When it comes to the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association state championships, the Big Island needs to find a catchy slogan.
The Hawaiian Canoe Club has the best one: “Maui no ka oi.”
It’s a well-earned slogan because the club from the Valley Isle has been the best for a very long time.
Hawaiian, under head coach Diane Ho, captured its first HCRA state championship in 2001, becoming the first from the neighbor islands to win since Kauai’s Hanalei took it in 1982.
Since that summer of glory, Hawaiian has dominated during a 14-year span, pocketing 11 state crowns, including seven in a row from 2001 to ’07.
The only club with a longer winning streak is Oahu’s Outrigger with nine consecutive state titles from 1984 to ’92. Oahu’s Healani was next with four straight from 1971 to ’74.
Moku O Hawaii has never won the state’s top division. But since HCRA introduced Division AAAA (21-42 events) in 2007, the Big Island has been quite competitive at the lower levels.
From 2007, no island has been better at scooping up Division AAA (13-20 events), Division AA (7-12) or Division A (1-6) titles than the Big Island.
The Big Island has won a combined 13 lower-level championships, Oahu seven, Maui three and Kauai one.
For Moku O Hawaii, Keauhou leads the way with five: AA in 2008, and AAA in 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’14.
Kawaihae is next with four A titles in 2007, ’08, ’10, and ’12.
Puna claimed AAA in 2009, the last time the state regatta was held at Hilo Bay, and AA in ’11.
Kai Opua claimed AAA in 2008 and Keaukaha grabbed AA in ’09.
During that eight-year stretch, Moku O Hawaii has been shut out only once in 2013. Other than that, someone from the Big Isle is bringing home a Division title.
Moku O Hawaii cleans small houses. That’s not as catchy as the Big Island’s official slogan: “It always rains in Hilo.”
The weather forecast for the HCRA state championships on Saturday calls for 70 percent chance of rain. (Hilo’s locals are not surprised, at all.)
No island lives up to its slogan better than the Big Island, except for Maui when it comes to paddling.
Hawaiian has captured the last 30 Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association titles.
Puna is the Moku O Hawaii champion, snapping Kai Opua’s seven-year championship reign. Puna won in 2007 for its other bookend title.
In a strange twist, one chief reason Moku O Hawaii is so good at cleaning small houses is because Division AAAA remains pretty much out of reach for everyone.
With that in mind, clubs stick to their strengths and stack points. For example, Keauhou and Puna are well-known for their adult paddlers, and Kawaihae is always tough with its keiki.
Kai Opua is sort of caught in the middle. As the largest club on the Big Island, the West Hawaii powerhouse could challenge every year for a Division AAA title.
But that would likely leave about a dozen crews home that qualified for states every year. That’s a reason Kai Opua has been the only Moku O Hawaii club to compete in AAAA the last five years.
In 2009, Kai Opua and Keauhou were in the top division when states was held at Hilo Bay. Kai Opua (36 events) was a distant second to Hawaiian (37), 355 to 295 points. Keauhou (26 events) was sixth with 252 points.
The last time Kai Opua didn’t race in Division AAAA was in 2008, when the club took the AAA title over friendly rival Puna, 165 to 160 points.
That 2008 season was a historic one for the Big Island, which lived up to its motto of “It always rains in Hilo.” It did indeed rain a lot that year.
Besides Kai Opua’s AAA crown, Keauhou brought home the AA title and Kawaihae the A championship, showing that the Big Island also knows how to clean small houses.