By Sharael Feist
Sept. 18, 1998
KONA, Hawaii – Thousand of miles away from its Bay Area home, the San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club (SFOCC) beat out world renown teams to win the honorary award of “Most Outstanding U.S. Mainland Crew” in the annual Queen Liliokalani race, the largest canoe race in the world.
The San Francisco crew competed against other Bay Area clubs, including Kilohana, He’e Nalu and Tamalpais, as well as teams from across the country to seize the perpetual trophy.
“It was quite a surprise and an honor to be chosen for the award,” said SFOCC president Phil Siaris. “We’re a very visible club. We helped out other crews, rigged their canoes and lent a hand.”
SFOCC also took first place in the mixed division in the doublehull canoe race. The lO-mile race took place along the scenic coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
“The Queen Liliokalani is a great race to compete in. We meet a lot of paddlers from all over the world,” Siaris said. “It’s a great opportunity to socialize, learn different paddling techniques, and compare notes with other coaches.”
Clubs competing in the race came from countries from around world, including Hong Kong, Australia and Tahiti, as well as U.S. teams from cities in Oregon, Washington, New York and Wisconsin.