LCC: Passing The Gift

With a new board of directors, Lahaina Canoe Club have started 2012 by making a conscious shift towards helping others in our community. The community that that we are so lucky to be a part of.

There are many projects in the pipeline for coming days, weeks,  months and years but where better to begin than right here on our doorstep in West Maui.

LCC's members gather together before heading into the valley.

March 17 represents St Patrick’s Day in many parts of the world but this year, for LCC, it was a day to roll up the sleeves, get dirty and Malama Honokowai.

Malama means to care for, to preserve, to tend and to protect. And this is exactly what the Maui Cultural Lands organization does in Honokowai Valley.

Driving into Honokowai Valley.

Established in 2002, MCL is a land trust organization, committed to stabilizing, preserving  and restoring areas of cultural importance here in Hawaii. In their words: “Our vision is to restore Honokowai Valley to a state of balance, so that it can serve as a place to learn, to find peace and to honor those who have come before us. In the face of urban sprawl and population growth on Maui, now more then ever, we must concentrate on these efforts.”

Honokowai Valley, just a 20 minute drive away from Canoe Beach, is one such area and MCL is restoring and reforesting the area which was once home to an estimated 600 Hawaiian families.

Amazing rockfaces.

Volunteers are needed to help this incredible project and are welcomed every Saturday for maintenance work. Visit the MCL website here for more information.

Here’s a few pictures from our day, one which we will be sure to repeat in the very near future. Huge thanks go to the wonderful and kind Puanani Lindsey, whose late husband Ed Lindsey, began the project in 2002. Puanani was our guide and leader for the day and she made the day truly memorable.

Puanani Lindsey.

Jaclyn and some of LCC's keiki helping to plant.

Malama in action.

 

LCC President Michael Rains.

Lahaina Canoe Club members with Maui Cultural Lands on March 17, 2012.

Steering clinic tomorrow at Canoe Beach

Imagine boarding a cruise ship with no captain, getting on a train with no driver or a plane with no pilot. You wouldn’t like to do it and neither would I. Launching  an outrigger canoe without a steersperson is not much different.

The toughest role in a wa’a has to go to seat six – keeping the boat (and its inhabitants) in line is not an easy job. As well as reading the ocean, keeping the canoe on its course, dealing with tricky conditions, encouraging your crew and having a responsibility for their safety, you are trying to paddle, poke, make turns, not huli and so much more.

Not that I am speaking from any great wealth of experience. I tried steering once. Once. After huli-ing the boat and its crew onto the sand at Canoe Beach I threw in the towel. That was after a grand total of about twenty minutes in seat six. Hmph.

What do you mean I have to steer?

But really, like rigging, we should all know how to steer. Going back to the emergency situation scenario – you don’t want to be in one, without your steersperson  and not knowing what to do. Even if we all know just the basics, it may very well turn into the kind of knowledge that can save your life.

And that’s where Lahaina Canoe Club comes in! LCC are holding a steering clinic tomorrow at 9am sharp at Canoe Beach. The session will be open to all and everyone is also welcome to sign up for the coming 2012 season.

If you’d like a little more info about steering an outrigger canoe, visit this link.

See you at the beach, Ho‘omakakaukau!

Aloha for now, Laura.

Rigging Clinic This Saturday

Learning how to use your blade is often the first step when it comes to paddling. Getting acquainted with the boat, with a crew and with the ocean are all important steps – not to mention your timing, your stroke, your timing and your power. Did I mention timing…?

But paddling as part of a team doesn’t begin and end with the act of paddling itself – there is so much more to consider; how to transport the boat for faraway races, how to dismantle the wa’a and how to put it all back together so it’ll be seaworthy and safe.

It’s true that you may never have to rig a boat on your own and you may never imagine yourself doing it, but it’s an art – passed down through generations and enabling the perpetuation of Polynesian culture. Reason enough, to want to learn.

Wa'a rigging. Pic courtesy Kai Opua Canoe Club.

But imagine yourself in a emergency situation (they happen!) where you’re out in the ocean, your rigging has come loose and no-one, no-one in the boat knows how to fix it. Things would get scary, fast.

Well, Lahaina Canoe Club is offering you the chance to learn how to rig this Saturday (February 4) at 9am at Canoe Beach. (8am for those who wish to assist with setting up) and ALL are welcome.

Come down, learn the art of rigging and register for the 2012 season, see you at the beach!

Thanks for reading, Laura

 

New Year, New Look for Lahaina

We’re fully entrenched in whale season right now. Any time you look at the ocean from the shores of west Maui you are pretty much guaranteed to see adult humpback whales and their young – breaching, tail slapping or spouting giant plumes of water.

There aren’t many ways to get as  up, close and personal to whales as you can in a wa’a. Which is just one of many reasons why it’s so great to be back in the water right now.

Whale and her calf, pictured during an LCC rec paddle. Courtesy Michael Rains.

2012 heralded a new start for Lahaina Canoe Club, with a complete reshuffle of the club’s board of directors. The previous people at the helm of the club had done a fantastic job, especially with the arrival of our beautiful new boat (see last post) but the feeling was that new blood was needed and that, perhaps, it was time for the club’s next generation to stand up and guide LCC into its next era.

Step forward new LCC president Michael Rains, Vice President Eric Bruner and Treasurer Jordan Johnson. The triumvirate have spent the last three years paddling together with the Men’s crew from Novice B to Novice A and, in 2012, into the Open bracket. Imua guys!

Lindsey Raymond will be keeping up her amazing work as club secretary for the second year running. She did incredible things last year and as her team-mate I know she’s the most dedicated person you could wish to have on your boat or on your board. Imua Linds!

Imua Lahaina!

It’s early days at the moment but with lots of community involvement slated for the coming year and recreational paddles, rigging clinics and steering clinics already happening, I feel it’s going to be a great season for LCC.

Check back for coming information about this Saturday’s rigging clinic at Hanakao’o Beach.

Bye for now, Laura

 

 

 

Hana Part 2 – The Results

Aloha all,

Just a quick post to give you the 2011 ‘Alau Island Race results for races 1-3.

I’ll be back soon with much more, including a much deserved virtual high-five to our Novice B women, who made us all so proud in Hana. Keep checking back for more. Mahalo!

Laura

The results from race one.

 

 

...and race two.

 

Race three's results.