Aloha! I am a Seattle native but have been happy to call San Diego home since 1982. I proudly served five years in the US Navy, graduated with a Business degree from San Diego State, and am now retired from a phenomenal career as a Proposal and Contract Analyst. Retirement and paddling is a lucky combination. And you know what’s fun and interesting? Paddling with a group of Kupunas has led me to understand that NO is a complete sentence - yet I've aptly earned the nickname "Yeah-Yeah".

Back in 2017 a friend invited me to a recreation paddle and I've literally been hooked on the sport of outrigger canoeing ever since. Paddling is now an essential part of my life: the sport, the culture, the people, the need, camaraderie, and the endorphins. I greatly respect the power of the water, enjoy steering a crew through it, and crave the excitement and calm it delivers.

I am proud to be one of the original Kanaka wahines following in the footsteps of some amazing and wise gentlemen. I've twice completed the Queen Liliuokalani long-distance race on the Big Island, competitively participate in Southern California outrigger races, and currently serve on the Kanaka OCC Board of Directors.

As a Kanaka board member, I do my best to lead by example and work to build relationships with SCORA and other clubs. I have a hand in organizing and gathering club members for a variety of events – from all-hands meetings, to race site coordination, to holiday parties.

Truly, paddling and serving a club is a labor of love.

Bill has been a Kanaka Outrigger Canoe Club member since January 2019.
Although he had never been involved with outrigger canoeing before joining Kanaka, he has
always been active in athletics. He grew up in mining camps in the Adirondack Mountains of
New York State, Newfoundland, and Liberia, West Africa where kids organized their own sports,
playing basketball, baseball, tennis, and year-round hiking in wilderness areas. He played football, ice hockey, and rugby in high school in Canada. While majoring in geology at Case
Bill played varsity football, ice hockey, and club

rugby at Western Reserve University in Cleveland. After graduation, he maintained his fitness level with running, surfing, and rollerblading
As a Kanaka, Bill has been a regular paddler, attending practices twice weekly during
his six years with the club. He has participated in many of the Southern California Outrigger
Canoe Races has enjoyed the comradeship and competition shared with fellow club members over these years. When the club needed a coaching coordinator last year, he volunteered to help out. Since then, two other coaching coordinators have joined Bill (Mia
Murray and Tom Polakiewicz). 2024 was an exciting time for our club as we have been working
hard to create a uniform paddle technique among all our members. The 2025 racing season
promises to be an active time of race preparation as Kanaka plans to field more canoes i
more races than in the recent past.
Our philosophy at Kanaka is to be a club where Camaraderie, Conditioning, and
Competition is shared. Our coaching goal is to provide a club where all three of these “C”s
are respected. As coaches, we would like each member to be able to participate at their
preferred level, and we want to enable race crews to be ready to compete.