HSCA title chase gets extreme
By Cindy Luis
Honolulu Star - Bulletin
Sep 20, 2002.
Before the X Games, before ESPN, there were sailing canoes. The original Polynesian extreme sport has been around for more than a thousand years.
The modern version -- the -- has been around only since 1986. It's a cultural revival of ancient Hawaiian skills being put to the test at up to 14 knots on the open ocean.
Tomorrow, it's a test to see which crew will win the Kendall Pacific Challenge as well as the overall racing series title. Just five points separate first from third place and, for the first time in the history of the HSCA, an Oahu crew could win the championship.
Kauai's Marvin Otsuji, captain of the Kamakakoa, has 152 points after eight races this season. Chasing him are Mike Kincaid of Oahu (152 points) and Kauai's Sharky Aguilar (147).
"It's such an on-the-edge sport," said Kincaid, HSCA president. "We average 10-11 knots and, at 14 knots, we're really smoking. Looking back on some races, there's been times when we ask, 'What are we doing out here?'
"It's more than a hobby. We get to practice what our Hawaiian ancestors did, learn those skills and use them. It's more than just getting out and sailing. We pick up that cultural aspect as well. The thrill is in connecting all the dots."
The nine-race schedule includes five interisland races and four coastal competitions. Tomorrow's finale begins at noon and runs from Nawiliwili Harbor to Waimea, about 28 miles around the south shore of Kauai.
It's a relatively short course for the 15 six-person canoes entered, with the first finisher expected around 2:30 p.m. It's also a relatively easy run, compared to Na Holo Kai, the 8-hour-plus race across the Kauai Channel from Haleiwa to Nawiliwili.
"Saturday, it's anybody's race," said Kincaid. It doesn't favor the Kauai guys. The guy who steers the best will win. It will be a horse race."
Tui Tonga, captained by Jason Dameron of Kauai, won this event last year and also the July Na Holo Kai. With 37 points, he is not in contention for the overall title.
Neither is Terry Galpin, captain of the all-women's Moa E Ku, who has 75 points. In its distinctive shocking pink and blue canoe, it's the only women's crew to have done all five of the interisland channel races this season.
"I have had wahine mentors over the years, Laola Lake and Emily Godient, who were the first wahine captains in HSCA," said Galpin. "Their skills and knowledge have always pushed me to become better. The men have been very supportive, too. In the early years, it was Uncle Mike (Kincaid) and his nephew, Nakoa Prejean, who taught me the skills needed to be able to captain the canoe safely.
"As the steersman, my crew's lives are literally in my hands. This isn't a sport for the timid."
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