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Hundreds of paddlers from around the world gathered in Hawaii last week to compete in a 41-mile women's outrigger canoe race. The world championships of paddling is a sport of endurance and mental fortitude. For many who participate, it also carries deeper meaning. It's a celebration of Hawaiian culture. The race has been held annually for decades until the pandemic put it on hold, and last year it was canceled after the deadly Maui wildfires. This year, it's back. Hawaii Public Radio's Catherine Cluett Pactol reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF WAVES CRASHING)
CATHERINE CLUETT PACTOL, BYLINE: It's dawn on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai. The sun rises on 48 outrigger canoes poised on the sand of Hale O Lono Harbor. Hundreds of women are gathered to paddle those canoes across the Kaiwi channel to Oahu. It's an iconic race called Na Wahine O Ke Kai, or Women of the Sea.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
PACTOL: The opening ceremonies honor Molokai as the home of the race.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken) Molokai.
PACTOL: Ten women from Molokai's Waakapaemua Canoe Club stand beside their canoe, ready to take on an unpredictable ocean and the physical and mental exhaustion of paddling for 7 hours. Crew member Kaala English has made the Kaiwi channel crossing six times. She says being in the waa, or canoe, allows her to sense her ancestors with her.
KAALA ENGLISH: I go there to be with them. I get to talk to them. I get to feel them.
PACTOL: She says juggling months of grueling practices while being a mom is tough.
ENGLISH: You work all day, you go home, you still get homework, you get dinner. You know, you got all these things, and then you go out there, and you just feel one with the water.
PACTOL: Thousands of years ago, canoes brought transportation and exploration for Polynesian cultures, and today's races honor that tradition. A men's competition, the Molokai Hoe, started in 1952, while women raced the channel for the first time in 1979. Out on the water, each outrigger canoe is paddled by six women at a time. An escort boat follows each team with more paddlers on board. Team members switch off throughout the race in what's called water changes. They plunge into open ocean, hoist themselves into the moving waa and keep paddling.
KEOLA KINO: Got to hustle, got to hustle.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Jump, jump, jump.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)
KINO: Keep it hot, girls. Keep it hot, girls.
PACTOL: That's the team's coach, Keola Kino. This year's conditions were moderate, but the Kaiwi channel is known to be treacherous. Sometimes the swell is so high that canoes plunge over the top of each rolling wave, making water changes dangerous. Near the finish line, teammates cheer as paddlers fight fatigue.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Push.
KINO: Oh, they're moving nice.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Sit up and breathe. Breathe.
PACTOL: In the early days of the men's race, coaches and officials doubted women could handle the crossing, says legendary Molokai paddler Penny Martin.
PENNY MARTIN: Most of the women that were paddling at the time, after doing all the regattas and watching the men do the channel - it's kind of like, why not us, right?
PACTOL: In 1975, two women's crews completed their first crossing. This year, the Molokai team placed in the top 20. But Martin says paddling is about more than just competing.
MARTIN: That's the other thing about the canoes. It allows us to continue to stay plugged in to our culture.
PACTOL: With this year's Na Wahine O Ke Kai complete, the Molokai Hoe will take place on October 13. For NPR News, I'm Catherine Cluett Pactol on Molokai.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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