The
History of the
Kahakai
Outrigger Canoe Club
Under
Construction
Once upon a time...
Kahakai O.C.C. began as the brainchild of brothers
Dan and Darus Ane, who at the time were paddling for Offshore Outrigger Canoe
Club. After several years of driving from Seal Beach to Newport, Dan and
Darus grew weary of the commute, not to mention the political climate within
Offshore at that time. Dan decided to purchase a 3-man "Steinlager"
canoe from Walter Guild of the Outrigger Canoe Club in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The brothers, and their friend Bruce Anderson could now paddle in local waters,
and more importantly...have some fun.
A friend's yard of sand, at 11th Street and Seal Way
became the canoe's first home and the storage fee was juuuust right---free! Sand,
water close, and affordable. Who could ask for anything more?
Still, it wasn't perfect. Local lifeguards
were constantly reminding them that the canoe could only be launched from the
beach between the hours of 6 PM and 8 AM. Eventually, launches were
further restricted to the area near 1st Street.
At about the same time, notes were found on the
canoe inquiring whether or not the canoe belonged to a club, and if its owners
intended to race it. Among other things, the notes prompted Darus and
Bruce to begin thinking about starting a club in Seal Beach.
Bruce began looking
for a "legal" location where the canoe could be kept on the beach,
however the
City of Seal Beach was uncooperative, and very demanding. Eventually, the
city finally said that the canoe couldn't be stored anywhere on the city's
beach, but informed the trio that the canoe could be stored on a vacant lot at 5th
and Ocean, with permission from the lot's owner.
As plans for a club
began to manifest themselves, a name for the club to be needed to be
found. "The Seal Beach Outrigger Canoe Club" first came to mind,
however they wanted incorporate paddling's Hawaiian heritage in the name as well.
The name was translated into Hawaiian with help
from Darus' Uncle Gilbert. The ancient
Hawaiian translation for seal is "ilio holo kauana", which in English
literally translates to
"graceful swimming pig". Thus the club "Ilio Holo Kauana Kahakai
Outrigger Canoe Club" was born (eventually, the club name was officially shortened to
Kahakai O.C.C.).
By December 1988,
Bruce had finished writing the By-Laws and Articles of Kahakai O.C.C., and despite
not having a 6-man canoe, Dan and Darus had recruited more people to join them
in their workouts. Using his connections at Offshore OC.C., Darus asked
to borrow an old, redwood, 6-man canoe, called "The Salad Bar."
Using Offshore's
trailer, the canoe was transported for repairs, then taken to 5th
Street. Iaku's were built and with and old ama borrowed from Offshore, Kahakai paddled out in
it's first 6-man canoe.
The canoe served
the fledgling club for nearly a year, until a huli in the surf snapped the canoe in half. No one was
injured but the canoe never entered the water again. To this day, it awaits
repairs so that it can be returned to Offshore.
With money pooled
from club members, Bruce met with Walter Guild in Honolulu to purchase a
"Classic" racing outrigger, the premier canoe of the time. A deal
was struck with Walter, and Kahakai's first canoe was ordered and paid for it with the club's
new checks. Once again, Offshore loaned Kahakai their trailer to take delivery of the
Classic from the Matson terminal on Terminal Island. The canoe was blessed and
given the name "Aukai", meaning Seafarer.
As time passed, the
location in Seal Beach became less and less appealing. Lugging the canoe
to the water across the vast expanse of beach was always a long haul, albeit
made easier by a dolly on loan from Offshore. The city of Seal Beach and
the lot's owner became increasingly difficult to deal with, not to mention the occasional high surf...remember the "The Salad Bar?"
Darus searched for
another location for the club to call home and found Mother's Beach. The
launch site was
sheltered from surf and close to the water. All that was left was to negotiate
with the City of Long Beach, which welcomed Kahakai. The
club remains at this location today.
In 1989, Kahakai
became a member of KOA for it's first race season, and the club has grown steadily
ever since.
The
same sprit of Dan, Darus and Bruce still prevails in our club to this day, friends paddling
in local waters, working-out, and most importantly...having some fun.
