Kai ‘Ehitu dominates Hilo Bay regatta with 243 points
More than 1,200 paddlers filled Hilo Bay, and Kai ‘Ehitu’s 243-point win kept the Kona club in control as the season heads into four more regattas.
More than 1,200 Big Island paddlers turned Hilo Bay into a packed racing lane Saturday, and Kai ‘Ehitu used the fourth regatta of the 2026 Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association season to show why it is setting the pace islandwide. The Kailua-Kona club scored 243 points, won Division AAA for the fourth straight regatta and finished more than 50 points ahead of Puna Canoe Club.
Kailana Canoe Club hosted the meet in Hilo Bay, where competitors ranged from age 6 to 81 and raced quarter-mile, half-mile and mile courses. The numbers underscored how much outrigger racing still functions as an intergenerational island institution in East Hawaii: keiki crews, adult paddlers and veteran racers all shared the same water and the same seasonal rhythm in one of the Big Island’s most familiar sporting settings.
Kai ‘Ehitu’s margin was built on depth as much as speed. The club won 16 of the day’s 44 events and was especially dominant in the keiki races, a sign that its success extends well beyond a single standout crew. It also posted the fastest quarter-mile time of the day, finishing in 1 minute, 44.41 seconds.
That kind of spread matters as the season moves toward its final Hilo Bay regattas. The Moku O Hawaii schedule shows remaining Big Island races on June 20 in Keaukaha, June 27 in Puna, July 11 with Paddlers of Laka/Na Waa Hanakahi and the July 18 Aunty Maile/Moku O Hawaii Championship. With another Hilo Bay win, Kai ‘Ehitu strengthened its position as the club to beat and widened the gap on Puna in the early stretch of the season.
The regatta also highlighted the islandwide reach of the sport. Moku O Hawaii’s club listing identifies Kailana as a Hilo club and Kai ‘Ehitu as a Kailua-Kona club, a reminder that the same race day draws competitors from both sides of the island and turns Hilo Bay into a central meeting ground. Kai ‘Ehitu’s repeated wins this year echo its 2024 run, when it closed the regular season with a fourth victory, 251 points and 28 medals, including 14 golds. That kind of consistency gives the Kona program real momentum heading into the stretch run.
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