Ask anyone standing on the white sandy beach at Kua Bay for Saturday’s Kukio Blue Water 1.2-Mile swim and they would most certainly say, there couldn’t have been a more epic day to participate in the 11th annual open-water swim race.
After a two-year hiatus, swimmers were welcomed back to the prestigious event with near perfect conditions: warm, sunny skies, crystal clear waters, light trades, and a favorable current that made for some fast finishing times.
For race director Melanie Aiona, who is a runner, triathlete and the Spa Recreation Director at Kukio Golf and Beach Club, having the event sellout weeks in advance only put an exclamation mark on how much the community missed having the swim over the last two years.
Aiona credited the team at Kukio for making it happen.
“It began with Thibert (Lussiaa),” she said. “He is in charge of all of the water safety and outdoor pursuits here at Kukio and he came to me last year and said; Melanie, will you help me bring back this race? So a group of us at Kukio went to the board and asked if we could put it back on, and that we would do all of the work it took if we could just get support. Unanimously, the board at Kukio said; ‘let’s do it, let’s bring it back.’”
After receiving the board’s approval a year ago, planning for the event began in May. From getting the awards for top overall and age group finishers, ordering stylish Patagonia finisher shirts for each participant, securing permits for the use of Kua Beach as the swim start, and all of the amenities offered during pre and post-race ceremonies, the team at Kukio worked hard to offer the community a first-class race event.
Aiona said that the hardest challenge was planning the logistics to bring back the 1.2-mile point-to-point racecourse – starting at Kua Bay and ending at Uluweuweu Bay at Kukio.
“It was very difficult because everyone had to walk to the start as the gates of Kua Bay didn’t open till 8 AM,” Aiona said. “And then it’s the bag drop off (that held clothing and personal items for each participant). We have to get all of the bags back here (at Uluweuweu Bay) before the swimmers finish. With the kinds of favorable currents and conditions we had today, we barely made it back before the first finishers. It’s like having two different areas to set up. Very difficult, but where else do we have a point-to-point swim race? It’s what makes this race so special.”
Another unique aspect to the race was the mass running beach start. Racers lined up in knee-deep water as the countdown began – then charged fearlessly toward the deep blue.
Once the white water thrashing of arms and legs settled down, it was two-time champion (2008, 2013) Darren Phelan of Palo Alto, California, who found himself in the lead.
“You never know whose going to be here but I knew a couple of people who were around me,” Phelan said. “I tried to swim moderate for the first couple of minutes and then see where everyone was. I knew there were a couple of people drafting me, though it’s nice when everyone shares the workload, but I felt okay so I let them stay there.”
Right on his feet were Daniel Kniseley, who won last month’s Alii Challenge 6-Mile Rough Water Swim, and the top lead female, Taylor Doherty, who is a well-known swimming standout at Hawaii Preparatory Academy.
While participants raced their way toward Uluweuweu Bay, the highlight of the swim came at the halfway point. Several pods of dolphins decided to make an appearance as they glided effortlessly and playfully in the opposite direction several feet below.
“I’ve done both courses before but the point-to-point is really my favorite because it’s so spectacularly beautiful,” Phelan said. “And today we saw several pods of dolphins. Here you are working hard, focusing on what you are doing then you see these beautiful creatures hanging out below you and having fun.”
Rounding the last buoy Phelan said that he could feel Kniseley touching his feet, and then with 200-yards to go, he noticed that Kniseley decided to make a move and pulled up alongside of him. It was going to be an all-out sprint to the finish line.
But Phelan had a plan, and was more than happy to share his method on the most strategic way to finish a swim race that requires a run up the beach.
“You have to be able to touch (the sand) with your hands,” the 52-year old said. “Even if you can see the bottom, if you try to stand up – you’ll swim faster than you can run with water at your waist. You’ll run faster if the water is at your knees, so you just can’t stand up too early. I think Daniel stood up too early, while I swam until the end before standing up.”
Phelan won his third Kukio Blue Water swim title in a time of 22 minutes and 17 seconds, with Kniseley just one second back at 22:18, and Doherty in third place as first female overall with her time of 22:21.
Following Doherty in the women’s race were Waiakea sophomore, Mina Poppas, and HPA’s Kira Parker with their times of 23:58 and 24:03 respectively. Asher Robertson took third on the men’s podium with his 4th overall finish of 23:34.
After the last finisher ran their way up the beach, Aiona said she couldn’t have been happier at how smoothly everything went and that bringing back this popular race was all about giving back to the community.
“We are doing a donation to The Big Island Swim which is the overall non-profit that oversees all of the youth swim meets here,” she said. “We said that if we get 50 children representing the various local swim clubs here we would make a donation to the overall club so that no one club gets the full donation. This is our way to give back to our swim community that is so vibrant on this island.”
As for the success of the 11th Annual Kukio Blue Water 1.2-Mile swim race, all one had to do was look at the happy smiles of participants and their family members as they relaxed under shaded trees at Kikaua Point Lawn, listened to live music, and ate an assortment of savory foods from a bento box while waiting for the awards ceremony to start.
And according to Aiona, there will most certainly be a 12th Annual race.
“I just talked to our general manager, Scott Nair, and he said; ‘It’s on for next year, it’s coming back!’”