After lunch and a little mid-day rest, we headed downtown to meet up with the folks at Kamehameha Canoe Club.
Competitive outrigger canoeing is part of Hawai'i's cultural revival and a synthesis between a traditional form of Polynesian migration and a modern Hawaiian lifestyle. Numerous canoe clubs exist, not only around Hawai'i, but on the mainland as well. In fact, there's one in Phoenix!
In planning this trip, we connected with the Kamehameha Canoe Club, located off the Ala Wai Canal just outside Waikīkī. This is actually the closest our group ever got to the tourist mecca. The Kam Canoe Club offers workshops for high school and visiting college groups, so they were a perfect fit for us. Plus, they are some of the coolest, grooviest folks with whom I've had the pleasure to hang.
Their mission: To perpetuate Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling (hoe waʻa) through the ʻohana based club founded by Uncle Sam Ahaiʻs father. Kamehameha Canoe Club is a founding member of the Nā ʻOhana o Nā Hui Waʻa Association on Oʻahu.
Even though I lived in Hawai'i for four years, I had never been canoeing and am now convinced I'm crazy. This was by far one of the best times I've had in quite a while. The learning, the people, and the spirit of the wa'a (canoe) spoke to me in a way I did not expect. While I am not normally a competitive person, this experience brought out something in me I will definitely need to explore further.
Our workshop began with a lesson on the history and revival of this ancient Polynesian tradition with our educator, Teri...
Our group was then split in two, each group taking turns to learn and practice paddling technique and canoe rigging...
After all our lessons, we were divided among three different wa'a with experienced paddlers from the club and given the chance to try out our new paddling skills...
We paddled down the canal and out to the open ocean off Waikīkī...
Even though we were all exhausted after our paddle out, we were expected (rightly so) to help pull the wa'a onto shore. Geeesh, were they heavy!
After the work, we hung out to talk story with our new friends, who invited us to participate in their club's closing chant...
Mahalo nui to the folks at Kam Canoe Club for an unforgettable experience and making us a part of their ohana.
