Over the October fall break, several HBA high school boys participated in the Molokaʻi Hoe World Championship Canoe Race, paddling 41 miles from Hale O Lono Harbor on Molokaʻi to the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. The competition drew canoe paddling clubs from around the world, including teams from Hawaiʻi, Brazil, Japan, Australia, and the world champions, Shell Va’a from Tahiti.
On October 13, over 1000 competitors gathered to begin their race across the Kaʻiwi Channel, one of the most challenging Hawaiian sea channels to cross on a canoe. This year, five HBA high schoolers were among the paddlers, competing for the Waikiki Yacht Club. Juniors Drew Lohr, Heejoon Hyon, and Cole Carson and seniors Jaden Oki and Joshua Higa, along with the rest of their club team, finished the race with a time of 6:49:20. They came in fifth place in the world championship junior division.
The Molokaʻi Hoe has taken place annually since 1952, except during interruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the Maui wildfires in 2023. The race continues one of Hawaiʻi’s most important cultural traditions and some of the racing koa boats are modeled after those used by the first Polynesian settlers to reach the islands.
Each team in the race consists of nine paddlers, with six in the racing canoe at all times. During the race, an escort boat follows the racing canoe, carrying the extra three paddlers, who are waiting to rotate into the racing canoe. The crew changes take place every 20 to 30 minutes, with paddlers in the canoe rolling over one side into the ocean while the paddlers from the escort boat climb into the canoe from the other side. This changeover must happen as quickly as possible so that the team does not lose time in the race.
Hyon, a seat 1 or 2 paddler, said that the mental endurance required during the race was the hardest part. This race was also challenging because the club team had never competed in it before. Lohr said that it was hard to “mentally stay in the race and not be distracted by other teams or the ocean itself.” Higa noted that “the strain on their bodies coupled with the pretty junk ocean conditions made it an arduous journey.” But, despite how much the race pushed the paddlers to their limits, all the HBA boys said they would gladly compete in the race again if given the opportunity.
These HBA paddlers joined the Waikiki Yacht Club this year and trained for the race in the few months leading up to October. Lohr said that it was Oki’s cousin, who worked at the club, who first invited Oki to join the racing team. Oki then invited the other boys from HBA. The boys have since grown closer to each other, having the race as a shared experience. Lohr said that his favorite part was “the day leading up to the race—bonding with his team and visiting an island he had never seen before.”
Higa, a seat 5 paddler, said that his favorite part of the race “was seeing the island of Oahu slowly getting bigger as we continued to paddle for hours on end.” He added, “I also really enjoyed being with my crew, traversing across the ocean together. It filled me with a feeling of camaraderie, being able to paddle with them for one last big race.”
With this race behind them, the boys,except for Higa, are now starting the Pac-5 canoe paddling season. Lohr hopes the team will finish in the top five of their division this year.
