One day changed everything for the outrigger canoe in Hawai’i. On October 17th, 1976 the Tahitian built canoe, Tere Mata’i, followed by three other Tahitian crews, blazed across a glassy Kaiwi Channel to dominate the Moloka’i Hoe. The Hawaiian and Tahitian outrigger canoes went down drastically different paths in the 19th and 20th centuries; and it was not until the 1976 Moloka’i that the varying canoes and styles of paddling came into direct competition with each other. The victor of the competition was clear, and it forced Hawai’i to figure out an identity for the Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe.
The Tahitian domination brought Hawai’i into the modern age of outrigger canoeing as a sport and those who participated in Hawai’i were forced to look deeply into the meaning and preservation of that sport. The controversial spark of 1976 was the Tere Mata’i. Not only was it completely revolutionary in design, it was equally revolutionary in construction. It was built with laminated strips of balsa wood, which allow the builder to move out of the matrix defined by the Koa log. In pre-contact Polynesia, the individuality of each log made every canoe unique. When massive logs would drift from North America and land on the shores of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, Hawaiians would use those logs to make huge voyaging canoes. The large redwoods of pre-contact Hawai’i opened up possibilities for the Hawaiians in just the same way that composite and laminate canoes open up possibilities now. The Tahitians moved on from the matrix of the log with wood laminate construction without qualms as part of the evolution of the canoe.
The success of the Tere Mata’i in 1976 divided the paddling community. The HCRA adopted a strict set of regulations based on measurements of fifty hybrid fishing canoes in Hawai’i in order to ensure that the Hawaiian Canoe did not move out of the matrix defined by the log; effectively ending the evolution of the canoe. In the words of legendary waterman and influential canoe and surfboard shaper George Downing, the regulations were enacted “in the spirit of the ‘Olympic Games idea of allowing man to challenge man’ on equal footing,” and so that the “present canoe doesn’t become obsolete” (Christensen, John. Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Rules for Canoe Race Altered. October 13, 1977. D12). While, in stark contrast, Hugh Laughlin, coach of the winning crew, Te Oropa’a, explained the Tahitian viewpoint to Andy Yamaguchi in the Honolulu Advertiser, “Canoe is like a religion. It’s a part of our culture, of our heritage. Canoe was used to go fishing, to go to war, to go 5,000 miles.” And he related the canoe itself to the Moloka’i Hoe by saying, “Do you think the Molokai race has become popular because of the people? It has become popular because of the canoe itself,” and further, that “the Moloka’i race is more than a sporting event. It is a celebration of the canoe” (The Tahitians, October 5 1983. D5). The two opposing beliefs are incompatible with each other, and have remained at odds for the last thirty-four years.
The Tahitian canoe has continued to evolve freely with very few restrictions, while its Hawaiian counterpart has only had halting progress within the regulated limitations. There are currently only two competitive models of canoe in Hawai’i. Nowadays canoe races are extremely fair. When someone wins, the design of their canoe will rarely be considered a factor in the win. This has brought the focus completely on the people in the canoe rather than the canoe itself.
However, for the first time in 34 years, there is hope for the evolution of the outrigger canoe in Hawai’i. The Pa’a ‘Eono race, scheduled for May 23, will be the first iron Moloka’i Channel since the last Aloha Week race in 1973. The race will also be the first major race in Hawai’i that has an “open mold division” with no restrictions on shape, waterline, or weight. The Pa’a race is acting as the catalyst for an overdo revolution for outrigger canoeing in Hawai’i. While only a handful of canoes will be lined up on Moloka’i’s Papohaku Beach, the revolution of the Tere Mata’i that was stopped in its tracks 34 years ago will again be set in motion. Open class canoes will sit side by side with regulated canoes. Six paddlers will race them each from Moloka’i to O’ahu. No matter which canoes are successful, it will be the beginning of a new era for outrigger canoeing in Hawai’i