Over 50 Years of Paddling in California - by Bud Hohl

Written By Bud Hohl Part 1 August 1st 2009, will mark the arrival of 2 koa canoes at Los Angeles harbor 50 years ago.  They were to be used by Noah Kalama to train some California boys in the art of Hawaiian canoe paddling. One of those canoes was the “Nihui” loaned to Toots Minvielle by Hale Au Au Canoe Club.  The coach of that club at that time was Sam Kahanamoku, brother of Duke and Louie, who was Toots’ right hand man in organizing the spreading of Hawaiian canoe paddling.  The “Nihui” made several trips back and forth to California during our early years.                                                                    Kahanamoku brothers The Hale Au Au Canoe Club was run under the business of Hale Au Au Surfboards at 2411 Kalakaua in Waikiki, which was a beach concession.  The mission statement of the club was to “develop and popularize modern water sports…to preserve the natural beauty of Waikiki Beach…protect the safety of the swimmers and other at the beach…and to do everything to enhance the appeal of Waikiki as a first-class resort.”  This was taken from a 1957 Hawaiian Canoe Racing Territorial Championship Program..   The “Nihui” is in the 16 mm movie (old home movie for you youngsters), which the SCORA Historical Committee is working on.  We’re trying to give the paddlers of today the who, what, when and why of this sport’s beginning here in California. The second canoe was a training canoe called “Kaimanahila.”  It was loaned to Toots and Louie by Holomua Canoe Club.  Holomua was from the windward side of Oahu.  The “main objective of the club is the training of our young men and women in the Hawaiian tradition and lore of their ancestors…to qualify as a paddler in old Hawaii, severe and rigid discipline molded the youth to a perfect example of Hawaiian manhood.  The same standard is maintained today (1957) with youths of all races and creeds from all economic backgrounds paddling together in honest competition.  To remain a member in good standing, these rules must be adhered to and this gives the paddler a goal or standard which will be a part of his future life as he matures.”  This was also taken from the same 1957 program.   Louie Kahanamoku was the director and advisor to Holomua from 1957-60 and was President of Hawaii Canoe Racing Association in 1955 and 56.  Charlie Kanei was the coach and paddler for Holomua in 1959.  Charlie was also selected to be one of the All Star paddlers from Hawaii to compete in our first Catalina Channel Crossing on September 20, 1959.  Holomua means “progressive” and “onward” and I guess onward we shall go.  The “Kaimanahila’s” rigging was a little different than standard rigs in that the second iako was behind 5 seat, which meant that a longer ama was needed.  The reasons for that are not known but we’ll leave that discussion up to the coaches of the world to determine, or better yet, the builder of the “Kaimanahila.” We in the Historical Committee hope to have some more goodies for you before this 50th year of paddling in California reaches it’s main goal of crossing the same channel as they did in 1959. Part 2 How does one person born of modest means, simple times, and Puerto Rican ancestry become such a prominent figure in Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling?  One way is to dream and to put that dream into action and to keep believing in that dream and to make others see and believe in that quest.  To become that preverbal Pied Piper, you need training. Toots’ father was a manager of a sugar plantation store near Hilo when he was born in 1901.  Sugar was the #1 product and employer of the populous at that time.  When Toots was a teenager, his family moved to Oahu.  At 14 he became a member of Outrigger Canoe Club.  At that time, the club had been in existence for six years and the club’s purpose was to teach youngsters the Hawaiian water sports. When you walk amongst the shadows of prominent gentlemen of Honolulu, some of those life ambitions should rub off.  A few of those greats were: Alexander Ford (founder of OCC), JP Cooke of Castle and Cook, Duke Kahanamoku (Olympic gold medalist swimmer), Buster Crabbe, Walter MacFarlane, and Stanford Dole (pineapple magnet), the list is longer but you get the idea.  His coach was the famous “Dad” Center who had been Duke’s Olympic swimming coach. After graduation from McKinley High School, Toots went to University of Hawaii and received a degree in engineering and surveying.  It is these skills that led him to a land-surveying job for a water project on the island of Molokai in 1934.  A couple years prior, Toots helped organize a beach concession at the club which would help later on.  It is on Molokai where Toots gets his idea for crossing the Kaiwi Channel to Oahu; just like King Kamehameha I has done centuries earlier. After many years of promoting the race to his club and others and being turned down because of a potential hazardous crossing, canoes could get destroyed and other problems.  Finally he was approached by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.  They said if 3 entries were found they would sponsor the race and it would become part of the Aloha Week festivities.  Right away Toots contacted Waikiki Surf Club (WSC) and Wally Froiseth, then some boys on Molokai and David Nu’uhiwa from the Hawaiian Surf Club.  Kukui O’ Lanikaula of Molokai won.  Toots’ mountain has been climbed and conquered.  However, Toots had bigger visions.  The very next year, 1953, a lifeguard from Santa Monica who was spending his off season in Waikiki, wanted to paddle the channel on his paddleboard during the canoe race.  The Aloha Week officials sponsored him.  He finished the race on 9 hours and 20 minutes.  That lifeguard was Tommy Zahn.  As in the past, Toots felt a door has been put before him, another quest, which is bringing canoe paddling to California.  Toots had conversations about paddling in California with him and what it might take to get it going.  Surfing was brought to California in the late 1800s by the royalty and revived by Duke in 1908.  California boys, including Tommy Zahn, were starting to come to Hawaii in droves to surf Waikiki and North Shore and Makaha.  Why couldn’t outrigger paddling take hold in California? Tommy had competed in paddleboard races all over, but his winning the Catalina to Manhattan Beach race in 1956-58 is significant.  It was when Tommy obtained a job as a lifeguard for Newport Beach in `58 that Toots’ door sprang open.  In early 1959, Tommy had a meeting with Al Oberg (Newport harbor master) and Ira Dowd.  Ira was the president of the newly founded Newport Dunes.  At that meeting Ira said the Dunes would underwrite the race from Catalina to the Dunes in September of that year.  Toots and Louie Kahanamoku (Sandy’s dad and Alli’s grandfather) contacted Noah Kalama (Tuby’s father) to see if he would like to go to California to teach and train some boys in the sport of paddling and have a race across the Catalina Channel.  Accepting the quest, Noah moved to California and started to gather people for training.  One key person is Lorrin “Whitey” Harrison who Noah found down in Doheny.  Noah knew Lorrin through Ethel, Lorrin’s sister, who had married Joe Kukea who was a member of WSC when Noah was the head coach in `57. So Lorrin comes up and brings some pals.  Another key person is Ron Drummon, also famed surfer from Doheny.  He had written a book on surfing in the early 50s and taken up making movies of surfing.  This is one of the keys to our history in California.  He shot the entire event from arrival to sunset that day in September of `59. The very next day after the race, Toots and Louie were off to Santa Monica to plan next year’s conquest which would end up being the Malibu to Santa Monica race and the Santa Monica Sea Festival.  Those two, but mainly Toots would go on to: Tahiti (1970), Japan (1976), England (1978), France (1978), and Germany (1981) before any international group could think about planning events at those locations.  Toots formed the International Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association back in 1953 for his spreading of his seeds of aloha and canoe paddling.  Many of Hawaii’s youth have benefitted from his generosity over the years. I personally know of 6 boys who benefitted from that trait when he asked Hawaii to send an invitation to some California 18 and unders to participate in their 1972 State Championships.  So there is a timeline of Toots’ dreams and activities leading up to our history. We will be having the memorabilia of the 1959 crossing at this year’s event on Sunday.  As usual, the Cecil B. DeRader show should be a hit because a few of the first crossing participants are still around to tell of the event. The Committee wishes to thank Peter Caldwell, Gaylord Wilcox, Mary Jane Kahanamoku, Outrigger Canoe Club, Tommy Holmes, The Star Bulletin, The Honolulu Advertiser, and Jake Jacobs for taking the time to write down Toots’ visions for all to read and maybe aspire to. Part 3   Well we’ve heard about two canoes that came over on July 27, 1959 and Toot’s vision, now about the third canoe: the Malia.  It belonged to Waikiki Surf Club, since buying it from “Dad” Center in 1948 for $2,000.  The Malia didn’t come up with other canoes because Surf Club used the Malia in the “state” races on August 1, 1959 at Keehi Lagoon.  She was, and still is, Surf Club’s pride and joy.  She had participated in every Molokai Race since its inception in 1952.  Of those seven years, she finished 1st four times and 2nd three times.  In Hawaii, in 1950 (when HCRA officially started) until 1959 the majority of the races were regattas with turn flags, 4-6 regattas a season, which they still have, with 12 events: Boys 13, 15, 17, novice women and men, Jr. 4 and Sr. 4 men, freshman 6, Jr. 6, Sr. 6 men and women with 14 clubs vying for 8 lanes.  Of all of those events, the Malia soundly won the majority.  Front row: A.E, "Toots Minvielle MGR, Rabbit Kekai, Jerome Kalama, Capt, Robert Beck, Stan Dzura. Back Row: Jeffrey Chee, Ling Nakachi, Ivan "Dutchy" Kino, Louis Kahanamoku Coach.  Not pictured Mimi Serikawa, Randy Chun  So the Malia is the first all-star selected by the Hawaiian coaches Louie Kahanamoku, Frank Henriques from Kai O’ Pua, and Sol Kalama from Holomua.  Now for the meat in the canoe.  All the paddlers were senior men division caliber (not the age group like we have, but the best of the open).  Joe Meyers from Healani and Jake Keliikoa looked like the strokers; Archie Ka’aua from Outrigger Canoe Club had won the Molokai race in `56 and `58; Albert “Mimi” Serikawa was from Kai Oni; Chris Bode who won Molokai in `57 for Kai Oni was representing Lanikai along with Joe Gilman; Charlie Kanei from Holomua and Charles Kamoi (Molokai) were both paddlers/coaches from their clubs; Dougy Carr also from Outrigger and Sonny Henriques was from Kai O’ Pua.  Finally Blue Makua and Dutchy Kino were from Waikiki Surf Club who both had won Molokai in `53, `55 and `58.  So that rounds out the Hawaiian crew. The California crew consisted of mostly beginner canoe paddlers except for Dave Ane..  Dave had paddled in Hawaii as a Jr. boy for Hui Nalu 3 years earlier.  George Kopa paddled for Waikiki in `57 in the Jr. men division.  Lorrin “Whitey” Harrison only steered surf canoes ever since he received his nickname in Hawaii in the late 30s.  He surfed, paddle boarded, and dove for abalone.  Ron Drummond was also a canoe surfer from Doheny.  Jack Bell was a lifeguard from Newport Beach.  Tom and Mike Johnson paddled flat water canoes and kayaks.  Dan Vafiadis was a stuntman who did a lot of Clint Eastwood movies.  Ted Seizmore was a police officer from Long Beach.  John Sadlier, Doug Wood (a teacher from Long Beach) and Dick Harrison rounded out the crew from the area that paddled the Catalina Channel Crossing that very first year.  Again, the year was 1959.  Mattel Toy Co. just introduced the Barbie, Hawaii just received statehood a month earlier, gas was .25/gal, Dick Dale was just starting out as “king of the surf guitar,” the twist was introduced earlier this year, Watusi, swim, hully gully, Bristol stomp and surfer stomp were the rage, Kingston trio, Joan Biaez, Bob Dylan were the other popular singers of the era, the Beatles were 4 years away from being introduced, and the surf scene was just about to begin.  Westside Story and Ben Hur were the big movies.  Ozzie and Harriet Dobie Gillis, Leave it to Beaver, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip, Father Knows Best, and Wanted Dead or Alive were your family TV programs.  February 3, 1959 was “the day the music died.”  Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in an Iowa cornfield.  Oh yeah, the Ford Motor Co. stopped production on the Edsel on November 19, 1959.  Wow! Break my heart.  Sorry I just thought you history buffs might want to know a little more about 1959. The race took place on Sunday, September 20 and from the movie, it seemed that Hawaii started in a direction towards Huntington Beach.  There was no “lead” boat back then.  There was a large vessel that transported most of the paddlers and spectators across the channel and also towed the 2 canoes across.  That vessel was the “Lucky Dutchman,” a 110 foot converted subchaser.  Bob Yeakle, a car dealership owner, was a friend of the harbormaster Al Ober.  Ron Drummond’s film crew, which probably consisted of 3 cameras, filmed the crossing, lighting and focus length makes some footage seem unclear, but the mere sighting if everything is excellent history of this inaugural event.  Saturday afternoon on Avalon, they had a welcoming in the beach and a goat roast on a spit/dinner along with entertainment for the crowd.  In the morning, Duke Kahanamoku, who was the Grand Marshall, started the first race across the channel.                                                       Balboa Outrigger leaving Catalina Approximately 2..5 hours into the race, California flipped, but with Lorrin’s canoe surfing ability, they had it righted in no time at all and they were into chasing Hawaii, who was still way north of the rumb line.  The only landmarks back then were Saddleback mountain, Hoag Hospital and the Newport Harbor High School bell tower and the compass bearing of 44°.  Hawaii got their bearings and started for the harbor entrance.  Now our landmarks are the oil platforms, Huntington stacks and hotels, Fashion Island, the Newport Coast construction, oh yeah, and GPS. Hawaii finished in 5 hours, and 3 minutes and California was 15 minutes behind.  A women’s exhibition was held right here in the Dunes with the 3 koa canoes.  A few of the girls were from Outrigger or the boys loaned them their shirts for the race.  As in all great race endings, a festive meal and party took place before the awards presentation.  How great it would have been to be there that first event to make the first crossing.  Wait a minute; we’d be 50 years older.  So much for those dreams.  At this year’s celebration we are honoring a few of the participants from that inaugural event.  Along with memorabilia from that event and throughout the years of the Catalina Channel Crossing, hope to see you there and bring questions for those pioneers of the past.                                                   We of the committee are trying to keep the emphasis on Catalina 1959 and founders.   Because after 1959 the sport spreads into 3 areas and to present an accurate account, research needs to take place or our history could end up as a lot of backroom stories. Part 4  So what now? Visionary, canoes, crew members and the race. What do you want to do now? I don’t know. What do you want to do? Stop! Toots and Louie had a plan. On Monday after the race, they took Blue Makua to Santa Monica where they met with Joe Massaglia, who owned the Mira Mar Hotel. Joe was no newcomer to the sport because he also owned the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel which was across the street from Hale Au Au Surfboards and Waikiki Tavern. Remember those two sites, they are where the statue of Duke Kahanamoku is now in Waikiki. So, Joe wants an event happening like the Catalina race in his area, Santa Monica pier. That’s what got us the Malibu to Santa Monica race and the Santa Monica Sea Festival and the canoe clubs of Santa Monica, Kai Nalu, Argonauts, South Bay and Cal-Hawaiians (but not all at once). Joe also was involved in the Hawaiian races, but because his hotel was across the street on Kalakua Ave, he never put a bid in for the beach events or Molokai event.                                                              Racing in front of Mira Mar Hotel in Santa Monica Okay, you got another site and sponsor, what about equipment? Well Toots, the visionary, has an answer for that. In 1954, Toots had some fiberglass “surf” canoes made from a surf canoe that the beach services used from where he worked at. Toots worked for Outrigger Beach Services which was a beach boy concession hired by the Outrigger Canoe Club. Tom Zahn, Joe Quigg, Tom Moore, Matt Kivilin, Woody Brown and other surfer-lifeguard types lived there (Waikiki Taverns) and worked the beach also. In 1958, Toots and Louie went to the HCRA convention in December and asked for two items to be on the agenda. One was to help spread the sport to other areas nationally and internationally and to accept the use of fiberglass canoes, so the sport could expand. Both recommendations didn’t go over very well. Probably money was a big factor and this new plastic stuff was still too new and/or the traditions of the past would get set aside and the leaders didn’t want to be thought of as too contemporary which was already eating away at Hawaii’s traditions daily.  Toots obtained some funding from the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, USO Airlines and because Hawaii was now a state and tourism was on the upswing, Matson and the Lurline cruise ships were also contributors as was Toots’ benevolent group the Masons. This is Toots’ knowing who’s who in Honolulu. Well the equipment factor was next.. Toots knew fiberglass canoes were the answer, but how. Enter Tom Johnson, at the time Tom didn’t know of this event that was taking place in Newport (workout of weekends at the Dunes from early August until the race). Nothing about the event was really in the papers. Tom just moved to Costa Mesa from LA. Tom had just been selected as VP of the Southern California Canoe Association (flat water canoe and kayak). What comes next is what you coaches might call “timing is everything.” So picture this, Tom and his very supportive wife, Virginia, are coming back from Laguna Beach one Sunday afternoon down Pacific Coast Highway. She looks to the right as they pass that area above the Dunes where you can actually see the Dunes lagoon. You have that view, traveling at 30 mph, for about 10 seconds. So she sees the long canoes with pontoons beside them and mentions that to him. He immediately finds his way to the Dunes water area and that’s the start of our Malia history. Had he chosen a different route that day or had she looked the other way, who know when or what canoes we’d be paddling or if we would because everything was predicated on that sighting. I’ll leave the details for Tom to elaborate on when you see him. Oops, you now know who we are honoring to be the Grand Marshall at the 50th Anniversary of canoe paddling in Southern California. He will be on hand Sunday as our most honored guest.                                                                Canoe mold on car top His expertise as a fiberglass genius can’t be stressed enough. When I started, he trained us in the art of building our own paddles and canoes. I went on to work for boat building companies which furthered my experience, but it was Tom’s taking the time to train the youth which made the difference in being a paddler and someone who could carry on the sport from all aspects. Back to Tom and the race. The Wednesday after the first race there was a luncheon at Berkshire’s Restaurant in Newport. The main topic of the gathering was to perpetuate this event. Influential persons from the communities were invited. Toots talked about how paddling gave the youth of Hawaii a sense of belonging and taught them life skills and how Hawaii, the new state, felt that they would like to share this team sport with others. Pledges were given to this new group to help send a team to Hawaii for the next Molokai race in Oct. `59. After more fundraising took place, each paddler had to come up with $50 to go if he made the team. The team got the royal treatment in Hawaii, seeing the new state’s governor and legislatures, Iolani Palace, a ride on a float in the Aloha Week parade. In the race, they flipped big time and couldn’t right it so they took a tow.. Waikiki Surf Club won its 5th time along with the Malia. So ends the `59 season. Well, not quite yet. Two articles in late October, in Newport, suggest that there is interest in Hawaiian canoeing in Atlantic City and Florida and that the Newport Harbor Outrigger Canoe Association would be holding meetings in the near future. Now begins the Southern California expansion with fiberglass copies of the Malia being the only canoe until late 1970s. Again, the Historical Committee members wish to thank Tom Johnson, the Kalama family, the Kahanamokus, and especially Toots for having that vision and drive to succeed. Many Mahalos, Bud Hohl and the historical gang Other resources: Jake Jacobs History of CA paddling  Outrigger Books 50 YEARS OF CANOE CLUBS IN SO. CALIFORNIA KOA/SCORA Club FOUNDED PRINCIPAL FOUNDER EXPANDED FROM Balboa 1959 Noah Kalama/Tom Johnson Santa Monica (Lifeguard) 1960 Aubry Austin/Tom Moore Newport 1963 Noah Kalama Balboa Argonuats 1963 Sam Kahanamoku/Allen Gomes Kai Nalu 1964 Buster Jermia Reformed 1983 Cal-Hawaiians 1965 Curtis Akina South Bay 1965 Marina Del Rey 1968 Steve Kekuewa/Sandy Kahanamoku Kai Nalu, Cal-Hawaiians, Argonuats, Santa Monica Huntington Beach 1969 Alky Lewis Balboa Laguna Beach 1970 Pat Butler Balboa Imua 1970 Dennis Campbell/Lepu Browning Newport Lanakila 1971 Ralph Hanalei/Al Ching Marina Del Rey Long Beach 1971-80 Bucky Logan Coronado 1971-73 Pete Carolyn Dana Point 1972 Lorrin Harrison Nahoa 1973 Mike Strada Lanakila Oceanside 1975 Sgt.Sam Kimanau/Patti Caldwell Koolau 1976 Wally Maxillian Kanoa (Ventura) 1978 Ben Taitai Oxnard 1978 Verno Hoy Blazing Paddles 1978 Pete Carolyn Coronado Kai Elua 1978 Jim Ako Puamana 1979 Ed Fraser Imua Balboa Bay Club 1979 John Rader Blazing Paddles Hano Hano 1980 Egon Horcajo Kai Elua Lono Kane 1981 Bud Washauer Balboa Bay Club Offshore 1981 John Rader/Billy Whitford/Bud Hohl Balboa Bay Club Santa Barbara 1981 Trygue Duryea Monarch Bay 1982 Terry McCann Dana Point Calafia 1984 Lynn Avitar Uhane 1985 Victor Dinovi Santa Barbara San Diego 1987 Dee Vanwindle/Roger Malm Hano Hano Venice 1988 Kris Dahlin Kai Nalu Ka Nai’a 1988 Tony Perez Santa Barbara Paradise 1988 Angelo Secco Santa Barbara Kahakai 1989 Dan & Darus Ane Offshore Palawan  1990  Tony Garcia Marina Del Rey Hokuloa  1990  Frank Parong  Kumulani  1990  Marc Wilson  Blackie's  1992  Kenny Gutierrez  Imua  Balboa Bay Club  1997  Scott Gayner  Pacific Islander  1997  Sina Tapea  Pale Kai  1997  Lon Michalski  Pao Pao  1997  Dan Avina  Lokahi  1997  Tony Islas  Santa Monica  1998  Cameron Cousey  NAC  1998  Billy Whitford  Offshore

Comments

[Imua Paddler]

Thanks for taking the time for putting together such a detailed history of outrigger paddling in CA.
I especially found the list of clubs and their lineage and start date.

I noticed some of the listed clubs are not members of SCORA, perhaps they are defunct clubs, or maybe just a recreational club that doesn't race. Would it be possible to have have the list updated which clubs are active, which arent, and which are racing clubs and which are recreational clubs?

THANKS