Keani Reiner

Keani Reiner (1952–1994) was a Hawaiian surfer and sailor. Keani Reiner and her crewmate Penny Rawlins were the first women to sail on a long-open ocean voyage aboard Hōkūleʻa on the return trip from Tahiti to Hawai'i in 1976.[1][2] She was also a part of the first all-girl crew to complete the Na Holo Kai Sailing Canoe Race from Oahu to Kauai in 1990.[3]

Keani Reiner
Personal information
BornKeani Reiner
(1952-03-20)March 20, 1952
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
DiedSeptember 25, 1994(1994-09-25) (aged 42)
Hanalei, Hawaii
ResidenceKauai
Surfing career
Major achievements1990 Na Holokai Race
1976 Hokulea Voyage

Early life

She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on March 20, 1952, of Blackfoot indian and German ancestry. Reiner completed her graduation from Punahou School. She was a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club. Keani sailed her own catamaran at the age of 7, which was built by her father.[3]

Career

In the 1970s she settled on the island of Kauai.[3] In 1976, Keani Reiner and her crewmate Penny Rawlins were selected as the first two women to sail on Hokulea, a contemporary, traditionally designed, double hulled Polynesian sailing canoe, across the open ocean from Tahiti to Hawaii.[3][4][5] She sailed along with other crew members including Snake Ah Hee, Andy Espirito, Kawika Kapahulehua, Mel Kinney, Kainoa Lee, Kimo Lyman, Gordon Piʻianaiʻa, Leonard Puputauiki, Penny Rawlins, Nainoa Thompson, Makaʻala Yates and Dr. Ben Young.[6][7]

In a personal communication, her crewmate Penny Martin said,

When the selection committee met to decide on potential crewmembers for the final cut, there was only one woman that was named, Keani. The committee didn't want to take just one woman. Good for me. The guys remembered me from Moloka'i and said that there was another woman and she would go.

— Penny Martin, August, 2010[8]

In 1990, Keani was a member of the first all-girl crew to complete the Na Holo Kai Sailing Canoe Race from Oahu to Kauai in 1990.[3] She was also a certified captain.[3] Keani Reiner is described as one of the pioneer women who showed the way and prepared the place for other women on board the traditional canoes of modern times.[9][10]

Personal life

Keani Reiner was married to John Kruse[11] from 1980 until her divorce in 1988. She married Glenn Schot on June 2, 1990, in Hanalei, Kauai.[12]

Death

At the age of 42, she died of breast cancer on September 25, 1994. She was survived by her sister, Shea Reiner, husband Glenn Schot and her son Kepa Kruse.[3][11][13]

See also

References
  1. Inefuku, Terri (November 21, 2016). "A look back at Hokulea's first voyage, 40 years ago". KHON-TV.
  2. Finney, Ben (1992). "1976 Hawai'i to Tahiti and Back". Polynesian Voyaging Society. Palmerston North: Massey University.
  3. "Keani Reiner (1952-1994)". Polynesian Voyaging Society. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  4. Sam, Low (August 17, 2015). "Steering by the Stars". SAIL Magazine.
  5. Roig, Suzanne (March 5, 2006). "Hokule'a's voyage to Tahiti a journey in time". The Honolulu Advertiser.
  6. Kawanui Kāne, Herb. "1976 Hawai'i to Tahiti and Back". Polynesian Voyaging Society Newsletter. 1 (April 1974).
  7. Ben Finney's Hokule'a: The Way to Tahiti describes the first voyage to Tahiti. For an account of Mau's navigation from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti, see David Lewis' We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific, 2nd Edition, pp. 313-336.
  8. Louise, Kathryn; Wilson, Nālani (December 2010). "Nā Mo'okū'auhau Holowa'a: Native Hawaiian Women's Stories of the Voyaging Canoe Hōkūle'a" (PDF). OUR Archive Home - University of Otago. pp. 225, 149, 198.
  9. "Moana, a modern-day heroine at the time of the Ancients". welcome-tahiti.com. January 5, 2018.
  10. "The Pioneers". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Vol. 11, no. 188. July 7, 2006.
  11. "Kepa Keeps It Positive". Midweekkauai. January 12, 2016.
  12. Machado, Mary (September 1990). "As the terrace turns". The Outrigger: 5Keani Reiner and Glenn Schot were married on June 2 along the Waioli River in Hanalei. Keani's sister Shea and AI Balika carne from Denver for the celebration{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  13. "Schot, Gayle Keani Reiner 42" (PDF). Joseph F. Smith Library, Brigham Young University–Hawaii. 1994.

Further reading
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