As the grandson of legendary waterman Fred Hemmings, Merrick Hemmings is aware of the legacy he perpetuates every time he navigates an outrigger canoe.

The Punahou School senior helped guide Paddlers of Laka to gold as the crew’s steersman in the junior division of the 53rd Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race on Sunday. He was joined in the victorious canoe by fellow high schoolers Sebastian Ako, Evan Allen, Seth Allen, Makoa Becerra, Matias Durkin, Jack Kilpatrick V, Tetu Morse and Jessie Solis.

“Once we got downwind, it was awesome, an unreal feeling,” Hemmings said. “We have some big races coming up, including Catalina Island in California, so we’re going to keep training hard and building the team.”

The triumphant junior squad finished seventh overall in the field of 36 canoes and crossed the finish line in 3 hours, 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

The 24-mile trek from Kailua to Waikiki Beach was held amid the summer heat and humidity and paddlers encountered a large south swell, although steady breezes helped cool participants. Thousands of supporters and onlookers watched from the sand and above from nearby hotel balconies, and it was evident that paddlers and spectators alike were happy to see the race return following a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition featured men’s crews that followed a course spanning from Kailua Beach, around Makapu‘u, past Hawaii Kai and Diamond Head, and finished adjacent to the pier on Duke Kahanamoku Beach fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Paddlers reported “sticky” ocean conditions as the large waves coupled with changing tides worked against canoes during the race’s home stretch.

“We had a pretty good start and found our blend, the surfing was really clean right after passing China Walls,” Ako said. “We’re meshing this junior program with the men’s team, and it’s really helped us improve.”

Paddlers of Laka’s open men’s crew crossed the finish line first overall in a blistering 2 hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds, and held off Outrigger (2:53:10), Waimanalo (2:53:52) and Lanikai (2:55:48). The Paddlers of Laka men’s crew featured Pek’u Amaru, Kaihe Chong, Kala Diaz, Ryland Hart, Hitiroa Masingue, Cheyne Mench, Hunter Pflueger, Jack Seymour and Temoana Taputu.

Over the past handful of long-distance seasons, crews have been progressive in supplementing local paddlers with athletes from paddling hotbeds, including Tahiti and Australia. The hybrid crews have garnered faster times as competitors move to raise the collective bar.

“This was pretty exciting since it was the first time doing a distance race since 2019,” said Mario Mausio, a veteran paddler and captain of Team Oceania, which raced under the banner of Waimanalo Canoe Club on Sunday en route to its third-place finish. “We haven’t had much time to train together, and this was actually the first time paddling as a crew, so we had to find a way. With paddlers from Big Island, here on Oahu, Kauai and Australia, we’re trying to keep the program going and gel because everyone brings positive attitudes to the crew.”

The first edition of the Duke Kahanamoku Long Distance Race was held in 1968, and the event has evolved along with paddlers’ approach to the sport and advancements in technology. The initial winning time was 3 hours, 44 minutes and 8 seconds; streamlined fiberglass canoes, lighter, stronger composite paddlers and a rigorous cross-training approach to the sport by paddlers have allowed elite competitors to shave nearly an hour off the top finishing times compared to 50-plus years ago.

The Duke Race marked the first full-field competition of the long-distance campaign and was held two weeks after paddlers completed the regatta sprint season. Lanikai won its third consecutive Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship at Keehi Lagoon on Aug. 6, and its paddlers are poised to carry that momentum in the distance season.

“It feels so good. You get tired, but you’re paddling with your friends, so it was great to be out there again,” said Igor Sobreira, a member of Lanikai’s fourth-place crew. “Now, we start looking at other races we want to do and see what works with different crew combinations.”

On Sunday, the women will take to the water for the annual Dad Center Race from Kailua Beach to the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki.