Event Info

In honoring our Mōī Wahine Liliuokalani, we, the members of Kai Ōpua Canoe club, endeavor to perpetuate her efforts to better the lives of the Hawaiian people.

The purpose of Kai Ōpua Canoe Clubs Queen Liliuokalani Long Distance Canoe Race is to honor her birthday, her legacy, and her love for her people and country. Queen Liliuokalani witnessed many illnesses and several pandemics in her time and always put her people first, ensuring their resiliency and survival.

When smallpox hit Honolulu in 1881, Kingdom Regent Liliuokalani summoned her cabinet and made the decision to shut down Oahu, stopping inter-island travel, prohibiting vessels from taking on any passengers, and quarantining the sick. These regulations were so strictly enforced that when they were raised, no cases outside of the area where the sickness first appeared were reported.

In striving to do our best to emulate her example, we are saddened to announce the cancellation of this years race from Kamakahonu to Hōnaunau and back.

We follow the lead of Queen Liliuokalani and feel putting the safety of all paddlers, support teams, families of paddlers, and ultimately the community of Hawaii Island first is the pono action.

It is our hope that eventually everyone will be able to come together again safely, and we look forward to being amongst our Paddling Community and making the 2022 Queen Liliuokalani Race a memorable one for all.

Aloha a mālama pono,

The Board of Kai Opua Canoe Club