PIONEER – CANOE RACING

A.E. “Toots” Minvielle was the patriarch of Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing. He convinced members of the Waikiki Surf Club and six paddlers from Moloka’i to race across the unpredictable Moloka’i Channel in 1952. In 1978, he led a team from the Outrigger Canoe Club to race the English Channel.

Minvielle built the first fiberglass canoe, which enabled canoe racing to flourish all over the world. Today, male and female teams come to Hawai’i every year to challenge the Moloka’i Channel.

BORN 1904