The Third Annual Waikiki Beach Boys La-Crossover Regatta took place on Saturday, Nov. 2nd at Kaimana Beach, located adjacent to the lacrosse fields. The format
for the regatta was similar to year's past. The Waikiki Beach Boys brought four, six-person outrigger canoes to the beach and held several heats with four canoes in each heat. Each lacrosse team
was permitted to enter one canoe team consisting of five paddlers. Each canoe was steered by a member of the Beach Boys Canoe Club. Special thanks go out to the Beach Boys for their efforts in making
this year's event a reality. The fate of the event fell into question after the Waikiki Beach Boys escort boat broke down while towing the canoes. This incident left the four canoes stranded a few
miles from the regatta site. Fortunately, the Waikiki Beach Boys refused to throw in the towel. Instead, two of their members jumped into each canoe and paddled the 20' vessels past Waikiki to Kaimana
Beach - a major feat considering the heavy canoes are designed to be paddled by six person crews ! The canoes arrived just in time to complete all of the scheduled heats.
In the men's division, Olympic Club hit the beach soaring on the emotions of their overtime victory over Barbary Coast. Olympic Club, with the help of Keala (one
of the Beach Boys top female paddlers), road those emotions to their second consecutive regatta championship with an impressive performance in the final heat. In the women's division, Victoria Lacrosse
Club showed unbelievable stamina on route to an upset victory over the Wahine Lacrosse team (two time defending champs going into the 2002 competition). Victoria not only played 4 lacrosse games
on Saturday, but also paddled in three canoe heats. In the third and final heat, Victoria, along with their steersperson Keala, showed fantastic determination. Victoria raced out to a large early
lead, but hit the wall on the final stretch. While their pace slowed and their canoe dipped, Victoria did not give up. They chugged ahead and were rewarded with a half-boat length victory over the
Wahine Team ! |
