Liberty Challenge

I was asked to write something about the Liberty Challenge for Pacific Paddler Magazine. It's my third year writing about the Liberty Challenge (here's my first and second attempts), so I tried to take a new approach this time. My parents were born in New York, and my grandparents immigrated to NYC during World War II, so for me there is no race experience on the planet like paddling an outrigger canoe in front of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. 


There is a rhythm to New York City. You can hear it in the still curing concrete of its old tenement buildings. You can feel it echoing off of the Freedom Tower, the United Nations, and the Statue of Liberty. And you can see it in the throng of humanity on the street. It’s the sound of history and the hum of life. It’s pervasive and addictive. Even in the climate controlled comfort of your hotel room, rest is impossible. With the humidity pressing down you lie awake in your sweat soaked sheets; listening to the noise on the street; watching the shadows on the wall; feeling the rhythm of the city.

If you’re from Hawai’i—or anywhere where the default pace of life isn’t set at 1.5x—then that inescapable NYC pulse can be exhausting. But, there is one way out. Every June there is a festival of Hawai’i on the Hudson River’s Pier 26. In the shadow of the financial district, with the Statue of Liberty viewable in the distance and the New Jersey skyline across the river-- the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge offers a fleeting reprieve from the pounding pulse of NYC. The sounds of Hawaiian music drown out the roar of the traffic. And there is an indescribable beauty in the contrast between the graceful sway of hula amidst the quivering energy of the city.

The mini Hawaiian oasis that New York Outrigger Canoe Club creates on less than an acre at pier 26 is just one more beat in the continuous thrum of city life. As immigrants from every corner of the world have funneled through Manhattan in search of a better life—they’ve each added their voice to the story of NYC. This multiculturalism is the energy behind the city’s pulse. And, as outrigger canoeing spreads through the east coast, Hawaiian culture is adding its own melody to the rhythm of NYC.

As you paddle to the starting line in the Hudson river, the cacophony of 8.5 million people pans away until there is only one beat left— the rhythm of six paddles hitting the water at sixty five strokes per minute. Because the river is far below the level of the street, the people and the cars disappear and you’re overcome by silence. The skyscrapers of New York, those monumental achievements to human ingenuity, are dwarfed by the storm clouds that roll through on race morning. After the incessant drum of city life, the solitude of finally getting on the water is a welcome relief.

And then… the race starts. Being in a wa'a is the same whether you’re paddling into Matira Bay in Bora Bora, racing a Koa Canoe in Hanalei surrounded by the cascading waterfalls of Namolokama, or fighting the current of the East River in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge.

L-R: Luke, Keola, Hayden, Travis, Kenny, Manutea

But, there is one difference. The currents around Manhattan, especially in the East River, can run as fast as four knots. So, while we’re used to looking for bumps to maximize speed, in New York it’s all about finding (or avoiding) the current. Races are won and lost based on a few inches of course. Hug the wall when you’re against the current or run the middle when you’re with the current.

It seems straight-forward—until you add forty other canoes, fishing lines, crazy ferry drivers, drunken yachties, submerged ancient pier pilings, and overzealous Homeland Security Agents with large guns. When you’re fighting a current and you need to duck in close to shore, you will encounter each of those treacherous obstacles. A siren and then loudhorn blasting “stay away from the Ellis Island,” multiple fishing poles stuck on the ‘iako and a crowd of angry New Yorkers running alongside (never paddle without a knife), a five canoe pile-up, the Staten Island Ferry—and that was just my experience in one race.

At the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge, the day is split up into three races: the women race first, the men race second, and the mixed race third. They start at 7:30 and go until 4:00. For those on the pier there’s food, entertainment, games, and vendors all day long. Each canoe is rigged with a GPS tracker so those who aren’t racing (and anyone with a smart phone) can watch the action live. For a sport that is known for its lack of spectator friendliness, GPS tracking, while in its infancy, will finally make our sport watchable.

This year’s event had the most competitive men’s field in any race outside of the Pacific. Primo, Team Kamanu, Newport Aquatic Center, and Team Kokua (a team of Hawaiian Airlines employees) duked it out in the men’s open-class division: with NAC taking top honors. In an impressive showing from a country that looks poised to become an international contender in the OC-6-- SAMU, the men’s team from Brazil won the stock canoe division, taking home the first place prize of entry fee and roundtrip flights to the Hawaiian Airlines Moloka’i Hoe. In the women’s division Team Bradley won by five minutes over Washington Canoe Club and team Wai Nui from Canada won the open-class division. In the mixed division it was Team Kaua’i ‘Ohana in first overall, and Washington Canoe Club winning the stock division.

After a long day of racing, the nights festivities kicked-off with the famous luau after-party. As the dancers from around Polynesia began to perform, the paddlers emerged from the beer garden with bellies full of kalua pig and lomi salmon. While there were no balmy trade winds, gentle lapping ocean, or swaying coconut trees— as the sun set on the Manhattan skyline to the tune of a lone ukulele, and a crowd of happy paddlers in aloha shirts recounted the days races— for one brief evening the rhythm of New York City life was in harmony with the melody of Hawai'i.



And… this is what happens when you don't bring a knife to NYC. 

Entagled during race - NYC
NYC: Flying fishing poles - Team Kamanu gets entangle during the race. Edited for time - overall over 3 minutes lost. Notice Manutea trying to bite through the line and Luke Evslin trying to use his paddle as knife... the fishermen were not too happy... :-) #kamanucomposites #oceanpaddlertv #libertychallenge
Posted by Ocean Paddler TV on Wednesday, June 24, 2015