On Saturday, the Waikīkī Yacht Club held its inaugural Royal Regatta. The event, held at Ala Moana Beach Park and the Waikīkī Yacht Club, was a celebration of Hawaiian culture and was inspired by King David Kalākaua, who held an annual birthday regatta beginning in 1875.
"It was really fun," organizer Malia Zimmerman said. "By the time all the paddlers in the community got to our Royal Regatta, they were ready to have fun. We had a really intense year in terms of races. And for our Na Wahine team, we just finished the Na Wahine and then the men's team finished the Molokai Hoe. It was really good timing to kind of wrap up the season in a fun way."
Self-described as "a festive showcase of aloha," the event began with remarks from Gov. Josh Green. Canoe races were then held across a bevy of divisions, from keiki to teams comprised of paddlers 60 and over. Music by the Royal Hawaiian Band and hula performances were among the entertainment throughout the event.
"The joy on everyone's faces, that was very fulfilling to see, the paddlers and the sailors have so much fun and have fun together and do it at the same time as being able to honor a king who was so joyful," Zimmerman said. "I think that really brought the whole program together. I've never seen paddlers so happy."
Zimmerman and other organizers are planning to hold the event again in the future, planning it around Nov. 16, Kalākaua's birthday.
"We are planning to ask the parks department if we can have the date next year, around his birthday, which is Nov. 16, so somewhere between late October, early November, we will hopefully be able to fit on the park schedule and do this event again and make it an annual event," Zimmerman said. "We're really excited about doing that, and we have so many people that have already suggested other additional races and cultural events that we can have, and eventually maybe expanding it into a full day or two days over the weekend to have an event that honors the king.
"We had just so many good donors and so many sponsors that really believed in this program and saw the vision for it. Just building this vision so people can see exactly what it could be and what it was this year and what it could potentially be, we were just so lucky that so many people came together and believed in this vision for this event and saw what it can be in the future, and want it to keep flourishing."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
