Puna general Bev Tuaolo was spending a few precious moments with her dog Suka during a short break from Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association action.
Asked to describe her husband Afa Tuaolo, the canoe club’s coach, she was both serious and funny, showing why the easy-going general can connect with anybody.
“He’s tough and really dedicated,” she said, setting up the drum roll. “My sink is not fixed, but the canoes get fixed.”
The general and taciturn Green Pride chief motivate their paddlers in their own way, a sort of yin and yang process that works like magic.
For the fourth straight year, Puna beat Kai Opua to take home the Division A (21-43 events) title at the 13th annual Aunty Maile Mauhili/Moku O Hawaii championships.
On Saturday at Hilo Bay, Puna (39 crews) racked up 214 points to power past Kai Opua (43), which finished with 193 points. Kai Ehitu (35) lived up to its Red Fire Engine reputation as the third-best point scorer and took third with 143 points.
The finale divisions are set up in a similar fashion to the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association championships, which has Division AAAA (21-42), Division AAA (13-20), Division AA (7-12), and Division A (1-6).
Puna is the state defending Division AAA champion. Kai Ehitu was third in Division AA and Kawaihae runner-up in Division A.
Waikoloa (20) squeezed past Paddlers of Laka (18) for the Aunty Maile/Moku O Hawaii Division B (11-20 races) title, 83-82 points.
Hui O Wa’a O Waiakea (9) dominated Na Wa’a Hanakahi (9) for the Division C (1-10 events) crown, 39-8 points.
Puna had perfect attendance. Of its 39 entrants, there were no crew scratches. And Green Pride had one disqualification.
Big Blue had four scratches: men sophomore, men junior, men senior, and men 40. Those were all lost points.
Even worse, it put Kai Opua on a nearly equal footing. Puna had 38 point-scoring crews; Big Blue had 39.
Those odds would favor Green Pride, despite late-day deficits. They’ve won championships with larger crew disparities.
After 20 events, Kai Opua led with 85 points, and Puna was third with 74 points.
After 30 races, Big Blue led with 141 points, but Green Pride was second with 124 points.
But a surge had already started. Puna seized event 29 (men 40) then ripped off three more wins: women 65, men 65, and women 60.
After Keoua Honaunau interrupted the streak with a victory in the men 60, Green Pride blasted off on another three-win streak: women 55, men 55, and women 50.
Now, there’s sort of a double whammy for Big Blue: tough points to catch early and late with the emergence of the young Paddlers of Laka and the presence of the powerful older Puna crowd.
Green Pride built its reputation as an underdog — always a contender with fewer crews — who stares at deficits until a late wind pushes them past depth-healthy Big Blue.
Paddlers of Laka, Kai Ehitu, and Kawaihae have really strong farm systems (arguably among the state’s best), and that makes it a challenge for Kai Opua to build big, early leads.
Afa and Bev
The Green Pride chief was on the event 35, men 55 gold crew, and the general was on the next winning crew, the women 50.
After they ran through the victory tunnels, they could high-five each other.
“We want to win a regatta, but our first priority is to have a good crew. Everybody has good attitudes,” Bev said. “We want to paddle well but don’t stress about points in a race. We want to see the crews do well, improve and work harder.”
To prove that point, there was no Puna statistician, someone keeping track of the score.
When the couple’s orchid business, Kama‘ili Nursery, got affected by the Puna lava flow, they soldiered on, showing up for practice, pushing their paddlers and leading by example.
“I consider Bev as the rock. She’s a supporter of everything Afa does. She’s his right hand,” said Miri Sumida, who was on the women 50 and mixed 55 gold crews. “They work well together, and they communicate. She’s very thoughtful and considerate.
“With all that happened, they didn’t let it affect their coaching. It’s amazing that they held the club together. Regardless of that, Afa is always saying, ‘Do what you must.’ Bev says, ‘It’s all about the team.’ Bev complements Afa, and it works.”
Where’s Uncle Bo?
Kai Opua chief Mike Atwood was without his comrade, Uncle Bo Campos, the club president.
He wasn’t at Hilo Bay. Uncle Bo was in Tahiti for the IVF Va’a World Sprints, which return to Hilo Bay in 2020.
“Someone had to run things here,” said Atwood, who lost the coin flip to Uncle Bo. “But I’ll be at the next World Sprints over here.”
Big Blue will always have a deep roster because the club makes it a general rule of thumb to send crews to states if they qualify.
That’s a huge drawing point for paddler retention and new recruits as well.
Also, Atwood and Uncle Bo are the Kealakehe coaches, and that BIIF to Moku O Hawaii connection serves both the Waveriders and Big Blue well.
The young paddlers learn the same system, a reason the Kai Opua boys 16 and 18 crews pocketed Aunty Maile/Moku O Hawaii titles and finished undefeated.
Those young paddlers will be a force for the Waveriders in the upcoming BIIF season. Kealakehe last won a boys title in 2017.
“I’m proud of our club. We had an exciting season,” Atwood said. “We’re improving and building for the state championships (Aug. 4 at Oahu’s Keehi Lagoon). Next season, we’ll be in a pretty good place.”
As Atwood looked on at the last races with an opera lady singing somewhere in the distance, his tactical thinking took over.
“Puna’s surges at the end are hard to beat. They start slow and finish strong. It’s the same for the season,” he said. “They had slow starts in Kona. Then they surge at the end.”
Appropriately enough, that description fits Puna’s general and chief, too.