The Hawaiki Nui Va'a race has kicked off in Raiatea it's one of the biggest waka ama races in the world.
Te Kāea sports reporter, Rahia Timutimu is in Tahiti.
Many months of training came to a head today as teams from Tahiti and overseas completed the first leg of the Hawaiki Nui Va'a race.
Teams raced from Huahine to Raiatea early this morning over a course distance of 44.5kms.
The first team completed this stage of the race in just over three hours.
We were there from the start and saw first-hand, that any team could win the 22nd title of this competition.