Speed

Journalists often sit and create statistics for the armchair sports folks.  I am not exactly a journalist, neither am I an armchair paddler, but  I calculated some statistics anyway.  Like most statistics they compare apples to oranges and are not of much REAL value. The only imperative knowledge is how to go faster and that the fastest wins the race.

The Shell Va'a team that won the 2010 Molokai Hoe did so at an average speed of 8.8 mph, or 14.16 kph (for us metric folks.)

Some Numbers

Team Water Race MPH KPH

Shell Va'a     Kaiwi Channel     Molokai Hoe    8.8 mph    14.16 kph

Lanikai         Kaiwi Channel     Molokai Hoe    8.1 mph    13.04 kph

VI Va'a        Kaiwi Channel     Molokai Hoe    6.5 mph    10.62 kph

Bradley        Kaiwi Channel     Na Wahine     6.86 mph   11.04 kph

Comox        Kaiwi Channel     Na Wahine      6.0 mph    9.76 kph

VI Va'a       Kaiwi Channel     Na Wahine      5.72 mph   9.2 kph

Geronimo   Gorge/Bridges sprint flatwater    7.5 mph     12.0 kph
Men

These are only numbers.

During the Molokai Hoe, the Shell Va'a stroke rate was counted several times at 80 spm. It was especially notable during the last hour 'sprint to the finish' and is a tribute that a large men's team can maintain a stroke rate of 80 for such a long period.