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Kīkaha to celebrate members and memories at 30th celebration
In what will surely be remembered as a club milestone, Kīkaha O Ke Kai members past and present will gather to celebrate the club’s 30th anniversary this month in Tacoma.
Some of the club’s original members are planning to attend, said Nellie Bell, club president.
There will be music, a photo booth, good food and a whole lot of memories being shared.
The event will be from 3 to 8 p.m. on June 20 at the Scottish Rite Orient of Washington, 817 S Vassault St. in Tacoma.
To sign up for the celebration potluck and to help, click here.
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Kīkaha paddlers conquer Seventy48
A Kīkaha crew endured headwinds and rogue waves as they paddled through the night to a seventh place overall finish in the annual PNW endurance test Seventy48.
The 2026 crew – Kyle Wynkoop, Brian Martin, Joe Aquino, Alyssa Reischauer, Sofia Zapata and Hannah Yu – finished the race from Foss Waterway to Port Townsend in 13 hours, 41 minutes and 56 seconds. The race, which began in the evening on May 29, featured 133 participants, some in solo craft and others in teams.
About one-third of the entries dropped out because of weather conditions.
Martin started the race steering, turning over that task at 30 miles to Wynkoop. One of the first challenges was passing Vashon Island, Martin said.
“The west side of Vashon was supposed to be easy with the tide running out, north,” Martin said. “It was supposed to be a sleigh ride north along the island. It was not. It had a terrible head wind and waves on us the entire stretch. We had to stay close to the island at times to get out of the wind which added a few more miles.”
Steering at night redefined the idea of difficult.
“I couldn’t get my bearings, seeing what waves were about to hit our nose till they were right on us and we also had rogue waves coming from other directions due to passing ships,” Martin said. “My mind was fried when my portion of the steering was done. I was happy to paddle the remaining 40 miles.”
A large group of Kīkaha ‘ohana cheered the crew at various points and then greeted them at the finish. They heaped piles of lei on the crew members.
“The finish was amazing,” Martin said.
Reischauer said she had wanted to do this race since she first chanced upon it during a dog walk four years ago. The imagined difficulty met her expectations: There was rough ship wake, bailing in the darkness, rocky shorelines and they briefly got stuck on Decatur reef in the middle of the night.
“The first third-ish of the race was a slog against a headwind and decent fetch in Colvos Passage,” she said. “Brian did a great job steering us through that. Figuring out good landing spots at night was a bit tricky since we couldn’t tell until very close if the shore was sand vs rocks.”
Aquino said he was grateful for his crew and his club.
“Seventy48 was tough, exhausting, crazy and satisfying,” Aquino said. “To achieve it you need a team you can trust, commitment, a can-do attitude and a great support team. Kīkaha gave us all of that and the opportunity to be successful. Thank you to the team that never complained and an ‘ohana that became our will to finish. Kīkaha together, we can do anything.”
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Manu Baker Regatta brings thrills, chills and more
Kīkaha’s Manu K. Baker Regatta always starts the PNWORCA sprint season with thrilling races, and the 2026 edition May 16 at Spanaway Lake brought that and more.
With more than 500 people, it was the largest Manu Baker Regatta and one of the largest regattas ever held in the PNW, organizers said.
Instead of the typical 42-race schedule, 65 races were contested because crews preparing for the International Va’a Federation World Sprints in August in Singapore wanted race time. And it would have been longer: The last five races were cancelled due to possible lightning.
And that weather, oh my. All day, the weather couldn’t make up its mind: It was cold, it was windy, it was calm, it was sunny, it was overcast and in the end, there was hail. (Shout out to Sand Point Outrigger Canoe Club – that gas fire pit was a next level idea.)
“We were at the starting line and I heard a thunk,” said Kīkaha paddler Kyle Wynkoop. “Then the splashes started. The hail had come while we sat on the starting line in the middle of the lake, totally exposed. I had to lean down so I could watch for the green flag but not get hit in the face by hail from above or bouncing off the front of the canoe.”
The raffle tent, which featured 42 baskets of donations valued between $75 and $500, raised about $1,500 for Kīkaha’s keiki program, said Nellie Bell, club president.
“We had a lot of great donations – REI, Starbucks, wine, beer, handmade art,” Bell said. “I want to make a big thank you to all the people who helped in the months before the event, including Brenda and Sarah Chun Fook, who made the awards.”
The regatta is named after the late Kīkaha mentor Howard K. “Manu” Baker, who died in 2005. He was the heart and soul of the club from its beginning and Kīkaha dedicated its annual regatta to him in 2006. The club has a long history of hosting sprint races.
Kīkaha, which formed in 1996, held its first sprint regatta in 1997: the Ho’olaue’a Sprints. In 1999, it became the Ohana Sprints, but the name changed again in 2000 to the Kīkaha O Ke Kai OCC Sprints. The change in 2006 to its current name honors Baker’s legacy with the club.
Clifford “Unko Bu” Daniels, the voice of the regatta, announced race starts and raffle winners all day. It was his third year at the mic.
“This was the biggest and busiest we had because they plugged in the world sprints events,” he said.
Close finishes and a few technical glitches challenged the regatta timing and video crew of Brenda Chun Fook, Shannon Zoller, Pam Lane and Eric Stover, he said.
“They had the tedious job of trying to figure out the finishes of those races,” Daniels said. “Everyone was doing the best they could, but the regatta was really, really busy.”
Video action from the 2026 Manu Baker Regatta
Drone pilot Robert Mielish, featured above, and videographer Lon Kincannon, below, recorded some awesome action from the 2026 Manu Baker Regatta. Check out their YouTube channels for more of their work.
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Kīkaha men gather for fellowship, good grinds and goals
About 30 Kīkaha men gathered for an afternoon of barbecue and bonding organized by Gordon Martinez, the club’s head coach.
The idea behind the event was to allow the men to get to know each other better and share their personal goals, races they would like to tackle and their vision for the club, which is now in its 30th year.
The gathering was held May 24 at the Tacoma home of Clifford “Unko Bu” Daniels.
“The gathering was fantastic,” said Aaron Tyerman. “Gordon really wanted the kane to come together and talk about the future of the club and what races we wanted to lean into. We talked a lot about practice, dedication and a strong commitment to the race, the team and ‘ohana. There was a ton of good food, talk story and good drinks.”
The kane gathering featured ono grinds…
Fellowship…
Reverence…
Goals…
Beautiful voices…
And a little dancing!
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Da Kīkaha Korner
Aw’ryte!
Who dat?
Paddler: Joe Villegas
Club activity: Paddling, racing and serving on the board
Years paddling canoes: 5, all with Kīkaha
Favorite race adventure: “My first Queen’s Race. It was a great team building experience with us all practicing an extra day each week to gain stamina. When the race started, we were all so ready and were in fourth place with six miles to go. Unfortunately, we hulied, but with our training we were able to get the canoe upright and bailed out within 10 minutes. Our ama was rigged by another team that was used to having it 66 inches from the gunnel. They raced it on the way back. We were so afraid of huling again that we all ‘left cheeked’ it the rest of the way to the finish. Our goal was 2 hours and 45 minutes, and we finished in 2 hours and 49 minutes, even with the huli. I was so proud of that team and all we did.”
Favorite paddling experience: Pulling off our first E Komo Mai celebration with only 2½ months lead time.
Why paddling: “I retired in 2020 after COVID-19 and had some extra weight carried on my frame. My COVID 20(lbs). I needed an exercise that was not hard on my knees but good cardio. Plus, I needed an activity that kept me out of my wife Sandra’s hair while she still worked from home. Lol. I bless the day that I inquired about practice and Boy returned my message inviting me to come on down and join. That was slightly post COVID and we only had one race that year.”
Best club advice you ever received: “Get a seat cushion, it will help in so many ways! I and my backside agree – it really does!”
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Kīkaha O Ke Kai, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that paddles out of the Foss Waterway, would like to say mahalo to its sponsors and supporters: Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Papa Ola Lōkahi, Nordlund Boat Company, Katie Downs Waterfront Tavern & Eatery, Tucci Energy Services, Hawaiian Paddle Sports, Aloha Carpet Cleaning, Moku ‘aina Wakinekona Hawaiian Club, Dirty2Dreamy Ceramic Coating & Detail Service, Tumi Tax, Teamsters Local No. 313 and Puget Sound Upfitters.
Talk Story seeks to cultivate a strong, unified identity for Kīkaha O Ke Kai, reflecting the spirit of Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling. It is dedicated to sharing club news and managing information promptly. It aims to provide members and supporters with a newsletter that enhances their connection to the club and represents our shared values on and off the water. You can contact us at kikaha.info@gmail.com.