Haari Boat Festival

The annual festival, held since 1990, was August 16-18 in Wailoa Park.  This is traditional Okinawan boat racing.  The guy at the far left holds the boat in position until the "Go" signal is sounded.

There were just three boats, but over 30 races on Saturday.

Crews rotated in and out of the boats

It was a short course on the flat protected Wailoa River.  The boat circled and crossed the finish line at the green flag.

In the bow of the boat, someone bangs a gong to set the rhythm.

The history of how the boats came to Hawaii from Okinawa was interesting to me and can be found at http://www.haariboatfestival.com/history.html