Finally time for a paddle! (Thursday 28 April)

Charmian and I joined the Hawaiian Paddle Club for their Open Women’s training session last night (Wednesday). We had heard great things about the club from Lehia’s Mum, Robbie, who mentioned the 50 year old club had won the HCRA State Championships, 8 out of the past 10 seasons.

Canoes as far as the eye can see - and a club house too!

It definitely lived up to expectations and meeting the club was a truly fantastic experience! In our enthusiasm we turned up a little bit early: around 3:30pm, for the 5:15pm session. Luckily we ran into Teresa, who offered us the use of her Pegasus for the hour before training. What a delight! With 20kt winds, the harbour was like a playground, and we took it in turns to race upwind to the entrance, then turn and surf back down. It was a great feeling to be back on the water after such a long time without a paddle in our hands.

Charms sets off for a lap of the harbour

After carefully returning the canoe, we joined our fellow 30 Hawaiian chicks outside their two storey Club House, overlooking 20+ OC6’s on the picturesque beach at Kahului Harbour. We tried to blend into the Hawaiian nonchalant style, but were a little daunted by the girls warming up by voluntarily doing crunches, chin ups and push ups. 

The session comprised a pyramid at 85% with “jogging” in between each effort along a triangular course in the harbour that incorporated downwind surfing, side swell and wind chop and upwind legs. I was in seat 2 in one of the 5 women’s canoes, and Charmian was in seat 4 in the coach’s boat. Charmian was motivated by the coach to take “big girl strokes” – a longer, deeper, slower stroke compared to our style and was impressed by the rigorous attention to detail he paid to the line the steerer took, and guidance on working the waves in the best course, "there's always somethig to catch". 

Hurtling down the runners on the downwind leg was awesome, and you almost forgot you were training. These guys get conditions like this every training session!! So jealous! It would have been great to have the rest of the PD Chicks there with us.

To compete the evening, we raided the club’s inventory of uniforms, and are now completely decked out in Hawaiian Canoe Club outfits!

Earlier in the day we had taken a walk to the centre of the earth – the Haleakala Volcanic crater that acts as the heart of the island. We walked down into the unusual moonscape like landscape, picking up a layers of red dust as we went. It felt like walking in a desert, where you could see an endless trail winding ahead, waiting for you to walk on it in an hour’s time.

 

 

Today (Thursday) we’ve had a very relaxing time, taking a catamaran out to Molokini Crater then on to the aptly named, “Turtle Town” for some snorkelling. The 80 year old inhabitants of Turtle Town didn’t disappoint, and hung out with us for an hour, guiding us through the coral covered lava ridges and posing for photos suspended in mid-'air'. It was like we were in Atlantis.

The inhabitants on the boat, like a few others on this trip, however, couldn't quite figure Charmian and I out. So far we've been asked if we were sisters, partners, and a gentleman today asked me if Charmian was my wife? Given our age difference, Charmian is quite chuffed that she has not yet been mistaken for my Mum.  I guess not everyone has a "paddling partner" to join them on Hawaiian adventures.

 

Tomorrow we’re off to Molokai to set up mission control and start getting serious about the race that’s coming up all too quickly (but also not quickly enough)