I've been meaning to blog about one of my favorite activities since I moved here, paddling in a 6 person outrigger canoe. I joined up with a group through the university, not knowing what to expect, and it turned out to be a lot of fun, great exercise, and a great way to spend time out in the Hilo Bay.
I happened to catch a cruise ship pulling into the harbor while I was taking pics. The little white pontoon type thing on the left is called the Ama. It provides stability for the canoe. Six people sit in a row, paddling on alternating sides (the person in front and behind you paddle on the opposite side you're paddling on). We paddle in rhythm, everyone's paddle hitting and exiting the water at the same time, for about 10-14 strokes until the person in the 2nd seat from the front calls out a 3-2-1 type command that signifies the moment for each paddler to switch sides without losing a stroke. However, instead of saying, "3,2,1", they call out, "Hut, Hut, HOO", and then you switch. Typically, everyone joins in on the "HOO".
The person in the 1st seat (front/bow) sets the tempo of the stroke and the person in the 6th seat (back/stern) steers the canoe.
Occasionally, if we paddle the boats into some surf, we can catch a wave and it gives us a little push as we're paddling. The guys who are really good at it can catch bigger waves in these big canoes and take them for a nice little ride. It's cool to watch, hopefully I'll actually get to do it some day. You can pay someone take you out in a canoe and ride the surf in Waikiki on the island of Oahu, but I want to learn how to do it as a team to get the real experience.
The paddle I bought was hand-made by a local carpenter, and the store I bought it from, Hilo Bay Paddler, "sizes" you to make sure the length of the paddle fits your reach. Here's mine.
The last day of paddling with this club was this past Thursday and we had a pot-luck. Tons of great food. Sad to see the Thursday meetings come to an end, but they will resume again in another month or so. Until then, I'm going to check into getting with another university club that meets more regularly. I'm still working on getting a water-proof camera so I can start getting some action shots.
Cool, Mike. Sounds like fun. I'd like to hear about your place. Are you living in a dorm-like setting? I'll bet walking around campus is a treat, in itself.
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