A traditional Hawaiian blessing, or pule, kicked off the Fifth Annual Battle of the Breakwater Outrigger Canoe Race, hosted by Long Beach’s Kahakai Outrigger Canoe Club and the Southern California Outrigger Racing Association.
Twenty clubs from as far away as Lake Havasu, Lake Tahoe, San Diego and Santa Barbara, comprising more than 200 six-person crews, raced to the Long Beach breakwater and beyond on long (10-mile) and short (5-mile) courses, with all races finishing in historic Marine Stadium.
The host club had a particularly successful day, medaling in seven divisions, including a 1-2-3 sweep in the short course coed race, noteworthy in that two of Kahakai’s canoes were raced by a mix of adult and teenage paddlers, while all of the other teams in the division were 100% adult.
Kahakai won medals in seven divisions at the 2026 Battle of the Breakwater. (Photo courtesy of Kahakai)
Kahakai outrigger crews launch in Marine Stadium at the Battle of the Breakwater. (Photo courtesy of Kahakai)
A Kahakai women’s crew finishes the 10-mile Battle of the Breakwater in historic Marine Stadium. (Photo courtesy of Kahakai)
Outrigger canoes leave Marine Stadium and head for the start of the Battle of the Breakwater. (Photo courtesy of Kahakai)
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Kahakai won medals in seven divisions at the 2026 Battle of the Breakwater. (Photo courtesy of Kahakai)
The Kahakai team also crossed the line first in the long course coed race, as well as second in the women’s masters division, and third in the women’s short course, men’s senior masters long course, men’s golden masters long course and men’s open long course races.
Kahakai’s Mothers Beach neighbor, Lokahi Outrigger Canoe Club, also did well, medaling in three divisions — first in novice men’s traditional canoe short course, second in open coed long course and third in novice women’s short course.
The day, however, began with an unusual challenge when race organizers learned that a fire in a boatyard in San Diego prevented access to a canoe trailer shared by three clubs that were coming north to participate in the event.
The paddlers were here, but their canoes weren’t, so, in typical Hawaiian ohana fashion, clubs at the race, including Kahakai, offered enough spare canoes for the affected crews to compete.
The sport of Hawaiian outrigger most likely originated centuries ago when villagers in their fishing canoes decided to start racing each other.
It officially started in California in 1959 when a team of Hawaiian paddlers brought two canoes to the mainland and challenged a team of mainly lifeguards to a race to Catalina Island. The rest is history, as the sport has grown to include 29 clubs in Southern California and Arizona and several thousand paddlers, ranging in age from under 10 to older than 80 — all of whom share a love of Hawaiian tradition, competition and the ocean.
In 1990, Long Beach’s Marine Bureau suggested an unused corner of Mother’s Beach, adjacent to the Girl Scouts Marine Landing, as a home for the outriggers, according to the history portion of the Kahakai Outrigger Canoe Club’s website.
Since then, the club has grown in both members and canoes, with the fleet including nine racing canoes, two four-man practice canoes and a number of one-man sprint trainers.
Its male and female paddlers have competed in the world-class Molokai Channel Crossing, a 41-mile race from the island of Molokai to Waikiki Beach on Oahu, and in the world’s largest outrigger canoe race in Kona, Hawaii.
The Battle of the Breakwater, meanwhile, is the club’s signature regatta and an annual fundraiser.
Kahakai (meaning “beach” in Hawaiian) Outrigger Canoe Club, going strong since its founding in 1989, welcomes new members of all ages and ability levels.
For more information, go to kahakaioutrigger.com.
Diving
USA Diving hosted the 2026 World Junior Diving Championships Trials at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex in Florida last week.
This premier domestic event featured many of the nation’s top junior athletes competing for a spot on the World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships 2026 team that will represent the United States at the World Aquatic Junior Diving Championships from Aug. 21 to 28 in Rijeka, Croatia.
Our local team – McCormick Divers — did well:
Annabelle Chen: Fifth place in the 1 meter
Brayden Ogawa: 12th place in the 3 meter
Katherine Mo: Third place on Platform and seventh place in the 3 meter
Evelyn Wang Second place on platform, sixth in the 1 meter and seventh in the 3 meter.
Sixteen-year-old diving standout Evelyn Wang is headed to the global stage after a stellar performance at the Junior World Championship trials. Securing her spot on the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships team, Wang punched her ticket to Croatia this August by finishing second in the highly competitive 16-18 girls platform event. For details on joining the local diving program, go to mccormickdivers.com/wp.