Water conditions at Waikiki Beach are different each year, but they can also change during the course of the Walter J. Macfarlane Memorial Canoe Regatta with a change of surf, tide, current or wind. This makes course records difficult to compare. If you catch a wave, you’ll go faster than if you don’t. Even the lane you’re in makes a difference. So congratulations to the crews that have captured the course record for their event.
Events currently run from 1/4 mile to 1 1/2 miles. Over the years since the regatta started in 1943, the course has changed many times, up to 4 1/2 miles for the senior men.
For a number of years the race course ran parallel to the beach with the finish in line with the judge’s stand in the Outrigger Canoe Club Bar. Today, the course is perpendicular to the beach with the finish in line with the judges in a hotel room at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
Here are the records for Macfarlane Regatta.