President’s Note, August 5, 2020
Aloha,
With both sadness and relief, the coronavirus has forced Lahaina Canoe Club to hang up the paddles for 2020. While our passion for 6-person outrigger paddling has been shelved for the foreseeable future, the threat of the virus to our community via the club is no longer.
After the Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association elected to cancel the regatta season in response to virus concerns, the Lahaina Canoe Club Board of Directors and coaches made the calculated decision to open the club for members when the ‘all clear’ was given by our local government. The goal was to give our community keiki and adults an opportunity to experience some sense of normalcy of outrigger paddling during the virus pandemic.
I would like to thank all the coaches who stepped up to give our members, especially the keiki, an opportunity to paddle this summer. However brief, paddling was something to look forward to, something stable and predictable at a time when nothing seems that way.
Mahalo to head coach Boi Crichton for stability and leadership. Mahalo to keiki and manini coaches Fa’avae Maliua and Franklin Laborte. Mahalo to ever-important assistant coaches Carlos Wegner and George Asio.
Mahalo to Club secretary Rose Crichton for keeping us all in line; treasurer Ala Cordero for keeping our finances gliding along; board members Lorena Martinez and Michele Rosenthal for continued assistance.
Most importantly, mahalo to all the club members and parents who believed in Lahaina Canoe Club leadership, who had the faith in us to follow protocols and put their health and safety in our hands. A responsibility we take seriously. And this is why, at the hint of the virus in our small community, we closed all club activities down until further notice.
On behalf of the coaches and board members of Lahaina Canoe Club, thank you, be safe and we look forward to seeing you in 2021 to start a new chapter in tale of Hawaiian canoe paddling.
Mark Shimer / Lahaina Canoe Club President