Record-Breaking Day at John C. Kekua Regatta

Seventeen different records were broken at Hilo Bay Saturday in the second-to-last regatta before the Moku O Hawaii / Aunty Maile Championships, as paddlers across the island thrived under the warm and occasionally breezy conditions.

The record-breaking tone was set almost immediately, when Kai ‘Ehitu and Kai Opua raced to the finish line in the Boys 12 event. Kai ‘Ehitu finished the quarter-mile race in 1:54.05, just ahead of Kai Opua’s 1:54.82. Both of those finishing times were approximately ten seconds ahead of last year’s record finish, set by Puna at 2:04.20.

In the very next race, Kai Opua challenged, and beat, their own Mixed 12 record set last year by posting a time of 2:03.80, beating the 2:09.21 from 2011. Kawaihae also beat last year’s record mark by Kai Opua, finishing in second with a time of 2:05.31.

The paddlers from Kai Opua would set three more records throughout the morning and afternoon. In the Girls 14 race, they beat last year’s mark from Paddlers of Laka by over three seconds, finishing in 1:58.57, while Kai Ehitu also beat the record mark with a time of 2:01.22. In the Boys 16 race, they squeezed past last year’s record, which was set by Puna, in eight-tenths of a second, finishing in 3:45.82. Toward the end of the day, they beat  last year’s record mark from Puna in the Senior Men’s Masters race, posting a time of 3:42.83.

The paddlers of Puna Canoe Club saw a lot of the records they set last year go up in smoke, but the conditions were ripe for them to set four of their own records on Saturday. They started by knocking down Hui Wa’a O Waiakea’s record in the Boys 14 race, finishing in 1:44.70. After watching a few of their own records fall after that, they beat their own mark in the Women’s Golden Masters race from last year, winning in 4:27.41, almost five seconds better than their winning time last year. Two events later, they beat Keahou’s record in the Senior Women’s Masters race with a winning time of 4:27.04. In the next-to-last race of the day, they bested Keaukaha’s record time in the Mixed Masters 40 race, crossing the flags at 3:56.22.

Keaukaha set three records on Saturday, besting times in the Girls 15, Girls 18, and Men’s Golden Masters races. Keauhou set four records in the Men’s Novice “B,” Women’s Novice “A,” Men’s Masters 40, and Mixed Masters 55 events. Kawaihae set a record in the final event of the day, winning the Women’s Open Four event with a time of 4:20.53, twenty seconds better than last year’s mark set by Kai Opua.

Next week’s regatta will also be held at Hilo Bay and hosted by the Puna Canoe Club.

Team standings

A Division

Kai Opua 221

Puna 148

Keaukaha 146

Keauhou 133

Kai ‘Ehitu 114

Kawaihae 106

Kamehameha 94

B Division

Paddlers of Laka 48

Hui Wa’a O Waiakea 40

Na Wa’a Hanakahi 29

Waikoloa 18

Keoua 17

Kailana 7

Race-by-race results

Girls 12

1. Kai ‘Ehitu 2:10.9

2. Kai Opua 2:12.2

3. Paddlers of Laka 2:14.6

Boys 12

1. Kai ‘Ehitu 1:54.05*

2. Kai Opua 1:54.83

3. Paddlers of Laka 2:05.9

Mixed 12

1. Kai Opua 2:03.80*

2. Kawaihae 2:05.31

3. Keaukaha 2:05.9

Girls 13

1. Kai Opua 2:01.9

2. Kai ‘Ehitu 2:07.3

3. Puna 2:09.5

Boys 13

1. Kai Opua 1:52.1

2. Kai Ehitu 1:53.0

3. Puna 1:55.2

Women Novice B

1. Kai Opua 2:00.0

2. Puna 2:01.0

3. Kai ‘Ehitu 2:03.0

Girls 14

1. Kai Opua 1:58.57*

2. Kai ‘Ehitu 2:01.22

3. Keauhou 2:08.5

Boys 14

1. Puna 1:44.70*

2. Keaukaha 1:45.6

3. Kai Opua 1:51.8

Mixed Novice B

1. Na Wa’a Hanakahi 1:46.3

2. Kawaihae 1:47.3

3. Kai ‘Ehitu 1:49.9

Girls 15

1. Keaukaha 4:24.89*

2. Kai Opua 4:25.67

3. Kai ‘Ehitu 4:47.3

Boys 15

1. Hui Wa’a O Waiakea 3:58.5

2. Kai Opua 4:05.5

3. Keaukaha 4:07.2

Men Novice B

1. Keaukaha 3:45.51*

2. Kai ‘Ehitu 2:52.2

3. Kamehameha 4:00.2

Girls 16 & Under

1. Keaukaha 4:29.7

2. Kawaihae 4:37.5

3. Kamehameha 4:38.0

Boys 16 & Under

1. Kai Opua 3:45.82*

2. Hui Wa’a O Waiakea 3:55.0

3. Keaukaha 4:09.6

Girls 18 & Under

1. Keaukaha 4:29.67*

2. Kai Opua 4:30.14

3. Kamehameha 4:44.8

Boys 18 & Under

1. Kai Opua 7:57.5

2. Keaukaha 8:28.9

3. Kamehameha 8:30.7

Women Novice A

1. Keauhou 4:21.69*

2. Kai Opua 4:22.75

3. Puna 4:23.8

Men Novice A

1. Keauhou 7:47.9

2. Kawaihae 7:51.8

3. Puna 7:53.1

Women Freshmen

1. Kai Opua 8:37.7

2. Kawaihae 8:58.3

3. Puna 9:12.8

Men Freshmen

1. Keauhou 7:28.3

2. Kai Opua 7:44.3

3. Kamehameha 7:48.2

Women Sophomore

1. Kai Opua 8:51.5

2. Kawaihae 9:08.7

3. Puna 9:28.8

Men Sophomore

1. Keauhou 7:50.9

2. Kai Opua 8:00.2

3. Keaukaha 8:15.2

Women Junior

1. Kai Opua 9:01.2

2. Puna 9:10.0

3. Keaukaha 9:20.9

Men Junior

1. Keauhou 7:28.1

2. Kai Opua 7:30.2

3. Puna 7:39.4

Women Masters (40)

1. Kai Opua 9:03.2

2. Kamehameha 9:14.1

3. Kawaihae 9:37.5

Men Masters (40)

1. Keauhou 7:26.95*

2. Keaukaha 7:29.40

3. Puna 7:40.01

Women Masters (60)

1. Kamehameha 4:44.7

2. Keauhou 4:45.2

3. Keaukaha 5:03.1

Men Masters (60)

1. Keauhou 4:08.4

2. Keaukaha 4:09.2

3. Kai Opua 4:18.1

Women Golden Masters (55)

1. Puna 4:27.41*

2. Keauhou 4:34.6

3. Kamehameha 4:45.8

Men Golden Masters (55)

1. Keaukaha 3:56.56*

2. Keauhou 3:57.63

3. Kai Opua 3:58.51

Senior Women Masters (50)

1. Puna 4:27.04*

2. Keauhou 4:28.04

3. Kamehameha 4:35.4

Senior Men Masters (50)

1. Kai Opua 3:42.83*

2. Puna 3:45.52

3. Keaukaha 4:03.0

Mixed Masters (60)

1. Keauhou 4:33.1

2. Kawaihae 4:34.4

3. Keaukaha 4:35.9

Mixed Masters (55)

1. Keauhou 4:04.36

2. Puna 4:15.4

3. Kamehameha 4:18.7

Mixed Masters (40)

1. Puna 3:56.22

2. Keaukaha 4:04.2

3. Kai Opua 4:11.0

Women Open Four

1. Kawaihae 4:20.53*

2. Kai Opua 4:24.24

3. Puna 4:39.25

Men Open Four

1. Kai Opua 3:49.4

2. Keauhou 3:51.1

3. Puna 3:52.9

Mixed Men and Women

1. Puna 3:49.4

2. Kai Opua 3:57.9

3. Kai ‘Ehitu 4:02.6

* – indicates a record time