You see, for us paddlers the sport is all-consuming. When the season is on, you eat, sleep, breathe and virtually live in the canoe. When you aren’t in it, you’re talking about it, nursing sore muscles and completely swept up in the paddling scene.

When the season ends, there is a big void to fill. Some take up one-man paddling, others turn to surfing and I’m pretty sure all of us manage to stay in the water one way or another.

In one respect, it’s good to have a break but you really miss those workouts. And those constant early mornings you swore you hated, well… you start to miss them. Just a little bit.

I’m so glad I took up surfing around the same time I started to paddle, I don’t know what I’d do with no water time and nothing to keep my shoulders in a semi-permanent state of ache.

On a completely unrelated note, it’s great to see that this blog has stormed past the 15,000 views that I was targeting by the end of 2012. I thank all of you for continuing to visit the site and of course, to all the accidental people who stumble across it, I hope you have a read while you’re here.

It’s funny to see which countries represent the largest amount of readers. The USA and UK are well up there in the leading spots but more surprisingly it’s funny to see visitors from further afield; Peru, Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands, weighing in with a lot of readers this year. Iraq, Zimbabwe and Azerbaijan, I can only assume they were lost… but you never know.

Thanks again for coming back to the blog, I really do appreciate it and I’m thinking I should update more…

Until next time, Laura

We’ve always experienced our most successful races in the waters of Hanakao’o Beach and home advantage certainly plays its part in paddling as much as with other sports.

Our first two races – Hawaiian Canoe Club’s John M Lake Regatta and Wailea Canoe Club’s Kamehameha Regatta, held in Kahului Harbor and Ka Lae Pohaku Beach in Kihei, have not yielded much in the way of points. They haven’t yielded much for us girls at all. Unless you count disqualification, that is.

LCC’s keiki and women’s race boat – the Makana Aloha.

Two weeks running, we have been taken out of the game and have DQ’d. This isn’t a rare occurrence, for those who may not know, it can actually happen a lot, for many different reasons.

Fielding an illegal paddler is one such reason, as is starting over the starting line, interference with other boats, to name a few.

We’ve been having a bit of trouble staying in our lane so far and have had a couple of minor collisions with other wa’a. But all’s fair in love and paddling, right?

It’s been a little disappointing but also a learning curve – we now know what we don’t want to do and we’ll keep pushing to get back on track and improve race by race.

At least we’re able to laugh about it afterwards and that’s the main thing – to keep smiles on everyone’s faces.

Our keiki crews are giving us something to smile about  - The Girls 14 crew took four place and won a point for the LCC hale, The Boys 16 took third place in their race in a time of 4:20.32. All the other keiki crews did great and we’re proud to have them representing LCC.

Our Freshmen men, paddling together for the second time since the season began, took silver in their race – having come in third the previous week. With no practices together, apart from their races on Saturdays it’s scary to think what might happen if they did practice.

Lahaina’s 2012 Freshmen – Racing to Train.

The next race day will be here before we know it – Lae ‘Ula O Kai’s Mayor’s Umeke  Regatta  happening this Saturday at Kahului Harbor.

Hopefully things will get better for our Novice A crew. Fingers crossed…

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back soon with more.

Bye for now, Laura.

The first race of the 2012 MCHCA season is Hawaiian Canoe Club’s John M. Lake Regatta, to be held at Kahului Harbor on June 2. The first of three regattas to be held at the Harbor this year.

In the coming weeks, the girls and I will be working on our sprints and getting ready for that first race but it’s going to be a busy few weeks for us outside of the boat too.

Getting ready to go on the water at 7am this week. Napili’s black and yellow fleet, Lahaina’s orange wa’a and Kahana’s green canoes.

As we have a bye this year, Lahaina Canoe Club will not be holding a regatta. This makes for a nice break, as staging a regatta is a big task. A very enjoyable task but with very small numbers of club members, it can be tough. So, our main fundraiser is going to be the 32nd Annual Restaurant Races, to be held on May 12. (for more info please contact RRC2012@lahainacanoeclub.net)

Restaurant Races is a great day and lots of fun. To see what happened on RR Day over the last two years you can click here and here to see how the event unfolded.

Hopefully we’ll raise lots of much-needed funds this year and sign up some new Novice Bs for the 2012 season. New members are what we need to bolster our ranks! Until then, all hands are on deck – signing up restaurant crews for the races, helping them practice, hustling to find silent auction items and much more.

In other club news, the Master Men crew has signed up to compete in the 2012 Liberty Challenge race, hosted by New York Outrigger. Yes, New Yorkers paddle too. To quote from their website: “Each summer crews from across the country, Europe and the Pacific travel to New York City to compete in its kinetic waters.  Crews not only have to gauge the strong tidal currents with their dramatic and sudden shifts, but they must also negotiate the vast number of ferries, cruise ships, tour boats, barges, tankers and pleasure craft that fill New York Harbor, the East River and the Hudson River.”

Sounds like an adventure. A chilly adventure. For more info, check out the New York Outrigger website. Can’t wait to see pictures from this race!

Well, that’s an update on what’s happening at LCC right now. I’ll be back soon with news about the up-coming season and our ups and downs along the way.

Keep paddling! Aloha, Laura

We’ve been going out at least once a week for the last month under the tutelage of Franklin, who has been helping us find our timing and technique no end.

Now, we’ve got four days a week to get whipped into shape for the 2012 MCHCA season.

New adult practice times have been announced and they are as follows. Designated women’s practices are in bold.

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.

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.

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

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

But as 2012 approaches and I make my resolutions for the new year, paddling and blogging (much more) is at the forefront of my mind.

Myself and the girls managed to get out three or four times last month for recreational paddles. It was great and reinforced our desire to be back in the boat.

Speaking of boats, Lahaina Canoe Club had the good fortune to be donated a brand spanking new Bradley wa’a and it recently landed on these shores to be admired by all and to receive its blessing at Hanakao’o Beach.

Remember the rumors about Bengal tiger stripes? Well…

LCC's new canoe, from Makana Aloha

The new wa'a gets blessed on December 17, 2011

The boat was donated to LCC by the Makana Aloha Foundation - a foundation that was created in 2007 by husband and wife team JoRene and Gunars Valkirs, who are dedicated to supporting and improving the Maui Community.

Amazing people who really give back to the community and have given Lahaina Canoe Club a huge boost with the donation of this boat that will be primarily used for the club’s keiki crews.

It’s an incredible gesture and, I must say, a badass boat! Imua and huge mahalos, I’m sure, from anyone connected with LCC.

That’s all for now, thank you so much for your continued visits to my blog – readership continues to grow  and I couldn’t be happier!

I’ll be back soon with more and some details of my first forays into the world of one-man paddling as I attempt to go it alone on an OC-1.

Bye for now, Laura

Rainbows before the race at DT Flemings.

The Pailolo Channel is known as  ”one of the windiest and roughest in the Hawaiian Islands” and it’s noted that “Pailolo translates to “crazy fisherman” referring to the typical sea surface conditions and who would attempt to navigate therein”.

Well, it was not so much crazy fishermen as crazy paddlers but we did it and it was one hell of an experience.

Early on in the race, the NCC ladies catching a bump.

Napili Canoe Club is one of LCC’s neighboring  hales and their ladies’ crew were on the lookout for an extra paddler. I jumped at the chance to join them. It was great to spend the week prior to the race training with Napili – learning how to do water changes, bump drills and much more. It had been a while since I felt like I’d had much direction in training and it felt fantastic to have multiple coaches out with us on the water. It’s nice to see how other clubs operate!

I’d heard so much about this race especially from my sister, Jenny who did it in her Novice B year with Hawaiian Canoe Club (amazing thing to do in your first year Jen!). About the wind, the current, the swells, the deep deeeeep water and what may be lurking below… actually better not to think about that last one. Anyway, all things considered, the night before the race I was nervous, definitely nervous.

We had ten female paddlers on our crew and the way it worked was this: six paddlers would start the race and paddle for between 20 minutes to half an hour. At this time Mike (Tihada) our coach, would call out four seat numbers before our escort boat zoomed off to position itself ahead of the approaching canoe. Four of us would jump off the escort boat and wait in the water as the canoe came towards us, ready to jump into our seats.

Off the boat, into the water.

This is where the adrenaline starts pumping…

Bobbing and splashing in the Pailolo Channel.

You go from being on the escort boat, into the water. Into one of the roughest channels in the Hawaiian islands. You are waiting for a canoe to come, at speed. A wave takes you up, you see the boat. A wave takes you down, the boat disappears. So you whack the water really hard – sending up as many splashes as you can, so the canoe can see you. As it comes towards you you position yourself in a row and all grab hold of the gunnel and swing yourself out of the water and into the boat. As you’re doing this, the person who’s getting out of your seat has to jump off in the opposite direction. It’s a blast!!

This was what I was worried about – getting into the boat but once you are in that water and the adrenaline is pumping, you just do it. There is no way you want to be left behind and before you know it, you are in, zipped (into the boat’s covers), and paddling.

When you have taken a turn paddling, you are the one who jumps out of the canoe and tries to get back onto the escort boat. Once you’re safely on, it’s time to re-hydrate, prepare yourself for the next round and encourage your team-mates. Before long, it’s time to swallow your nerves and jump back into the churning water again.

Some may think we're crazy but this is fun!

We paddled for four hours and 45 minutes. Wow. What a mental and physical test it was. No wonder they call it the ‘challenge’. It really was incredible to experience and I am so thankful to the girls and coaches at Napili who had me on board. One thing that sticks in my mind is the positivity that everyone had all day, it was smiles and laughs all-round and all day. Just brilliant.

I’ll be back soon with more but for now a big mahalo for visiting my blog!