Day 5: Downwind finale - Hawaii Kai run

25 kt winds. Yeah!
Trailer of OC1's. Yeah!
Pick up truck loaded with paddlers to drive to the start. Yeah!
One of the best downwind runs on Oahu, the Hawaii Kai, YEAH!
Yay for paddling fun!!

The grand finale of the camp was a downwing run from from Kahala, around Diamond Head, to Outrigger Canoe Club on the South side of the island, locally called the "Hawaii Kai" run. With 25kt ENE winds, it was perfect for this stretch of the coastline. Jim and Jimmy had miraculously figured out the logistics overnight so that we had a enough single-type craft for everyone - the usual OC1's and 2 OC2's, plus a prototype V3.

Look at those palm trees blow! (Rigging the canoes at Kahala)

Everyone was a little bit nervous, but excited too as we gathered at the Kahala carpark - we didn't really know what to expect, and Jim and Jimmy did! The thing with a downwind is that there's no turning back once you start, and it's easy for paddlers to separate, especially when there's a variety of experience and confidence. We buddied up, and organised to meet up every 15min to help keep together.

As we unloaded the canoes we had to keep one hand on them at all times to stop them blowing away. I gave a slightly nervous glance towards Linda and Mandy, then we all grinned at got that crazy eye look again. This was going to be fun!

Out on the water the wind was so strong it pushed the swell down, so the water didn't feel as "big" as yesterday, but you could still feel the bumps rolling beneath you. With the wind directly behind you, gee it was fast! It was impossible not to surf. It was like a game, weaving around and picking the next trough to nose into. A few strong strokes, then WHEE! I think if I stuck my paddle in the air, I would have sailed along the coastline with no effort at all.

Diamond Head and Black Point in the background

We were pointed towards Black Point, jutting out just before Diamond Head. No matter which way I pointed the canoe there were runs. We regrouped and a couple of people swapped canoes - Nic and Lisa jumped into the V3 with Jim Foti steering. They were screaming along! I kept Mandy in sight, sometimes to my left, othertimes to my right. She was on Jimmy's lightweight Pueo, with a new trial layup. I kept urging the red Helium forward, left then right, then left, then right. (Sounds like D in one of his yoga classes.) Each time, a nice hole forming before the canoe. This was so much fun!

Nic and Jimmy on the OC2

The hardest part was stopping and regrouping. Before we knew it we were at Black Point, ready for another canoe swap. I had my legs in the water, trying to act as sea anchors and hastily took a couple of photos. Unfortunately, I've learnt that the ocean is something you need to feel, and it's very hard to capture its spirit on camera.

Mandy flying towards Black Point

Turning around Diamond Head the wind and swells somehow got stronger. I thought back to last time I had gone past this headland - on the back of a support boat in May last year, with our canoe on the deck. It was great to be on the water this time. Before I knew it, we were turning right into the OCC. I wanted to keep going! I had at least another hour or more of paddling in me with these conditions!

Turning towards the Outrigger Canoe Club

What a great way to end the trip. The last 5 days have been fantastic. Jim, John and Jimmy were excellent instructors, and flexible to adapt to what the group wanted to experience. For us it was great Hawaiian ocean conditions, and they definitely provided that! Over the last few days, we've learnt the elements of our paddling stroke to work on to improve efficiency, experienced different types of water and routes around Kailua and Lanikai, surfed massive waves in the OC6, practiced ama flying in the OC2, and now completed a popular Hawaiian downwind in some of the best possible wind conditions. I feel incredibly lucky, and am very thankful to be here.




PD chicks with Jim Foti and Jimmy Austin


I would highly recommend coming on one of these courses - there courses designed for different levels of ability, and with different emphasis - fitness, skills, technique, as well as a new camping trip to Kauai. It's a great way to experience excellent paddling in Hawaii without all the hassle of finding canoes, suitable locations and transport, and gives you a chance to learn from some of the best paddlers in the world.

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Learning of the day: When catching runs, I sometimes find myself swerving to the left. I think this happens because I get a bit unsettled on the wave, paddle on the left and lean left, which digs in the ama, creates extra drag and causes the canoe to swing left. This usually results in me losing the run, my ama upwind and upswell and ready to flip over, or at the least, sloshing about in the wave. Today I found that when this started to happen, if I put in a few strong hard strokes on the left and concentrated on shifting my weight back to the middle of the canoe, I'd pop up the ama and recorrect on a straight line, keeping the run going. Will have to remember this next time we're at North or South Head!

Linda having a blast

Day 4: The best OC6 run ever (at Waimanolo Bay / the Bellows)

Wow. Oh wow. Today we caught the biggest wave in the OC6. It. Was. Awesome. So awesome.

It started with a casual paddle along the foreshore of Kailua, dodging and weaving through the reef, along to Waimanolo Beach. At this point, unprotected by the reef, the swell picked up and rolled thousands of kilometers across the Pacific Ocean towards us. We turned and headed directly into the cresting waves. Needless to say, Mandy and I in seats 1 and 2 had a lot of air time! I was glad we had the covers on - they were the only thing keeping us from projecting from the canoe like a human canonball at the circus. It also helped that Jimmy Austin, well known big wave canoe surfer, and top OC1 paddler, was steering.

We turned the canoe towards the shore and sat, rocking in the swells contemplating the beach, about 2km away. The waves were awesome. Bellowing and breaking occasionally around the canoe, big, but not scary. Rolling. We were ready to go. I felt the back of the canoe lift, and started to put in some big strokes, but heard Jimmy call, "no, not this one, we don't want this". I turned to see this massive wall of water rearing up behind us. Eeek! I agree, we definitely don't want to go down that. As soon as it had past, we were "on" catching the one behind. Whee! BIg strokes, the tap, tap, tap....tap, tap, tap.

There was spray in my face, there was spray in Mandy's face - I could hear here giggling behind me. I tried to keep paddling. Tap, tap, tap. Then I think I was actually underwater. Can you drown in an OC6? That wouldn't look cool. Before I had a second to contemplate my snorkle sitting back at home, all of a sudden we had burst through the back of the massive wave ahead of us, that I had previously been quite happy to let past, and were now in front, careering down its face. AND WE WERE STILL GOING.

We pushed again, down, down, down. Come on canoe, just urge that bit further ahead. Wheee! We're on again. More spray, more water. I couldn't see a thing. I heard braking wave and thought, gee, I hope this Jimmy guy is good. My arms were still tapping. Can I relax yet? All of a sudden, the water calmed and was at peace. We were about 200m from the beach. Did that really happen? I turned incredulously to Mandy behind me, and saw the crazy eyes. Yep, I'm not dreaming.

I looked across at Nic, Linda and Lisa who were on the OC1's. They also had crazy eyes.

That was awesome.

Let's go again!

Riding in the pick-up truck to a well earned lunch

Canoe surfing from OCC

Jim Foti walks through the plan for the session

Hard to capture, but these waves are big!

Day 3 - Kailua to Lanikai, to the Mokes and back to Flat Island...then more adventures

Today we were starting at Jim Foti's place and heading back to Kailua (into the wind). Apparently the wind this morning had "dropped" - I thought it still felt like it was blowing a nice 10kts, but that doesn't appear to be much around here! The PD chicks turned up with a plan - to avoid the slightly awkward moment of figuring out who goes in the OC6, we'd take it out as a crew, and ask Johnny for some tips together.

This plan worked out great! We crashed out of the channel and into the ocean. Each trying to work on our technique points, but then also forgetting them a bit and just having fun catching runners where possible.We had one wave crash over the ama and swamp the covers, but that just added to the fun.

Having Johnny cruising along on his canoe whilst we were working so hard was a bit disconcerting, but he picked up a few good points - as a crew, we paddled well together, with good timing, and our catch had improved, but he suggested we worked on continuing the power in our stroke all the way to the exit. (I'm being a bit nice here, he actually said we had a "lazy exit"). Ahhh, another thing to work on.

After around 45min we were back near the Kailua Canoe club. I thought that might have been the end of a shorter session today, but it appeared it was only the start. Jim pointed out towards the Mokes, and said we'd head out that way like the previous day, and enjoy the downwind run back to Flat Island.

Yay! More downwind. At the Mokes we swapped canoes, and I was lucky enough to grab a new Pueo to try out. It was swesome fun weaving between the waves. Lisa steered the OC6 and had a blast! She was beaming as we came off the water, as they'd just caught two great runners almost all the way into the beach. Even Jim Foti gave her a thumbs up to celebrate! Another Hawaiian wow moment.

Like any great session, we followed up with a huge breakfast at Boots and Kimbo for their famous macadamia (Mac) nut pancakes and omlettes, even though by this stage, it was about 2pm.

We had a bit more shopping to do, so headed off to Honolulu to Island Paddler (Honolulu) to pick up a few things we'd missed the day before - including a large paddle bag to house the 6 new paddles we ordered in the morning. Then onto Sports Authority to stock up on some more sporting gear - you'd think we did nothing else.

Time to relax, Linda had organised us to catch up with a Hawaiian friend that she had met at one of her first Hamo races, Byron, at the Outrigger Canoe Club. We tried to look relaxed as we sat in the dining area and bar, complete with umbrellas shading tables where you could sip your post padding cocktail and watch sunset overlooking Waikiki. But really, we were in awe of where we were sitting. This was a resort, not a clubhouse! Byron chatted with us about the Hawaiian race season, and some other great races we could do. There is a lot of great paddling in the world! Anyone interested in going to Rio? Italy? Hong Kong?

He took us on a tour of their club facilities. It is nothing short of amazing! Racks upon racks of OC1's and red and white OC6's, and a fancy new OC3, that apparently goes very fast. A mini pool with mirror for your to practice technique in. Even the bathrooms were fancy - with showers, lockers and own laundry service. We took a quick photo by the entrance sign, before being escorted to Japanese restaurant for a tasty dinner.

Another packed day! But we're definitely having a complete Hawaiian experience.

Day 2: To the Mokes, then Jim Foti's place on the canal...and back out again for more fast paddling

To make the most of the day, I was up early for a run along the beach, a few photos of the sunrise and an dip in the ocean. But that's where the slow pace ended. Today was about downwind ocean paddling and surfing fast!

The Mokes off Lanikai beach at sunrise

The plan was to start out from Lanikai Canoe Club and head into the wind to the Mokes, the islands offshore, then head back down to Jim Foti's place at Kailua. I started off the day in the OC6 in seat 1, with Mandy behind and Linda steering. We were on the water early, and Linda took the opportunity to do a sneaky loop whilst waiting for the other OC1's to catch up, and catch our first Hawaiian wave. Yay! It was a sign of good things to come.

Linda looking pretty happy after her first Hawaiian wave this trip

We started paddling into the wind, towards the Mokes. It was pretty choppy around the back of the island, with some big peaking waves to hurl ourselves over, but we continued to head further out to give us a good run back. Out at sea, we swapped canoes and started the fun ride back in. Mandy gleefully surfed on the Pueo, and Lisa joined Jim Foti on the OC2 for some crazy runs back to shore.

14km down and ready for lunch, before time to head out again.

For the afternoon session, we were heading straight out from the shore. First obstacle was a shore break. Oh no! Images of Nationals and 20 Beaches crossed my mind, but this wasn't as powerful as those, and we just pointed our noses in the right direction and paddled hard. At one point, with a wave starting to break in front of us, I heard Lisa call out, "What do I do now?", there wasn't much option, so I just replied, "Keep paddling!". It appeared to work!

We continued out for almost an hour before turning and running with the swell. Wow. Mandy ended up in an OC2 with Jimmy Austin, one of Hawaii's top paddlers, and both Linda and Nicola had some runs in the other OC2 with Jim Foti. There were squeals of delight (well, at least internal ones - it's not cool to squeal, right?) all around as the girls absolutely blitz the waves. You've never been fast until you've sat on a canoe with one of these guys!

Mandy and her speed buddy, Jimmy Austin

Key learnings of the day were that you don't need to go for every wave, pick the best ones. By "best" start with a small bump that brings up your speed, then link into a bigger wave. Put all your effort into getting onto the wave, big strokes then tap, tap, tap...tap, tap, tap...and once you get that "whoosh", then reeelaaaax. It also helps having one of the strongest paddlers in the world on the back of your canoe to push you into a trough, seemingly meters ahead and out of reach! But it's worth it if you can get over that bump and into the next trough!

Another 15km down this afternoon. Phew! At least the food servings on the island are big!

Good times in Hawaii! Day 1 of the paddle camp

Nicola, Lisa, Linda, Mandy and I are in Hawaii this week on a 5 day advanced paddling camp, run by some paddling legends - Johnny Puakea, who previously coached the women's Team Bradley to win the Molokai crossing, and who is a founder of Kamanu and designer of Pueos, and Jim Foti, super experienced and one of the world's top steerers.

We're here to enjoy some great paddling, hopefully on the ocean as much as possible, as well as work on our techniques, and learn some great drills and tips to take back to PDs.

Here is just a bit of a summary of our trip so far:

Day 1: Technique with Johnny Puakea
We were all pretty excited to be starting the 5 day paddling camp this morning, and were keenly waiting at the Kailua Canoe club to start the day, on the dot, at 8:30am. Unsurprisingly, 30min later on Hawaiian time, Jonny Puakea pulled up in his massive truck with a smile, and ready to get going.

Johnny went through the plan for the day. The emphais was technique, during the morning session we would take video, then analyse the footage. During the afternoon session, we would practice drills and work on our technique points in the calm canal.

We each hopped on a canoe for the video session. Johnny instinctively put Nic and Lisa on one OC2 and Mandy and I on the other OC2 (we had a bit of a laugh at that one). Linda had a nice, smaller Helium canoe. After a warm-up down the canal, we paddled past the shore, and had a short 30s clip of us taken. Back on shore, soon afterwards, we crowed around the laptop on the picnic table, prepared to be torn to pieces, and pick up any nuggets of information.

Rather than bombard us with tonnes and tonnes of information and correction, Johnny focused on a few key elements of our technique to help efficiently: the blade entry point, shaft angle, and exit. Everything else you do with your body and arms is to help perfect these key elements.

One of the key things many of us needed to work on was to ensure the blade was fully burried at the beginning of the stroke, before we began to unwind. He explained that most of us set up above the waterline, then swing back through the air before fully engaging with the water. This wastes energy that should be going into the water, and captures air in the stroke, creating cavitation (that is also inefficient) that prevents fully locking onto the water. We need to think about planting (spearing) the blade into the water first, before continuing with the stroke.

There were lots of other refinements too! Keeping our frame straight, and not bending the outside arm, or leveraging with the top elbow; ensuring that the shaft has a positive (forward) angle when fully locked onto the water; creating a clean exit with no splash or water running off the blade; sweeping through the stroke with consistent power for the duration of the stroke. We each had a combination of these things to work on - it felt like learning to paddle again! But at least we started this week.

After a quick lunchbreak, we gathered again for the second technique session. There are 11 of us on the camp, so we jumped in a new lightweight Bradley Lightning OC6 and a assortment of OC1's and OC2's: 2 Pueo's, a Helium, Kala? and Tempest OC2s.

We spent the afternoon doing loops of the channel with Jim Foti and Johnny giving us feedback and things to work on, a few good drills too. Needless to say, after 90min, I was pretty knackered from trying to do things consistently differently. But hopefully all the changes are for the better.

The first day was over, and we celebrated with a few beers and snacks in the front yard, before heading out to carbo load at the local Italian restaurant. We had a good day, and are looking forward to getting out on the waves tomorrow, to make the most of the wind that has just picked up!

More updates to come.