Home → Paddle Articles → outrigger canoe

Paddle Articles

Another One for the Books - Kula Anela Race Recap

by Cali Paddler 1 comment
Kula Anela Outrigger Canoe RaceCali Paddler is honored to share this contribution from Priscilla Tran of Ke Kai O'Uhane after her recent race at Kula Anela (Angel Island) in San Francisco Bay. Enjoy being seat 1 with her in this awesome recap.

“So, who is gonna be our seat 1 for the race?”

All eyes are pointed towards me and finally someone spoke up and said, “You are.”

I heard myself say, “Ok,” but on the inside I was screaming, “Why me!  Why!  Why! Why!  What if I don’t do well enough for my crew?  What if I’m not strong enough for this?”

Read more →

Elements of Recovery - A Na Pali Bucket List Story

by Clarke Graves 2 comments
I'd like to think I have never taken paddling for granted. And the good health that lets me paddle. But I am sure over the years I have enjoyed this sport, I have done just that. Taken for granted our waters, the camaraderie of teammates, and the athleticism paddling provides me. So as you can imagine, when a back injury took away my ability to comfortably sit, stand, walk and paddle, I scolded myself for having not appreciated it even more.

Little did I know that a chance to paddle in a race I have dreamed about doing for 6 years would come along. And that I would be able to resume a paddling addiction that had been threatened in the year prior due to injury.

Read more →

Tale of a Dragon Boat Paddler (Racing Outrigger)

by Cali Paddler 0 comments

Dragon Boat to OutriggerCali Paddler welcomes our friend Ellen Lee who this year decided to stray slightly from her dragon boat background and give this whole outrigger canoe thing a shot. So after she recently finished her first outrigger race, she shared with us the answer to an age-old question people have when they try a different craft.

Now that my first novice outrigger race is complete I can properly answer the question I get often “How’s this different from a dragon boat race?”

So many things come to mind, so instead of word vomiting like a teenage girl, I’ve categorized my experience thus far:

Read more →

An Open Letter to First Year Racers

by Cali Paddler 0 comments

Novice Paddler Hatched

Hello, Novice Paddlers!

We just wanted to let you all know, on the eve before your first race, that you are awesome.  No, we are not just talking to the genetic freaks of nature that were recruited to make the veterans look bad.  And no, we’re not just talking to the land lubbers who decided to face their fears of the open ocean and try this “paddling thing” at long last. 

We are talking to ALL of you; beautiful, bold new racers...

Read more →

Cali Paddler Explorations - 3 Days 100 Miles Revisted

by Cali Paddler 0 comments
Do you like exploration and a little bit of crazy? Join us on this fun and meaningful adventure story. To paddle 100 miles in 3 days. From Santa Barbara to Malibu!

This week marks the 2 year anniversary when some paddling friends got together to go on a little trip. To fulfill a dream of exploring some beautiful coastline. Along the way they were joined by another paddler who prior to the event, they barely knew, but as is often the case with Cali Paddlers, it doesn't take long to become great friends. All of this was for a great cause, to raise money and awareness for three cancer focused non-profit groups through the donations of amazingly generous folks. The concepts of Cali Paddler, community, bonding, appreciation of our water and sport was still far from being talked about. But the groundwork was unknowingly being laid.

Read more →

With Honor

by Cali Paddler 0 comments
It is with great privilege that we get to share the story of a stoked paddler 'who gets it'. Hard work, appreciation of our sport, and an understanding of how lucky we are to be paddlers. Ruthie was a part of the junior girls team from NorCal that raced the Catalina Crossing last summer. The future of our sport is bright. Please enjoy! ~CP

Having the honor to be on a Northern California paddling team was an experience I would have not believed myself doing in a million years. I've been paddling since I was seven years old, not knowing how much this sport would make me crave for it more and more. Growing up I fell in love with outrigger canoeing every time, every minute I was out on the water. Since then I had this determination, this dream to race in both Southern California and Hawai'i. So being asked to be on the first junior Norcal team was unbelievable. Knowing that outrigger paddling is growing and the next generation of keiki, are the next ones up for an exciting future, in long distance outrigger paddling competitions.

Read more →

The White Canoe (a story of a Molokai Hoe crossing)

by Clarke Graves 0 comments

Molokai Hoe 2014[This was written by Team Writer Clarke after his Molokai Hoe journey across the Ka'iwi Channel in October 2014. Good luck to all the Cali Paddlers who will be taking on this special journey in the coming days and years. ]

I didn’t really set out to do this race when teams were first being discussed months and months ago. In fact it took some pretty amazing support and encouragement for me to even think it could become a reality. But it did. Conditions were described by several local Hawaiian clubs as “challenging” “fun” “rough”. I had some amazing teammates, some were in the canoe, some back home, help get me across. And I will be putting this down as one of those achievements that makes me a better person, nevermind just a better paddler.

Read more →

MBX 2015 - OC1 Crossing Recap

by Cali Paddler 0 comments
Monterey Bay Crossing 2015
I decided to really challenge myself and compete in the OC1 category. Looking back, I think a bit of “crazy” came over me when wanting to do the crossing. Training for the race was difficult.  I often trained alone, putting in a lot of early mornings and late nights. Training for more than 2.5 hours was new to me and presented many new challenges that I had to overcome. A lot went in to being 100% ready for the race, from the millimeters of adjusting the ama, to the miles and hours put into training and getting ready. My goal had been set from previous training sessions. I wanted to complete the MBX in 4 hours. I felt ready.

Read more →

MBX 2015 - A SoCal Paddler Perspective

by Cali Paddler 1 comment
Monterey Bay Crossing - Map
Paddle Recap - As we try and bridge the different paddle regions of our state we often reach out to those who travel from their normal waters to try something a little different. Thank you to Conrad Stielau for taking the time to do this interview and share his impressions. This adventure-loving paddler from San Diego and friends from the Newport/Long Beach area made the trek up to Santa Cruz for the Monterey Bay Crossing. Enjoy this qa session and his impressions of MBX for those who might want to try it in 2016.

Read more →

MBX 2015 - Whattacrew Novice Team Tackle the Crossing

by Cali Paddler 1 comment

Monterey Bay Crossing - Iron Novice Crew[Join Jocelyn and this novice group (nicknamed "Whatacrew") as they take on their longest race yet, the Monterey Bay Crossing. After an amazing season, this ended up being the final bang to go out on!]

This past weekend "WhattaCrew" faced their biggest challenge yet. A full novice crew, who decided to take on the Monterey Bay Challenge, Ironed the entire 26 miles. As I sit here, not sure how to even start describing the entire experience from beginning to end, I go back to the first day we were all tossed into a canoe together and knew immediately this was about to be one EPIC ride! Let me tell you how we earned our vacation...

Read more →

← Previous 1 2 3 Next →

Paddle Pledge Non-Profits