Big Island paddlers set the pace in 2026 Moku O Hawaii season

Big Island paddlers now sit atop the 2026 Moku O Hawaii standings, driven by a dominant run from Kai Ehitu Boys 16 and a string of razor-thin girls races that have kept Kona clubs in front. Kai Ehitu and Kai Opua have turned Hilo Bay and Kailua-Kona into a season-long duel, with one Girls 13 race decided by a single second.

That margin mattered because Kai Opua had been controlling the Girls 13 division before Kai Ehitu slipped past at Hilo. About 80% of the girls who raced in a prior state-championship matchup were back on the water this season, keeping the rivalry familiar and the level of competition high across East and West Hawaii.

The June 15 Hilo Bay regatta was the fourth stop on the 2026 Moku O Hawaii calendar and drew more than 1,200 paddlers ages 6 through 81. The size of that field showed how much depth Hawaii Island has built in the sport, and it gave every heat extra weight in the standings as clubs fought for position heading into the rest of the season.

Kona’s momentum has been building for weeks. The June 10 regatta at Kailua Pier featured a 46-event canoe racing program during King Kamehameha Day festivities, with Kai Opua hosting the day’s racing, honoring Uncle Bo through student scholarships and paying tribute to Auntie Mele Kunewa Kekai. That regatta capped Kona’s run on the 2026 schedule, which began May 2 at Spencer Park, moved to Kawaihae on May 9, and then brought clubs to Kailua-Kona twice more for Kai Ehitu and Papa Kimetete on May 16 and Keauhou on May 23 before the Hilo Bay stop on May 30.

The results are not new for Kai Ehitu. In 2025, the club finished with the most divisional wins at a Kailua Bay regatta, taking six. Kai Ehitu and Kai Opua were also among the strongest performers in last year’s King Kamehameha long-distance race, a sign that the current push is built on a rivalry that already runs deep on the Big Island.

For Hawaii Island clubs, the path forward now runs through the next East Hawaii races and the pressure of keeping pace in divisions where a single stroke can decide a race. The standings have already shown that Kona paddlers can set the pace; what happens next at Wailoa River will determine whether they keep it.