and 1984 (masters team). Outrigger's dedication to physical conditioning and rigorous training have set the standard for distance crews throughout the world who come to Hawaii each year to compete in this international competition. Unlike the all -star crews who come from outside of Hawa ii to try and beat us at our own sport, all of Outrigger's paddlers are Club members who paddle for the Club during the summer regatta season, as well as the distance races. Outrigger's dedication to the sport shows in the spirited competition among Club members to make the Molokai team and the long hours of practice the crews endure to be the best. An ad hoc committee of the Public Relations Committee has been working on a history of the Molokai race and Outrigger's cont ributions and part icipation in it. Some of the findings are reported here. Additional stories will appear in The Outrigger in the future. One hundred and forty-three men have made the Molokai crossing wear- 4 ing Outrigger colors since Mark Buck has made the most crossings followed by Tim Guard, 14; Tom Conner and Henry Ayau, 13, and Bill Bright, II. Conner has been on six winning crews, followed by Buck. Bright and Ed Pickering, with live wins each. Outrigger's youngest paddler was Gil Scott Jr. who was 14 years old when he made his first and only crossing in Other youngsters who have paddled the grueling race were Mark Buck, 16. in 1961; Nat Norfleet, 16, in 1959; and Aka Hemmings, 16, in The Club's oldest known paddler was Hank Lass, who was a member of Outrigger's second crew in 1981 at the age of 55. In at least one Outrigger family, two generations have carried the Club banner in the Molokai race. George Downing paddled and coached Club crews in 1956, 1960 and 1971, while sons Keone (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1986) and Kainoa (1981 and 1986) and daughter Kaiulu ( , 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986) have carried on the tradition. Although they didn't win overall honors, Outrigger won the Fiberglass Division in 1963, the first year there were Koa and Fiberglass Divisions, setting the record of 6:52. They also won the Masters Division the lirst year such a division was held in 1984, setting the record of 5:26:49. The '84 Masters amazed the paddling world by finishing third overall and second in the fiberglass division as well - in spite of the fact that they had never all practiced or paddled together before the start of the race. Superb conditioning of mind and body, and an outstanding support team, have al ways been cited as the reasons for Outrigger's success in the Molokai race. Tom Conner was quoted in an old newspaper article as saying, " Nobody remembers who finished second and if anything helped us in a race when the going got tough it was that." Club paddlers have perpetuated the usc of the koa canoe in the Molokai race, racing in the Leilani and Kakina thirteen times each. Wins in the Leilani came in 1956, 1965, 1983 and Kakina wins were in 1967, 1968 and The Club used Conner's Manu'ula 11berglass canoe for wins in 1977 and Other fiberglass division wins came in the Kawelea in 1963, the Kaiulani in 1980, and the Onipa'a in Outrigger raced in the koa Hanakeoki in 1954 and 1955, and used the fiberglass canoes Au kai (1975, 1981), Pua Wai (1982) and Holomalie (1984). Nearly a dozen stout-hearted men have coached Outrigger crews over the years - led by Tom Conner and Steve Scott with three wins each. Coaches have included the race founder Toots Minvielle (1954, 1955), Outrigger :r first Molokai cha111pions were Merlyn Lyons, Doug Carr, Bob Daniels, Bill Baird, Dennis O'Connor, Archie Kaaua, Mark Auerbach and George Downing in 1956

2 George Downing (1956, 1960, 1971), Mark Auerbach (1959), Rabbit Kekai (1961, 1962, 1963), AI Lemes (1965, 1966, 1967, 1973), Mark Buck (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974), Archie Kaaua (1973), Tom Conner (1975, 1977, 1978, 1980), Brant Ackerman (1976, 1983), Steve Scott (1979, 1982, 1984, 1986) and Walter Guild (198 1, 1985). Outrigger did not field crews in 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958 and 1964 due to lack of manpower. Highlights of the winning years: 1956 The Outrigger crew paddled more than 300 miles while training for the 1956 race under the guidance of George Downing. including several training runs to the Makapuu Lighthouse. Before the race. Downing and Dave Nottage took current drifts off the coast and ploued a current chan which Downing followed in the race. OCC was one of nine crews in the race which covered 38.9 miles from Kawakiu on Molokai to the fin ish line at the Hawaiian Vi llage Beach. seuing the course record of 7:54 which still stands. The Outrigger crew in the Leilani was neck and neck with Waikiki Surf Club all the way to Koko Head when the OCC paddlers took the lead for good. Duri ng the race. the canoe hull speed was estimated at knots per hour. Paddlers suswined themseh es with honey. water. hot tea and pep talks during the race. All but two men suffered cramps. probably caused by the heavy meal served at 4 a.m.. which included venison. Crew changes were accomplished by sending out a rubber life raft attached to the canoe. The crewman would step onto the raft and be drawn hand over hand to the powered boat. Men were sent back using the same method. This method w as considered safe and eliminated all risks to the paddlers in a transfer operation. Substitution w<ts limited in Crews of nine were allowed, although Outrigger had only eight men on its crew. Once a substitute went in. he paddled the rest of the race. Once out of the canoe. a paddler stayed out. Outrigger's winning 1956 crew included Mark Auerbach. Bill Baird. Doug Carr. Bob Dan iels, George Downing. Archie Kaaua. Merlyn Lyons and Dennis O'Connor. For winning first place. the Club ~ceived SSOO, 1965 Smarting from three four th place fi nishes in a row. Outrigger paddlers worked hard in 1965 to break Waikiki Surf Club's domination of the Molokai race. With Coach AI Lcmes in char~e. and invaluable technical and inspirational support from George Downing. Outrigger and Surf Club alternated the lead all the way from Molokai i1i rough seas and 3 to 6-foot surf. As the two c:111ocs reached Portlock. OCC managed to outmaneuver Surf Club and pull ahead by 400 yards. Unknown to them. the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Winning the grueling race in 1965 were, front, AI Lemes, Tom Rietow, Tim Guard, Mark Buck and Butch Hemmings. Rear, Paul MacLaughlin, Terry Ledford, Fred Lowrey and Mike Holmes. The 1967 race was won by, ji-ont, AI Lemes, Fred Hemmings J1:, Tommy Holmes and Jody D 'Enbeau. Standing, Mark Buck, Jon Haneberg, Mike Clifford, Bruce Clifford and Hal Burchard. Club had taken a different. more southernly course. and when they came into sight off Portlock. they had a half-mile lead on the outside. Outrigger's superior conditioning paid off and by the time the Leilani reached the Diamond Head Buoy. they had passed Kailua and taken a 100-yard lead. Outrigger finished the close race one minute and sixteen seconds ahead of Kailua and three mi nutes ahead of WSC. Unlimited substitutions were allowed in 1965 and thereafter. Members of the winning crew were Mark Buck. Tim Guard. Butch Hemmings. Mike Holmes. Terry Ledford. AI Lcmes. Fred Lowrey. Paul M:1cLaughlin and Tom Rietow After swmnping and damaging the Leilani and having to withdraw from the race in Outrigger paddlers pledged to return and win in Using the reconditioned Kakina. there was never any question about who was best that day as OCC was fi rst from stnrt to finish. With Fred Hemmings Jr. steering. the Kaki na got off to a sprint start (50 strokes per minute) and built a quarter-mi le lead in the fi rst ha lf~ hour of the race which was never relinquished. The crew set a straight line course for Diamond Head and had ideal weather and unusual- 5

3 ly calm seas for the race. The Kakina travelled at 9 mph at times and was consistently exceeding 8 mph. The canoe was on a record-setting course until it hit Koko Head and was slowed down by head winds off Oahu. Joined by a Ootilla of supporters and helicopters. the Club crew was escorted the rest of the way to the finish line in six hours and three q1inutes. just seven minutes off the course record. They were nearly a mile ahead of second place Healani. Members of the winning crew were Henry Ayau. Mark Buck. Hal Burchard, Bruce Clifford. M ike Clifford. Jody D'Enbeau, Jon Hancberg. Fred He mmings Jr. and Tom Holmes The Kaiwi Channel lived up to its reputation in the 1968 Molokai race with c hoppy seas, 8-10-foot swells and brisk winds. Outrigger took the early lead but midway between Molokai and Oahu. the large swells caused the Kakina to Oip over with the ama going under first. When the canoe hulied. Mike Holmes was under water for several seconds as his cover zipper was stuck and he needed help to get free. He didn't want to tear the zippe r because the boat would take on too much water during the rest of the race. With memories of the 1966 race still fresh in their minds. it took Outrigger's fast acting crew only four minutes to right the Kakina and another four minutes to get back into operation. During the huli. Healani started to catch up and came within one boat length of passing the partially subrnerged Kakina. With three OCC crewmen paddling. and the other three bailing. Healani still couldn't pass Outrigger. and after that challe nge the Kakina took off and was never seen by another c lub until the fi nish line. Outrigger tried to take a straight line course but could n't because of the wave action. The crew was plagued by seasickness and fatigue but never gave up. OCC won the race in 5:55:16. breaking the old record by 44 seconds in spite of the huli. finishing half a mile ahead of Healani. Members of the winning crew were Henry Ayau. Mark Buck. Tom Conner. Jon Haneberg, Aka Hemmings. Fred Hemmings Jr.. Mike Ho l mes. William Mitchell and Jon Sutherland. In 1975, the winning Outrigger crew included Tom Conner, Paul MacLaughlin, Fred Hemmings l1:, Bram Ackerman, Mark Buck, Marshall Rosa, Tim Guard, Kevin Olds and Don Mailer. Coming across the finish line in 1979 were Steve Scou, Dale Hope, Tim Guard, Ed Pickering, Bill Bright and Tom Conner: Other members of the crew were Jimmy Dean, Jo/111 Finney and Murray Hi xson Outrigger's fifth win was a long time in coming with Waikiki Surf Cl ub and Healani dominating the race in the early 70s. Outrigger's pre-race strategy was to trail early and come on strong at the fin ish. Three crews from Tahiti took the early lead and it took Outrigger two hours to catch up. The ocean conditions. swells of 5-6-feet. chop and wind. gave the Outrigger team a slight advantage over the Tahitians who were used to calmer cond itions. By the time the canoes reached Portlock. Outrigger was neck and neck with the Tautira Club. OCC's knowledge of the currents came to the forefront as the two clubs reached Diamond Head. with Outrigger moving to the inside to pass the Tahitian canoe. The Tahitians literally pushed Outrigger to a new record of 5:39:07. The winning crew included Brant Ackerman. Mark Buck. Tom Conner. Tim Guard. Fred Hemmings Jr.. Paul MacLaughlin. Don Mailer. Mike Rodrigues and Marshall Rosa The 1968 champions were Fred Hemmings l1:, Mark Buck, Tom Conner, Jon Swherland, Mike Holmes, Billy Mirchell, Henry Ayau, Jon Haneberg and Aka Hemmings. A f't c.:r an embarrassing sevc.:nth place finish to the Tahit ians in Outrigger determined to take tlw lead and never re linquish it. Using Tom Conner's fiberglass canoe. the Manu'ula. Outrigger sprinted from the start for the first 30 minutes. Steersman Brant Ackerman pickc.:d up a small swell right at the start and immediately gained a two-boa! length advantage. 6

4 At l...:tau Point. the lead had increased to 100 yards. then 200 yards and finally to a quarte r-mile. Midway through the channe l. Maire Nui of Tahiti closed the lead to fou r o r five boat lengths. OCC went into a sprint to try and put distance between them and Tahiti to avoid the side-by-side duel that had lasted for over 20 miles in the 1975 mce. They succeeded. The margin increased 100 yards every mile. By Black Poi nt. OCC had a large lead. The Manu uja finished one-half mile ahead of Maire Nui in 5:55. Outrigger used 111hitian paddles and the shorter lahitian strokes at the beginning of the race. then changed to the longer Hawai ian stroke. This was Outrigger"s first overall win in a fiberglass canoe. Members of the winning crew were Brant Ackerman. Mark Buc k. Tom Conne r. John Finney. Tim Guard. Colin Perry. Ed Pickering. Marshall Rosa and Jay West Outrigger got an ea rly lead in the 1979 race but by the time they reached Laau Point. Balboa Bay Club had caught up. For the next five hours. Outrigger trailed the California club. at one time by half a mile. At Koko Head. Balboa was still 300 yards ahead. As the crews moved toward Kahala. Outrigger began closing the gap and crew spirits rose. The two boats were even at the Diamond Head Lighthouse. By the time they reached the Diamond Head Buoy. Outrigger had surfed into a 50-yard lead. which they stretched to a 300-yard lead as they passed the C lub and the spectator boat fleet surrounded the Manu"ula and escorted it to the fi n ish line. Outrigger won in 5:46:38. with Balboa nearly three minutes behind. Members of the winning crew were Bill Bright. Tom Conner. Jimmy Dean. John Finney. Tim Guard. Murray Hixson. Dale Hope. Ed Pickering and Steve Scott The seas were gent le in 1980 as the field of 40 canoes left Hale 0 Lono Harbor for Fort DeRussy. Outrigger and Hui Nalu j umped into the lead and four hours into the race the two were even. Etcwn miles fron1 the fin ish. Outrigger broke away from the pack and the Kaiulani led to the fin ish. The winning time was 5:52:26. two minutes ahead of second place Offshore Canoe Club from Californi;J. Members of the winning crew were Bill Bright. Tom Conner. Keone Downing. John Finney. Walter Guild. Dale Hope. Tim Kelley. Bill Mow:u and Ed Pic kering The conditions in the 1983 race favored Ha\\"'ii teams - six to e ight foot swells. choppy wmer and 20 knot winds. Outrigger j umped out from the start. but lmua passed the Leilani 45 minutes into the race. By the time the two canoes were in the channel it was Outrigger"s race. With Brant Ackerman steering. OCC rode the Members of the 1983 winning team were, top, Billy Foytich, John Finney, Ed Pickering, Marc Haine, Bill Bright, Walter Guild, Karl Heyer IV; Seated: Brant Ackerman, Bob Riley, Henry Ayau and Gib BimiUf. Foytich and Heyer were members of the training crew. waves and negotiated the c hop while lmua fish tllilcd all over the channel. By the time the canoes reached Koko Head. Outrigger had a one-mile lead over the other California team. Offshore. an all-stat Olympiccaliber kayak team with crew members from all over the United Sta tes. Outrigger averaged 72 strokes per minute throughout the entire mce. winning in 5:49:09. eleven minutes ahead of Offshore. Members of the winning crew were Brant Ackerman. Henry Ayau. Gib Bintliff. Bill Bright. John Finney. Walter Guild. Marc Haine. Ed Pickering and Bob Riley This was definitely Outrigger"s year although the Kaiwi Cha nnel was relatively calm with 2-3-loot swells and winds of knots. OfTshore led at the start in glassy seas fro m Hale 0 Lono to L:1au Point. One a nd a ha ll~ l10urs into the r.tcc. OCC had a 90-yard lead. At two hours. OCC had built the lead to 250 yards. In the open water. OCC worked the choppy \\".Iter best. catching every little bump. Averaging 72 strokes per minute throughout the race. OCC 'v;" ahead by 200 yards after four hours. As the canoes approached Waikiki. it was still a two canoe race with Offshore pressing Outrigger all the way to the finish line and a record setting 5:18:19 victory. Outrigger"s Master' crew fi nished third overall in 5:26:49 and thc open crew finished eighth overall in 5:35:45. Mc1nbcrs of the winning crew wcre Brant Ackerman. Henry Ayau. Bill Bright. Keone Downing. Mike Fox. Marc 1-faine. Kevi n Olds. Ed Pickering and Bob Riley There were a lot of reasons why Outrigger wanted to win the 1986 Molokai mcc - to avenge a seventh place finish in 1985 to a bunch of Illinois llatw:lter canoeists who had never paddled in the ocean before. to prove that a Hawaii club team could beat a Mainland or Tahitian all-star team. and to show that relatively calm conditions in the Kaiwi Channel didn"t favor the visitors. Thirty minutes into the race at L:tau Point. Outrigger w~s in eighth place. After the first change of paddlers. the Onipa a had moved into third place. The only other encounter with anothe r crew \\'JS with FFPP from Tahiti at the two-hour mark. Outrigger set a direct course lo r Koko Head a nd paddled most of the \V:I)' without contact with other canoes. Despite the i:1ct that radio reports placed Tahiti and Mainland crews in the lead. Outrig2er 20t the feeling at tho.: three hour mark that th;y h;d the best course and a great shot at winning. As they passed Koko Head. it became obvious to all that Outrigger \\".IS indeed in the lead and our paddlers were surrounded by a cheering flotilla :tt ~ca. Club members paddled out on surfboard, and kay~h and supporten. cheered from tlu: beach as the Onipa a passed the Club. Outrigger"s winning time \ V:IS 5:27:45 and \V:IS the only Ha,v:1ii entry to finish in the top six. Outrigger had proved all that they had set out to prove and more. and h:1d brought the Hawaiian sport of kings back to Haw.tii. Members of the winning crew were Bill Bright. Tom Conner. Kainoa Downing. Keonc Downing. Walter Guild. Chris Kincaid. Mark Rigg. Scott Rolles and Steve Van Lier Ribbink. / 7

5 Our Molokai Paddlers Brant Ackerman 71, , 75, , 78, 83, 84 Bruce Ames 75 Bob Anderson Ill 72 Kuahiwi Apple 75 Ma rk Auerbach 56 Geoff Avery 85 Henry Ayau , 68, 69, 70, , 73, , 84, 85 Bill Baird 56 Dodd Balock Susan Barron 86 ' Milton Beamer Tom Bean 66 Doug Bechen Nick Beck Gib Bintliff , 84 Grady Bintliff 84 Sharon Bintliff 79 Evie Black 81 Ka ty Bourne 84, 85 Todd Bmdley 84 Bill Bright 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86 Mark Buck , , 68, 69, , 75, , , 85 Hal Burchard 67, 70 Bill Burso 72 Donald Cagle 62 P.aula Carbone 81, 82, 85, 86 Doug Carr , Mel Carr 59 Je rry Chellin 81 Mary Ann Clair 83 Bruce Clifford 67 Mike Clifford 67, 73, 76, Lcsline Conner 81, 84, 85 Tom Conne r 68, 69, 70, , 77, , 80, 84, Monte Costa 79, 82 Bill Danford 60, 85 Bob Daniels 56 Jimmy Dean 79, 81, 82 Jody D'Enbcau , 73 P.aul Dolan 55 George Downing 56 Kaiulu Downing 79, 81, 82, , 86 Kainoa Downing 81, 86 Keone Downing , 81, 84, 86 Bill Eggers 66 Keahi Farden 78, 79, 85 Tom Fearon 61 Jack Fehr John Finney 77, , 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 Tiare (Richen ) Finney 79, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86 Mike Fox 80, 84, 85 Billy Foytich 81, 82 Mary Franco 81, , 84, 85, 86 Scott Gaffney 61 Peter Guard 61 Tim Guard 65, 69, , 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, "J<J, Di Guild 82 Walter Guild 80, , 85, 86 Kisi Haine 83, 84, 85 Marc Haine 83, 84, 85

6 Barry Hall 75 Bob Hall 54 Roger Hall 54 Jon Haneberg 67, 68, 70 Willie Hawthorne 78, 79 Katie Heidelberg 83 Aka Hemmings 68, 85 Butch Hemmings 65 Fred Hemmings Jr. 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 75, 82, 84 Karl Heyer IV 75, 81, 82, 84, 85 Murray Hixson 78, 79, 81 Anne Hogan (Perry) 79, 81 Henry Hollinger 59, 60, 62, 63 Mike Holmes 65, 66, 68, 76, 85 Robert Holmes 63, 66 Tom Holmes 66, 67, 70 Dale Hope 78, 79, 80 Kimo Hugo 73 Jeanne Jenkins 81, , 84, 85, 86 Bob Johnson 62, 63 Susie Johnston (Hemmings) 79, 82 Karen Jones 85 Kala Judd 82, 85 Archie Kaaua 56 Drea Kaaua 75 Donna Kahakui 81, 82, 83, 86 Rabbit Kekai 62, 63 Tim Kelley 79, 80 Doug Kilpatrick 63 Chris Kincaid 84, 85, 86 Hank Lass 80, 81 Butch Ledford 69 Terry Ledford 65 Albert Lemes 55, 60, 65 John Lemes 60 Ricky Lemke 75 Fred Lewrey 62, 63, 65 - Doug Lynch 80 Merlyn "Frenchie" Lyons 55, 56 Paul MacLaughlin , 71, 75 Don Mailer , 76, 81 Mary Mason 84 Mike Mason 78, 80, 82 Jack Mattice 55 Scott May 85 Bill McCracken 54 George McPheeters 70 Tom McTigue 84, 85 Anita Minteer 79, 81, 82 William Mitchell 68, Bob Moncrief 59, 60 Kimo Moncrief 59 Bob Moore 75 Tom Moore 55 Johnny Mounts 71 Bill Mowat , , 80, 85 Mike Muller Bob Muirhead 55 Robbie Muller 75 Joe Napoleon 59 Nat Norfleet Dennis O'Connor 56 Kevin Olds 84 Sue Oldt 79, 82 Colin Perry 77 Glenn Perry 66, 69 L iz Perry 82 Traci Phillips 79, 83, 84, 85, 86 Ed Pickering , , 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 Coralee Powell 82 Jay Pynchon 76, 78 Steve Quinn , 85 Tom Replogle 62 Tom Rietow , 65 Bob Riley , 84, 85 Mark Rigg 86 Ed Robinson 54 Mike Rodrigues 75 Scott Rolles 86 Marshall Rosa 73, , 77, Alan Rosehill 78 Greg Rudin Dana Rupey 85 outri Becky Russell 83 John Russell 54 Mark Sandvold 85 Norma Santiago 85 Harry Schaffer 55 Pii Schneider 86 P.aul Schmidt 54 Tom Schroeder 55 Gil Scott Jr. 63 Steve Scott Muffer Scully 81, 82, , 85, 86 P.atty Shaughnessy 84 M ike Sheehan 61 Walt Shulits 80 Tuck Siegfried 72, 73 Lisa Siggers 86 Diana Smart 79 Jim Smith 54 Francis Soares 59 Pat Spencer 69 Sandra Stanley (Haine) 84, 85 Rick Steere Michelle St. John 79 Lorlee Strom 83 Clay Sutherland 82 Jon Sutherland 68, 71 Richard Sylva 61 M ike Turner 84 Steve Van Lier Ribbink 82, Vik Watumull 82 Jay West Meade Wildrick Jr , 82 Nina Williams 86 Marty Wilson 72 Allen Wooddell 54 Aaron Young 78, 79 Connie (Maguire) Young 79, 81, 83 Member Motorola