Happy Holidays and New Year, Ohana! Thanks to everyone who made 2015 special. Our year was filled with good times, from OC6 medals in Alcatraz and Catalina and small boat wins in the California winter series races, to luaus, keiki competitions, concerts and kalua pig fundraisers.  This year was memorable too for racing our new beautiful Pure unlimited canoe and bringing us to new places not just in competition, but in experience and fellowship. Great adventures ahead in 2016!

We also bid bon voyage, but not goodbye, to our head coach, Margaret (Peggy) Coulombe, who was invited to coach Na Leo ‘O Ke Kai’s women’s crew by Uncle Lono in 2005 and who went on to lead the club as head coach and women’s coach from 2007 to 2015. Under her leadership, Na Leo women’s crews consistently achieved top 10 finishes in their OC6  race categories and Na Leo’s men’s and women’s crews excelled locally as well as medalled for the first times in CA. She took the first crew from Arizona to compete in IVF World Sprints in Calgary, Canada in 2012 and led a women’s crew to a silver medal win at World’s in Brazil in 2014. Coach Peggy was also a driving force, expanding our relationships, recruitment, training and skills, web presence and equipment, including acquisition of new OC6 canoes and donation of the first small boats to the club. While she goes forward to more adventures and we won’t see her like clockwork on the docks as before, we know how much she values (and has valued) her time with Na Leo and wishes great things for all of us in 2016 and beyond! Cheehu!!