2012 Closing Statements

On Saturday, June 23rd,  the waters of New York Harbor were the location of the 16th annual Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge.  Just as the Harbor is the meeting point of the Hudson and East Rivers, New York Outrigger has always envisioned the Liberty Challenge as a confluence of Pacific and Atlantic paddlers.  This year that vision was on full display with teams from waters across the globe – and even a couple from the desert!

New York Outrigger congratulates all of the athletes who competed so fiercely on the water and celebrated so tirelessly on land. We cherish the new friendships that were made and the opportunities to reconnect with old ones. We hope you had a safe journey home and will link to us on Facebook when you tell everyone about your experience. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

New York Outrigger thanks Koa sponsor Hawaiian Airlines for their kokua in bringing the aloha of Hawai’i to New York, now with daily non-stop service to JFK.

We also thank all of our Iliahi Sponsors for their generosity. We especially thank Brooklyn Bridge Park, Hudson River Park and Pier66 Maritime for their leadership and support in bringing people to the NYC waterfront.

A huge Mahalo to members of the East Coast Outrigger Racing Association (ECORA) for trailering canoes and continuing to support visiting teams year after year.

There was standing-room crowds at Patagonia Soho for the screening of the documentary film “I Just Love to Paddle” about Nappy Napoleon. Many thanks to Marta Czajkowska for sharing these stories with New York.

Finally, we’d like to recognize the innumerable volunteers and contributors who tirelessly worked behind the scenes to make the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge possible.

We look forward to reliving these great moments and the travelogue of Team Primo to NYC via Ocean Paddler TV, with media sponsorship provided by OluKai.

New York Outrigger is sorting through thousands of photos and are posting them as they are available. Please continue to visit LibertyOutrigger.org, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @NYOliberty to find photos and videos as they’re released on our Flickr page.

We look forward to 2013 and hope you will join us again next year.

A Hui Hou,

New York Outrigger
newyorkoutrigger.org