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50 Years of Paddling in CA |
by Bud Hohl
Part 1
August 1st 2009, will mark the arrival of 2 koa canoes at Los Angeles harbor 50 years ago. They were to be used by Noah Kalama to train some California boys in the art of Hawaiian canoe paddling.
One of those canoes was the “Nihui” loaned to Toots Minvielle by Hale Au Au Canoe Club. The coach of that club at that time was Sam Kahanamoku, brother of Duke and Louie, who was Toots’ right hand man in organizing the spreading of Hawaiian canoe paddling. The “Nihui” made several trips back and forth to California during our early years.
Kahanamoku brothers
The Hale Au Au Canoe Club was run under the business of Hale Au Au Surfboards at 2411 Kalakaua in Waikiki, which was a beach concession. The mission statement of the club was to “develop and popularize modern water sports…to preserve the natural beauty of Waikiki Beach…protect the safety of the swimmers and other at the beach…and to do everything to enhance the appeal of Waikiki as a first-class resort.” This was taken from a 1957 Hawaiian Canoe Racing Territorial Championship Program..
The “Nihui” is in the 16 mm movie (old home movie for you youngsters), which the SCORA Historical Committee is working on. We’re trying to give the paddlers of today the who, what, when and why of this sport’s beginning here in California. |
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by Jeff Cantle
Jeff is a novice this year. He is currently doing graduate studies at UCLA.
My wife and I first paddled with the Hanalei Canoe Club in Kaua’i while on vacation, and when we got home to California we looked up the closest club. Google did not disappoint us: we found the Marina del Rey Outrigger Canoe Club website.
Luckily for us, off-season paddling was beginning the following week, and we jumped right into once-a-week practices led by Jeff Tanaka. We got hooked. Paddling on the weekends became the highlight of the week. Paddling out into the bay, we left behind the noise of Los Angeles and were greeted by dolphins, sea lions, and whales. We would paddle up the coast to the Santa Monica pier and come back, or head straight out into the Pacific just to surf waves when we came back in.
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My experiences paddling as a Novice………. |
by Monique Shelton
Monique is a former World Ranked Swimmer and College All-American. She has a masters Degree in Education and currently is a Coach for United States Swimming feeder program. Her day job is Construction Project Management.
It all started one day on a construction job site…….yes, a construction job site. I met Calvin, who was going to be building some shoji screens for my client. I was wearing a swimming T-shirt, (which I guess lends itself nicely to paddling), and Calvin proceeded to size me up. He mentioned that I looked like a strong girl and should come out and give paddling a try.
The 09 practice season was about to begin in March and he said I should go to the intro meeting. I couldn’t actually make it to the meeting due to a swim meet, so I sent Heather McNab (Java or Amazon) in my place to gather intel. She was not as interested as I initially, but felt it would be fun to exercise out on the water and meet new people.
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The World's Largest Long Distance Outrigger Race |
by Paula Daniels
Paula is the former President of Heal the Bay and is currently a Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works. Originally from Hawaii, she is a relatively new paddler with Marina del Rey Outrigger Canoe Club, and recounts her journey to preparing for the 18 mile long Queen Liliuokalani Race in Kona, Big Island Hawaii
It will be a long paddle. Some say it will take about three hours. Our club president, a veteran of many difficult races, said the race is “beautiful…but brutal.” Start hydrating now, was the advice I got on the Wednesday before the Saturday race.
It is known as the world’s largest long distance outrigger race and draws significant international participation. I am going to do this race for the first time. I am not able to do my usual reading on this transpacific flight, as I worry about whether my body will hold up in a longer race than I have ever done, in a sport that is relatively new to me. I am older than Hawaiian statehood; my birth certificate shows that I was born in Honolulu, “Territory of Hawaii.” I won’t be the oldest one paddling, but I am well above the average age of the top competitors in the field.
There are many who travel to Hawaii and other places for the love of sport. I can’t help but reflect on the irony of flying over two thousand miles at 800 miles per hour in a comfortable Boeing 757, to paddle an outrigger canoe. Outriggers were the way my ancestors crossed over two thousand miles from the other side of the Pacific to find Hawaii in the first place. I am certain their motivations were not recreational. Little is known about the precise reasons for the first ones to undertake the arduous, daunting, and extraordinarily bold exploratory journey from other parts of Polynesia to…well, who knew, at that time, that they would land in what would come to be known as Hawaii? All the available information is that the original settlers of the Hawaiian Islands just set out, believing that there were other islands out there.
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The following history of the first years of MDROCC was written by Al Ching, who went on to become a co-founder of Lanakila Canoe Club in Redondo Beach, CA. He also is the maker of Mudbrook paddles . He's still at all the outrigger races and spins a good tale, some of which are up at his website. Actually this is a partial history from my viewpoint. This period is from 1964 to 1970. Originally the club was called Kai Nalu Canoe Club located at the opposite end of the beach where Marina now resides. In 1965 we moved to the present location, which was occupied by a club called the CalaHawaiians, after they fell apart. As the name implied they were made up of Californians and Hawaiians. Earlier clubs tried to build all Hawaiian crews, but it never made a difference and often ended up slower. As a result crews were made up of the club’s best athletes, regardless of race, color or creed. |
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