Shell outrigger canoe team welcomed home as heroes

(Tahitipresse - 10-17-2008) - The Shell Va'a team were welcomed home as heroes Thursday night from Los Angeles four days after winning the Molokai Hoe outrigger canoe race for the third straight year, setting a record for the third straight time.

Family members, friends and fans waving Shell Oil flags greeted the returning heroes with flower leis and tears of joy as they arrived in the public area of the Tahiti-Faa'a Airport after their Air Tahiti Nui flight.

The Shell Va'a paddlers have become the heroes for the 5,000 members of the Tahitian Va'a Federation, which represents the many outrigger canoe clubs with teams of men, women and children participating in races throughout the year.

The airport reception was complete with the sounds of traditional Tahitian drums and a performance by Maguerite Lai's traditional Tahitian dance group O Tahiti E, whose dancers were dressed in the colors of the Shell Va'a team.

Tahiti's champion Shell Va'a team won Hawaii's Molokai Hoe outrigger canoe race for an historic third straight time Sunday, also setting a record for the 41-mile (65.9 km) course for the third consecutive time.

Another team from Tahiti, Venus Va'a, finished second, and two other Tahiti clubs, Team OPT and E'Rai Va'a of the Austral Islands, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. That gave Tahiti teams four of the top five finishing places.

More than 100 crews from throughout the world participated in Sunday's 56th version of the famous Molokai Hoe Race. This year's top international entries include New Zealand and Team Zebra, a mix of Olympic-caliber paddlers from Europe and Canada.

Shell Va'a's new record time for the race from Hale O Lono Harbor on the island of Molokai to Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, on Oahu, was 4 hours 38 minutes 35 seconds.

That was 10 minutes 24 seconds faster than the 4 hours 48 minutes 59 seconds for the second place club, Tahiti's Venus Va'a.

Shell Va'a's new record time for the Molokai course shaved 1 minute 57 seconds off its record time last year of 4 hours 40 minutes 22 seconds. Last year, Shell Va'a smashed its previous record set in 2006 by six minutes.

The only thing missing in the Shell Va'a team's return to Tahiti was the perpetual trophy for the Molokai Race. Albert Moux, the president of the Shell Va'a Club, said the trophy was in good hands in a safe at the Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu, one of the sponsors of the yearly race. Administrative paper work is being processed to allow the trophy to be shipped to Tahiti, he said.

The Shell Va'a paddlers won't be able to spend too much time either celebrating or resting because they must now prepare to win an historic fourth time in the Oct. 29-31 Hawaiki Nui Va'a race to be held in French Polynesia's Leeward Islands. That race covers a total distance of 128 kilometers (79.5 miles) from Huahine to Raiatea, Raiatea to Taha'a and Taha'a to Bora Bora.