The Lanikai Canoe Club steered its way to yet another victory yesterday.

Lanikai remained undefeated this year by winning the prestigious Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta at Waikiki Beach.

The Macfarlane Regatta has been held at Waikiki every year since 1943, making it the longest-running canoe race in Hawai'i. Lanikai has won it seven of the past 10 years.

"We love to win this race," Lanikai head coach Dave Smith said. "All the regattas are fun, but this one is special because of the surf and the tradition and all that."

Lanikai — which has won all five regattas in the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association this season — amassed 86 points in the 39 races. The host club, Outrigger, placed second with 75, followed by Kailua with 58, and Hui Nalu with 55.

The paddlers were treated to consistent surf that ranged from 1 to 4 feet throughout the day.

"It was perfect for Waikiki," Lanikai steersman Jim Foti said. "It wasn't the big swell everybody thought it would be, but the waves that showed up were enough for action and excitement without being hazardous."

A Macfarlane tradition allows each club to use experienced steersmen in each race so that the canoes can stay on course in the surf. Foti, for example, got to steer for various boys, girls, women's and men's crews throughout the day.

"It was a great day for steering," Foti said. "There were (wave) bumps all over the course, so you always had a chance to surf."

He wasn't the only one. Lanikai relied on a rotation of steersmen throughout the day.

"We have seven or eight solid steersmen, so that worked out really well," Smith said. "We got to keep guys fresh and balance things out."

Lanikai won 11 races yesterday, and six steersmen posted victories: Foti and Zane Chess steered to three victories each, Mike Judd had two, and Tom Conner, Fred Hemmings and Mike Smith each had one.

Outrigger also has a strong group of steersmen, and that allowed the host club to stay within striking distance of Lanikai the whole day.

Outrigger trailed Lanikai by just one point in the overall standings after 37 of the 39 races were completed. However, Lanikai pulled away by winning the final two races of the day (mixed 40-older and mixed open).

"Lanikai had a lot more crews than we did today, but we were right there with them," Outrigger head coach Kehau Kali said. "We're excited about how we're improving every week."

Prior to yesterday, Outrigger had not placed higher than third in a regatta this season.

"This is Outrigger's race, and they always come out strong for this one," Lanikai's Dave Smith said. "So it wasn't surprising to see them right there."

Hui Lanakila won the AA division for medium-sized clubs and momentarily stole the spotlight from the big clubs in the middle of the day.

In particular, Hui Lanakila won both the senior men's and senior women's races. Those are considered the top races of the regatta.

The Hui Lanakila senior women's crew of Jessie Eames, Jaimie Kinard, Jane McKee, Arlene Holzman, Sarah Van De Vanter and steersman Adam Treinen-Aea completed the 1 1/2-mile course in 11 minutes, 39.68 seconds.

It was the second consecutive year that Hui Lanakila won the senior women's race at the Macfarlane Regatta. Last year, Hui Lanakila won it for the first time in club history.

"I thought we were in a good lane," Kinard said. "We were lucky enough to get on two small (wave) bumps coming in and that helped a lot."

However, the crew had to wait for about two hours for the victory to become official because a possible lane violation was being reviewed by the race judges.

"It's extra sweet right now," Van De Vanter said after the results became official.

In the senior men's race, Treinen-Aea also steered Hui Lanakila to victory. The other paddlers in the crew were Mike Hangai, Kaleo Cambra, Raven Aipa, Keone Joao and Manny Kulukulualani.

They completed the 1 1/2-mile course in 11:10.31 to edge Lanikai by four seconds. Lanikai was the two-time defending champion of the senior men's race.

"I think we had a decent lane," Kulukulualani said. "Going out, it helped us because we didn't have interference with the waves."

It was Hui Lanakila's second senior men's victory at the Macfarlane Regatta. Aipa and Kulukulualani were also on the winning crew in 2004.

"We weren't expecting to win, but you know how this race is, anybody can win it," Kulukulualani said. "We were looking (at Lanikai) the whole time. We knew they were going to come strong at the end so we were just trying to stay in the game."

As part of a Macfarlane tradition, the winning Hui Lanakila senior crews got to drink champagne out of a silver trophy.

"I was just told by an old coach of mine that people wait their entire lives to drink out of that cup," Van De Vanter said. "So it really means a lot."

Hui Lanakila won seven races in the regatta, second only to Lanikai's 11.

Leeward Kai won four races and finished second in the AA division with 33 points.

'Anuenue and Kai Oni tied for first place in the A division for small clubs with six points each.

The next OHCRA regatta is the John D. Kaupiko Regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon on July 15.

The Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a organization did not hold a regatta yesterday. The next Hui Wa'a regatta is scheduled for Sunday at Ma'ili Beach.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.