05/18/2026
May 16 was a busy day today for Kua Nalu, participating in outrigger canoe races in two different oceans over 2,500 miles apart, and the Santa Cruz club came up big.
On the island of Kaui, Kua Nalu men participated in the Kauai World Challenge, an annual 32-mile, 4-leg relay race for OC1 (one-person outrigger canoes). Kua Nalu had two teams competing, an Open team (age 20-40) with Robby Gibbs and Craig Muirhead, and a Kupuna team (age 60+) with Matt Muirhead and Kyle Samuels. The course went from Kapa'a to Hanama'ulu to Kalapakī to Po'ipū and finished at Port Allen. The Kupuna team of Matt and Kyle earned an amazing 2nd Place finish, with the Open team of Craig and Robby achieving an impressive 7th place overall.
In the Santa Barbara “Rig Run” Kua Nalu won 1st Place overall in the Co-Ed division and also in its Senior Master Co-Ed age group (ages 50 and over). The six-person crew finished the 12 mile course in 1 hour 28 minutes and 18 seconds.
Next up, Kua Nalu will be competing on Saturday, May 23 in Monterey at the annual Monterey Hoe Wa'a long-distance outrigger canoe race at Del Mar Beach.
