April 2025 Newsletter

 

The 2025 season is now in full swing with 420 Hui Nalu paddlers registered and 325 fully validated!

 

If you received an email from the “Registrar” please open it and read it for instructions to get fully validated. You cannot race until you are fully validated.

 

To our new `ohana members, welcome to Hui Nalu Canoe Club! We have a very busy season ahead of us and hope that you and your `ohana will join our community in its many activities for the young and young at heart. 

 

Pre-season races are continuing and, with our practices finally open, we hope that crews will take advantage and participate in them

HALAU WORK DAY - Saturday, April 19th at 9 a.m.

To get ready for the 2025 season we need to clean out and organize the halau under the direction of our equipment managers Graham Taylor and Kitty Daniel! This will entail sweeping out the halau, organizing all the tent pieces, organizing all the canoe rigging pieces, organizing the storage locker, yard maintenance, and rigging canoes to name a few. 

We have jobs for all skill levels and experiences! This is a good time to see what is in the halau, learn how to rig, and make new friends. 

KALA KUKEA IORNMAN CHALLENGE - Saturday, April 26 at dawn

 

Once the halau is cleaned up we will be ready for the Kala Kukea Iron Challenge! 

 

Kala Kukea was an amazing Hui Nalu coach and paddler for many years along with being a scholar, waterman and veteran. We remember and celebrate him with this preseason race in our Bay. Nalu Kukea, Kala’s son, is the race director.  

 

This race is hosted by Hui Nalu, and, of course, members are needed to make it work. All adult crews are assigned to tasks (see below). If you are racing (and we hope that all members will enter) you are still required to kokua.

As we also have keiki races, we hope that parents will take the opportunity to watch their keiki race!

 

Entry fee for Hui Nalu members is $10 for keiki paddler; $25 for adult paddler. Keiki race participants will receive a musubi and drink after their race. Adult race participants will receive a bento lunch, drink and race visor. 

 

Race merchandise (shirts and visors) will also be sold during the event. 

 

Our Silent Auction, coordinated by Jonna Wickesser (jwickesser@aol.com), will also be running during the race. Each crew will be asked to donate a basket to the Auction (see the Mid-March Newsletter for details). Please do not leave it to your coaches to figure out the basket. For the keiki crews, a crew mom OR dad can also jump into organizing their basket. If anyone would like to donate to the Silent Auction we are a non-profit organization and are more than willing to send you a tax donation letter.  

WA`A HOLOMUA CONFERENCE - Saturday, May 18th 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

OHCRA is sponsoring the first ever Wa‘a Holomua Canoe Racing Conference—a gathering of paddlers, coaches, cultural practitioners, builders, educators, and community leaders dedicated to advancing the future of Hawai‘i’s State Sport Outrigger canoe paddling.

Rooted in tradition and driven by innovation, this conference brings together voices from across Hawai‘i and around the world to honor the past, elevate the present, and chart a path forward for our global paddling community.

Over the course of the event, attendees will engage in meaningful workshops, hands-on training sessions, cultural presentations, and critical conversations focused on safety, coaching, performance, health, environmental stewardship, and community leadership. From rigging clinics and land-based training to youth mentorship panels and canoe-building apprenticeships, Wa‘a Holomua is more than a conference—it’s a collective movement to strengthen the foundation of our sport and ensure its vitality for generations to come.

As the wa‘a continues to carry us forward, this gathering is a reminder that paddling is more than a race—it is a way of life. Together, we paddle with purpose, guided by ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge), supported by modern innovation, and united by the shared values of aloha, kuleana, and ʻohana. Let this conference be a space to connect, learn, and lead—Holomua kākou.

Lunch will be included, and attendees will have a chance to win door prizes and giveaways throughout the day.

The Wa‘a Hall of Honor will also be launched to celebrate its first-ever honorees—a moment you won’t want to miss!

HOʻI HOU KE PILI - LET THE PILI RETURN - May 22, 2025

THE ORIGINAL ROYʻS IN MAUNALUA: 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy Honolulu, HI 96825

Please join us for an ʻoluʻolu evening of ʻono meaʻai and mele nahenahe to raise funds for the much needed repair of the hale roof at Kānewai and to celebrate MFHC's work over the last 18 years through the support of wonderful friends, ʻohana, and community.

Pūpūʻs will be served at 5:30 and Roy's personalized 3-course dinner includes your entree choice of Seared Island Fish & Braised Beef Short Ribs or Baked Vegetable Terrine. Please make your selection when you purchase your ticket(s). We will also have a silent auction with some very special items.

More information is available here.