Paddling an Outrigger Canoe

Sports Nirvana. That's what paddling is. While doing some improvements on the LuxuryPoipu.com condo, I had the wonderful fortune of meeting Andy Reich. He is a local contractor in Poipu who is a member of the Kiaola Canoe club. I had never been aware of this sport of paddling, but once introduced to it, it joined the ranks of my all-time, most-dreamt-of, most-missed sports, right after karate and downhill skiing.

Paddling is definitely a team sport. We all get together down at the club in Lihue at a place on the water near where the cruise ships come in. Their coach is an unassuming local who speaks in mystic terms about paddling. He welcomes everyone who comes, even me, an Haole from the mainland, of not particularly athletic build; not young, and not promising as an athlete. But it doesn't really appear to matter. This group of similarly paddle-loving part-time athletes (no offense meant to the actual athletes) come in all ages and sizes. Men and women alike, aged from apparently early 20's to late in their 70's. (I think they call the over 70 crowd the "Grand Masters" and they get out there and work it just like everyone else, but perhaps with a little more finesse.

These are not mere mortal men and women. To prove their mettle, they regularly race all the way from Oahu to Molokai, out in the open sea. Everything is so perfectly planned and timed, that in fact, to make the most of the endurance, strengths, and reserves of the paddlers, they actually make changes in who is in what position in the canoe, during the race. They accomplish this by throwing themselves into the water, then as the canoe shoots swiftly by, they do a pull up, and leap back into the canoe, as it blasts by, their peers still paddling at full speed.

We grab these outriggers, with two of them tied together, into a configuration that will accommodate 12 people. The two on the front set the pace, the ones in the middle are the "engine room" providing much of the torque and base power, and the others, well, I don't know what they do, since I spend my time sitting in the engine room. It’s great when everyone paddles together with perfect synchronicity. It is then, when the canoes are said to "glide" and glide they do. They feel like they are barely sitting atop the water, just flying through the air. When we take off with near perfect form, another thing happens. The front of the canoe essentially lifts off, reminiscent of the old front engine dragster doing a wheelie as it departs from its launch pad.

We usually paddle for about 90 minutes it seems, and during that time, its pure zazen, a karate term meaning "moving meditation." Coming back, feeling exhilarated, and enjoying the pure camaraderie of being part of what just was, its great to leave and drive into the night on the way back to Poipu.

Check it out. Show up at the Kaiola Canoe Club in Lihue some night around 5:30 and catch the magic of outrigger canoeing.