1986 Kaoloa Blessing 7-12-1986

Kaoloa Model Testing

A scale model of the Kaoloa was tested in a tank.

Kaoloa Model Testing

Jeff Kissel and Walter Guild joined Joe Quigg in New York during the testing of the Kaoloa model.

Kaoloa Construction

Joe Quigg shapes the koa log the Club won into the Kaoloa canoe. Quigg estimated the log was 200 years old and was rotten at both ends when he got it. The log had been cut in half and had an original diameter that ranged from six to seven feet.

Kaoloa Blessing

Joe Quigg proudly stands by the koa canoe Kaoloa that he designed and built from a 45-foot log won by the Club in 1983 for scoring the most points in OHCRA regattas.

Kaoloa Blessing

Joe Quigg proudly stands by the koa canoe Kaoloa that he designed and built. It took him nearly two years to build the Kaoloa.

Kaoloa Blessing

The Kaoloa was the first koa canoe Joe Quigg built although he had built sailboats and other watercraft for many years.

Kaoloa Blessing

Joe Quigg had to patch rotten portions of the log with koa from a new log.

Kaoloa Blessing

Joe Quigg places a maile lei on the koa canoe Kaoloa at its Hawaiian blessing.

Kaoloa Blessing

The Kaoloa was the fifth koa racing canoe owned by Outrigger Canoe Club. The first was the Hanakeoki donated to the Club in 1908 and sold to Makaha Canoe Club in 1972. Next came the Leilani and Kakina in 1936. They are still being raced by the Club. That was followed by the Paoa in 1969. The Paoa was sold to the Ewa Beach Canoe Club in 1983.

Kaoloa Blessing

The manu are a thin sandwich of wood and glass with nylon string sewn into the hull.

Kaoloa Blessing

The Kaoloa was built to the most extreme limits of the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association rules for koa racing canoes.

Kaoloa Blessing

Outrigger Head Coach Walter Guild presided over the blessing of the Kaoloa during beachside ceremonies.

Kaoloa Blessing

The blessing of the Kaoloa in 1986 came five years after the Outrigger Board of Directors decided that a new koa canoe should be built to complement the aging Leilani and Kakina.

Kaoloa Blessing

Paddlers lined the beach for this special Hawaiian blessing.

Kaoloa Blessing

Paddler Chris Kincaid observes the ceremony.

Kaoloa Blessing

Before the naming of the canoe and the blessing Ray Suganuma offered the entrance chant in Hawaiian. The chant, "O Kalalau" is about the beautiful mountain area on Kauai called Kalalau. The chant describes the mountains and flowers.

Kaoloa Blessing

It is traditional in an entrance chant to describe a thing of beauty, Suganuma said.

Kaoloa Blessing

Ray Suganuma gave the opening chant.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva announced the name of the canoe as the Kaoloa. "For years," she said, "the Canoe Racing Committee has been referring to it as our 'koa rocket' so it seems only fitting to give it the Hawaiian name for long spear or long rocket . . . Kaoloa."

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva Pomroy prepared a special blessing for the canoe in which she asked the "Heavenly Father for his blessings to each and all of us who are here for this canoe blessing."
"E kou makou makua aloha,
"E hoomaikai nei makou ke ia waa,
"E hoomaikai mai e na poe,
"E akoahoa mai e ke ia Waa,
"Me kealoha pumehana pauole,
Amene"

Kaoloa Blessing

Walter Guild said, "This canoe truly belongs to all of us. Our Club paddlers won the log from which the canoe was made by scoring the most points during the OHCRA regatta season in 1983. Member Joe Quigg was commissioned in March 1982 to design a new koa canoe. The Board gave Quigg the go-ahead to build the canoe in January 1985. This canoe truly belongs to us. As we race in the Kaoloa tomorrow and in the years to come, remember this moment. The Club may not have another new koa canoe in your lifetime."

Kaoloa Blessing

Walter guild describes the Club's new koa canoe.

Kaoloa Blessing

In the ancient Hawaiian ceremony, a coconut would be broken on the canoe and the coconut water spilled into the canoe for good luck.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva used ti leaves to sprinkle holy water the entire length of the canoe and on the ama and 'iako.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva sprinkles holy water on the Kaoloa to bless it.

Kaoloa Blessing

Watching Auntie Eva bless the canoe are Paula Crabb, Bonnie Judd, Robin Smith, and Di Guild.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva Pomroy blesses the Kaoloa. The canoe is 44-feet 11-inches long and weighs 415 pounds.

Kaoloa Blessing

Ray Suganuma gave the exit chant, "E Hoe Mai" in which he offered a prayer for the paddlers to glorify the day. He erminded paddlers of all they have learned from their coaches and encouraged them to use this knowledge to win their races in the Kaoloa.

Kaoloa Blessing

Ray Suganuma gave the exit chant. He selected paddlers Chris Kincaid and Kaui Hemmings to represent the Club's paddlers during the chant.

Kaoloa Blessing

Paddlers line the Kaoloa during the blessing ceremony on the Club beach.

Kaoloa Blessing

1986 Kaoloa Blessing x

Kaoloa Blessing

Following the Hawaiian ceremony, a bottle of champagne was opened by OCC Head Coach Walter Guild and Canoe Designer and Builder Joe Quigg to commemorate the event.

Kaoloa Blessing

The cork flew as OCC Head Coach Walter Guild and Canoe Designer and Builder Joe Quigg look on.

Kaoloa Blessing

OCC Head Coach Walter Guild pours the champagne into a koa bowl held by Canoe Designer and Builder Joe Quigg.

Kaoloa Blessing

OCC Head Coach Walter Guild pours the champagne into a koa bowl held by Canoe Designer and Builder Joe Quigg.

Kaoloa Blessing

Canoe Designer and builder Joe Quigg got the first taste of the champagne.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva Pomroy sipped the champagne.

Kaoloa Blessing

Auntie Eva Pomroy sipped the champagne.

Kaoloa Blessing

OCC Head Coach Walter Guild drank champagne from the koa bowl.

Kaoloa Blessing

OCC President Tom Haine was next to drink champagne from the koa bowl.

Kaoloa Blessing

Canoe Racing Chair Darcy Ames drank champagne from the bowl.

Kaoloa Blessing

Chris Kincaid, representing the upper division paddlers, drank champagne from the bowl.

Kaoloa Blessing

Kaui Hemmings, the youngest paddler in attendance, got her first sip of champagne.

Kaoloa Blessing

Thin,, light, wide seats were glued into the hull with epoxy and boat nails for hull stiffness.

Kaoloa Blessing

1986 Kaoloa Blessing x

Kaoloa Blessing

Cross strips strengthen the canoe.

Kaoloa Blessing

Paddlers rig the Kaoloa 'iako to the ama.

Kaoloa Blessing

The Koa was carried to the ocean after the ceremony and taken for its first run.