Forty-five years ago on August 18, 1974 while still a teenager I paddled in the first sanctioned long distance canoe race for the State of Hawaii…prior to this race women were never allowed to compete in long distances because most of the men in the sport thought women were too weak, too whiny, and just too much…Long distance paddling was where boys became men…some men even came out and said absolutely no because women’s menstrual periods would attract sharks in the water…for the race a couple of boats from other crews even carried shark bang sticks just in case this happened…

Because the Outrigger Canoe Club was sponsoring this first race, which was called the Dad Center Race after one of the most prolific watermen of his day, our Coach Tommy Connor wanted us to be prepared for any and all situations and most importantly, wanted us to win…Win for us, for the Outrigger, and for himself because he had taken on a women’s crew and many men thought he had betrayed the traditions of paddling and had harassed him…

Tommy trained us for 3 weeks straight with daily workouts except Sunday…the race was only 8.5 miles, but he trained us like we would be paddling a 42 mile Molokai to Oahu…we went to Pelican Banks, the man-made reef off Koko Head…a 22 mile trek several times and often straight out to sea into the deep blue 3 miles from land for endurance, our daily workouts would go for minimums of 2.5 hours…once, when some of us were having difficulty getting in and out of the boat, he took us into Honolulu Harbor where the fishing trawlers came and sharks were known to patrol the area for food…he commanded us to jump into the water and make a paddler change…I think I flew into the boat…Tommy did say I had the fastest time that day…

When race day came, we were battered and bruised, excited, but terrified…Aunty Eva Pomroy, the Club's Hawaiian spiritual leader came down that morning and prayed with us, she said, “Don’t be afraid of sharks, have no fear as they are my aumakua and they are now yours…Remember only this, what you are doing today is for all the women of tomorrow…I never got a chance to paddle like you, but after today, all women will be free to do anything because of you…have fun, believe, and never give up…”

We beat six other crews and Aunty Eva was right, the race did change everything for women in paddling…last week’s race, which is now 22 miles had 40 boats in it…the upcoming Molokai to Oahu will have probably 50 crews, many from all over the world…

That day and the training it took to win taught me a lot about myself…and the guidelines I learned stay with me everyday; work hard for your goals, have perseverance, and never, ever give up…

Photo: August 18, 1974 - Dad Center - Outrigger Canoe Club - First Place Crew

Left to right;  Moira Scully, Kristy Muller Monroe, Stephany Sofos, Lynn Mason, Laurie Siegfried, Maile Morgan, Heidi Hemmings, Tom Conners (Coach), Tracy Haworth Ayers, Jill McGuire Spaulding