Paddle Articles

The following submission was made as an entry to win a OC1 from an amazingly generous donor, who wanted to see the canoe truly enjoyed, rather than turn a profit. Entrants were asked to submit an essay answering the following:

• Part 1: “Describe how paddling has changed your life.”
• Part 2: “How do you plan to use this canoe, and perhaps someday pass it along?”

< View all entries

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Jeannette Darrow, California

Sand. There is always so much sand. On the floor of the car, on the bathroom floor, in the washing machine. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

On any given weekend in 2016, and every year before that, you would find me sleeping in until 11:00 a.m. (The husband insists it was later.) Eventually I would drag myself from bed, take a shower, and head to lunch with the husband, eating so much that my afternoon essentially consisted of sitting in front of the television in a food coma until it was time for dinner. Then, after going through the usual half hour discussion of "where do you want to eat," out we would head again to gorge on deliciously unhealthy food.

After a surgery in late 2016, and reaching my highest weight ever during recovery, I got a Garmin watch for Christmas, and decided it was time to get serious about working out and getting healthy. I had never been an athlete. I had dabbled with yoga and gym workouts over the years, but nothing ever "stuck" long enough for me to lose any meaningful amount of weight, let alone keep it off. I got a membership to the Newport Aquatic Center and loved that I could grab a standup paddleboard (and someone would even carry it to the water's edge!) and go as far as I wanted. Or not very far, depending on how I felt. I signed up for a standup paddleboard yoga class through Meetup, which never materialized; but in February 2017, I got a message about a dragonboat meetup. I'm a midwest girl from Michigan, and I wouldn't know a dragonboat from a dragboat. I was curious, and decided to see what it was all about.

The morning of the meetup it was raining and gloomy. The team captain decided a circuit workout in the gym was in order. I went along, following mostly 50-60 year old women through a series of weight machine and dumbbell exercises. When we were done, I chatted with some of the women and they pointed out someone in the corner doing planks. "She's 89," they told me. Unbelievable, I thought. This paddling thing must be the fountain of youth. When they told me that they have wine and cheese after Tuesday evening practices in the spring, I thought, these are my people.

I enjoyed my Sunday mornings (did I mention I'm not a morning person?) paddling with the dragonboat team, and I would hear team members talking about "going out with Danny's group" after practice. Eventually someone asked me if I was "going out with Danny" and I confessed I had no clue what that meant. "Danny leads a recreational outrigger canoe paddling group," they told me. A-ha! Now, I know what an outrigger canoe is. I had had a painting of a beach scene with an outrigger canoe hanging in my living room for more than a decade. It was all falling into place. On my first excursion with the infamous "Danny's group," we paddled to the ocean, chased whales (!), and stopped at a paddler's boat in the harbor to see if he had any beers in the fridge. After realizing the fridge had broken and the beers were warm, we were gifted with the sight of a waiter from the yacht club carrying a tray of beer cups to our canoes. Outrigger paddlers... THESE are my people too!

Two weeks and two more dragonboat and outrigger paddles later, I overheard a conversation about competitive outrigger canoe racing. I heard the name of a local outrigger club, and that they paddled three days a week. What?! You can do this more than once a week? I went right home and looked them up. The last day to join the novice season was the next day. It was meant to be.

Now it’s June 2019. I just raced the short AND the long course of an outrigger race in Long Beach. I got up at 5:00 a.m. On a weekend. Did I eat a healthy meal after paddling over 22 miles? Nope! But I got up at 5:00 a.m. again the next day and went back out and paddled another 14 miles. I am healthier, happier, and cannot foresee a time where my house and car won't be covered with a thin layer of sand.

My husband and I won’t have it any other way.

Part 2:

I joined Imua Outrigger Canoe Club in April 2017 and switched over to Newport Aquatic Center in 2019, which has a very competitive women's team. The husband joined Newport Aquatic Center's men's team as a novice this year. I would love an OC1 to call my own (ok, ok, the husband can share) so that I can continue to improve and get more experience in open ocean conditions. I never knew I was athletically-inclined and have never been involved in sports in my life. But I want to be good at this. I want to be the best I can possibly be at this! Given that I've only been paddling two years, and most of the women on the team have been paddling 10, 15, and even 40+ years, it is extremely hard to compete without having the benefit of individual practice on an OC1. It seems that almost every woman on the team has her own, so I'm also at a significant disadvantage trying to beg for and borrow an OC1 I'm not familiar with to participate in team "time trials." I'd also love to be able to do winter series OC1 races to keep the paddling going all year long, and would like to do the Wild Buffalo Relay again (Two Harbors Catalina to Newport Beach, 42 miles), but this time as a 2-person OC1 relay instead of a 4-person OC2 relay. Preparing for this event without an OC1 of my own would be virtually impossible.

I intend to "share the stoke" as much as possible - paddling with teammates and friends and bringing curious people like I was just two years ago into the sport. I try to share my paddling experiences wherever I can through my Instagram account (@paddleaddikt) and to my Facebook friends (516 friends versus the 150 I had in my "pre-paddling" life).

If the time should come to part with my gifted OC1, I would be happy to re-gift it to someone who shares as much passion and love for the sport (and paddling in general) as I do. I would hope that that person would also cry as many tears of happiness as I did while writing his or her "how paddling changed my life" essay.

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Jeannette Darrow grew up in Michigan and moved to California in 1998.  She paddles with Newport Aquatic Center's outrigger and dragonboat teams and enjoys all things paddling, including standup paddleboarding, kayaking, and outrigger canoe surfing. When she's not on the water, she enjoys... just kidding, she's always on the water.  Since she began paddling in 2017, Jeannette has held an annual "guess how many miles I paddled this year" contest. In 2017, she paddled 1,224 miles in various crafts and more than 1,708 in 2018. She lives in Newport Beach with her wonderful husband and 20-year-old cat, Peeps.

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The following submission was made as an entry to win a OC1 from an amazingly generous donor, who wanted to see the canoe truly enjoyed, rather than turn a profit. Entrants were asked to submit an essay answering the following:

• Part 1: “Describe how paddling has changed your life.”
• Part 2: “How do you plan to use this canoe, and perhaps someday pass it along?”

< View all entries

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Gisella “Gigi” Gigglberger, California

Let me say how exciting this opportunity is for someone like me! An essay contest for an OC1? This 5th grade teacher right here is grateful and astounded not only by the gift giver’s generosity but the unique means of delivering the gift. While I haven’t entered an essay contest myself since the 8th grade, I definitely encourage my students to enter essay contests as a way to find their voice and send their writing out into the world to a new audience. In their honor, I will follow my own advice and capture my voice to express how paddling has changed my life and how grateful I am it did.

Showing Up

I first heard about this sport and accompanying lifestyle while at a friend’s party back in 2005. As a group of us stood around this tall, charismatic man sharing his paddling story, I was hooked. I had been missing my organized sports and its social aspect of days gone by (crew in college and soccer in high school) and this sounded perfect! As a San Diego native, how could a sport involving the ocean not entice me? I paid attention to the next season’s new paddler orientation and showed up by myself in February 2006. You see, for me in those days to do anything new by myself was unheard of. Of course I liked trying new things with my friends around me; there was a certain safety in numbers I had grown accustomed to. However, that was pretty limiting. Thankfully, the paddling call was stronger than that comfort, so it didn’t matter that none of my friends came with me. After the presentation video, meeting coaches and paddlers (including my re-connection with my new tall, charismatic friend from the party who shall remain nameless), we took a short spin around the cove there at Fiesta Island and immediately upon returning to shore I exclaimed, “Sign me up!” I have been showing up for fourteen seasons. For six months out of the year, I show up three times a week pretty consistently. How do I know this to be true? I actually keep track of my attendance. Ask my coach, she knows I proudly self report my attendance because I have never stuck with something extracurricular that long in my life! That proof used to sit in my garage collecting dust: golf shoes, tap shoes, snowboard, roller blades, art supplies, you get the picture. My paddling gear follows me around in my car’s trunk and the back seat because I never know when I might need to jump in a canoe. It does not stay still long enough to gather dust. I want to be ready. Because of paddling, I transferred the serious sense of accountability I have for my teaching career and students to something that started as a hobby. I believe it switched from hobby to lifestyle and passion pretty early on.

Six as One

Through the seasons of OC6 paddling, I made and strengthened connections with like minded people that I would not have otherwise crossed paths with out there on land in everyday life. I entrust my life into teammates’ hands as we battle waves, wind, wildlife of many forms, boat wakes, jet plane noise, fishing lines, rocks, the shallows, the doldrums, and my imagination (the SCORA waiver does a real number on mine). We have to help each other stay safe, accountable, perseverent and upright. That’s the only way we make it back to the shore ready to do it again. Through the years I have witnessed or celebrated some teammates’ major happy life events (birthdays, weddings, babies, new jobs) and rally around those who suffer the tough, not so happy ones (injuries, surgeries, illnesses, deaths in families). We gather together to bless new canoes, celebrate wins on and off the water, welcome paddlers from around the world and bestow scholarships to water-sport playing high school students. I have joined our Row for the Cure fundraiser crew and paddled in honor of our teammates now surviving breast cancer. We have a canoe with some of our men’s name inscribed on it in honor of those who helped save a fellow paddler’s life one day as he suffered a heart attack right there on the beach. I see the power of a family like ours and it is humbling. I have my own personal connection to this bolstering life force this team and sport has brought me. On a rainy, flash flood Tuesday in January 2016, before the season ever started that year, my condo complex and my garage took on nearly 30 inches of water. Needless to say, after my neighbors and I emptied out our collective saturated possessions into the street for trash collection scheduled for the next day and my walls were torn apart to prevent mold, many of my teammates answered a last minute call that following Saturday. They came over and joined some other friends of mine move the remaining boxes up to higher ground because I couldn’t lift another box. They didn’t stop there: they brought tools over and scraped mud off the floor, put drywall scraps into trash bags and in true strong paddler fashion removed a very bolted shelving unit off the wall since the saturation had started expanding the plywood rendering it useless. We had some laughs that day and I cried with sheer exhaustion and gratitude. At the next club meeting, they presented me with a card and envelope full of donations so I could buy a new washer and dryer. One does not soon forget the cacophony of those machines lifting and crashing into my flooded out car. My teammates literally had my back. While I had lost material possessions, I gained a new view of my teammates in how their selfless gift of time and support that day made all the difference. Once again, paddling changed me and made me a better person.

No (More Self) Doubt

It took me a few years to believe I was strong enough to race 9man. I remember asking my coach if she thought I was ready and she confirmed I was. She shared that she had known I was ready for a while but that I had to believe I was. I think I struggled with self doubt during those early years because I knew I wasn’t the most experienced, the youngest, the skinniest or the most athletic, those are all the nagging insecurities that sure can put a damper on things. I needed to find my niche and I found it through my strength in the engine room (Seats 3-4). I asked the same question again when I asked if I was ready for the Catalina Crossing. Once again, the answer was the same, Coach thought I was, but did I? While 2010 remains my one and only crossing for various reasons, I asked Coach the question for a third time, was I ready to iron 2014’s Queen Liliuokalani Race? Yes, if I continued to put the work in leading up to it, I was. So I went for it and had the time of my life!. While I trust my coach’s opinion implicitly, I continue to work on trusting myself and my capabilities. I can choose to let my insecurities make decisions for me or I can make them on my own. Obviously, I paddle for the fun and exercise of it but a trinket is a nice reward to spur on some more motivation. If it were just about the medals, I would have quit a long time ago. But lucky for me, I have a healthy amount of perseverance and grit to get me to the other side.Honestly, I haven’t won a lot of medals. It’s a shockingly low number for someone with fourteen seasons of pretty consistent practice attendance. My first iron medal was in 2017, a third place stein at Marina, and I burst into tears upon hearing we had placed. I initially thought my teammates were teasing me. While many teammates were surprised at my teary reaction, I was overcome with disbelief and pure joy. Finally! There was probably some exhaustion in there also since Marina del Rey mornings are usually 3am wake up calls. I also wanted to reach out and share the news with my mom and dad but I knew the happy news would get lost over the phone so I would have to wait until I could tell them in person. You see, while my parents had been supportive and interested in my sport, they stopped going to the San Diego based races when my mom started declining due to dementia. She loved the beach, the Hawaiian plate lunches, the music, the aloha spirit at races, but couldn’t enjoy it anymore. Going to away races meant a schedule change for caretakers so it was a big deal for me to go away. I share this information because I found paddling practices and races to be the only place where I didn’t have to have a phone with me and I could let my mind get into and stay in the meditative zone. My tears were in part because I couldn’t share the news right away with mom and a reminder of how much things had changed since her diagnosis. My mom passed away in March 2018, the night before the first practice of the season, finally succumbing to the ravages of dementia. I knew I had to go to that first practice, there was no better place to be. I needed the water and my teammates around me. I have a sign hanging in my place, “The ocean fixes everything.” I believe that. Without a doubt, paddling continues to push, test and heal me in many ways, on and off the water. For that, I am grateful.

Paying It Forward

I know I need to cross train in an OC1. I can count the times I have been on an OC1 and its around fourteen, not coincidentally the same number of time trials I have had over my fourteen seasons. I know my seat tests, seat races and practice attendance have to compensate for my lack of OC1 experience. I know there are other ways to cross train but I would love to be part of that “floatilla” I see launch from the Bahia. I hear about how much fun they have seeing the whales and dolphins while they paddle out there en masse. I see how strong and fast they are when the OC6 season starts after their off season conditioning and OC1 race season ends. I see our clubhouse storing the beautiful canoes the paddlers have fixed up and proudly named and decorated. I have been watching the “For Sale” postings on the various Facebook paddling-centric sites for awhile now because I know that’s the next step in my paddling “career”. I know it’s how I can get seated in a higher canoe for race day. It seems that every time I have gone to contact a seller, some expense more pressing and more urgent comes up and it wipes out any extra money saved up. Life happens, I get that. Everyone has their version of a flood or Mom care expenses like I did. But I waited for the next opportunity and here it is. I know I have benefitted over the years by my teammates who loaned out their prized possessions on time trial day. I always treat their canoes with the utmost respect and care when taking it out for my time trial run. I would do the same thing if I were lucky enough to win one. I know how far the ripple effect of giving goes and I will be more than ready, willing and able to pay it forward when it is my turn. Winning an OC1 would not only be the biggest prize I have ever won but it would definitely change the trajectory of my paddling technique, skill and life. I can guarantee it would never collect dust in my garage, never sold only passed on to another deserving paddler, and it would be loved and cared for in the manner befitting a symbol of generosity, accountability, self assurance, freedom and family. Thank you for this opportunity to share how paddling has changed my life.
Gisella “Gigi” Gigglberger
Hanohano OCC since 2006

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I was born in San Diego in 1969, grew up in the east county, went to University of San Diego High School and attended the University of the Pacific, graduating with a BA in Communicative Disorders. I attended SDSU for the teaching credential and later earned an MA in Education there. I have been a teacher for the San Diego Unified School District for 25 years. Growing up, I played Santee Bobby Sox and Santee AYSO soccer. I fell in love with rowing at the 1988 San Diego Crew Classic and I joined the college crew team. Now I love outrigger paddling, yoga and my swim workouts at the Tierrasanta Rec Center’s pool. I swam the La Jolla Rough Water Swim in 2000. I love my niece, her pugs, a good carne asada burrito, my book club and the ocean. I highly recommend contacting the Alzheimer's Association of San Diego for anyone in need of support or resources for dementia related issues.

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The following submission was made as an entry to win a OC1 from an amazingly generous donor, who wanted to see the canoe truly enjoyed, rather than turn a profit. Entrants were asked to submit an essay answering the following:

• Part 1: “Describe how paddling has changed your life.”
• Part 2: “How do you plan to use this canoe, and perhaps someday pass it along?”

< View all entries

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Melanie Ramos, California

 It was March 2012 and I was blissfully clueless about canoes, and amas, and hulis, and the dreaded Novice dance.   But then a friend convinced me that I needed a healthy hobby to balance out my 70 hour a week job.  "Outrigger Paddling" she said.  I said, "Sure, what's that?"

Seven years removed from that fateful conversation and I've paddled by the Statue of Liberty after almost running into the Brooklyn Bridge, raced down the Na'Pali Coast, crossed the finish line three times in the Queen's long distance race, raced around Alcatraz Island, and was privileged enough to earn a Catalina Crossing first place tile.  Through all of that and more, Outrigger for me had morphed from a conundrum, to a challenge, to an addiction, to a passion that after a few years, even after those memorable experiences, was on its way to becoming an obligation or responsibility, the passion was fizzling out.  And I will tell you, it is a difficult task trying to save a passion on your own, fortunately for me, that is when the kids showed up.

Let's step back just a bit ... in late 2014, a group of fellow paddlers and I somehow built a small, scrappy Outrigger club of our very own, Outrigger Hoe Wana'ao.  Besides wanting a good paddling vibe, one of our top goals when we started out was to put together a youth program so we could pass along our love of the ocean and the culture of Hawaiian Outrigger Canoeing.  It took about three years but in 2018 we jump started a junior's crew with some sassy and feisty 14-16 year olds - yes, go figure, we started with high-schoolers.

To my surprise, and I am sure to the surprise of others, padding with those kids has brought the excitement back for a number of us, and rejuvenated the passion in me personally.  How, you may ask, do crazy teenagers make things better?  Well, I realized that you can't covet or scuttle away a passion to keep it safe or to keep it all to yourself.  A true passion for Outrigger, or anything else for that matter, can gain so much more personal meaning when you share it with others.  When all of those experiences and badass stories of near hulis, whales breaching in the middle of races, overcoming odds together with your crew to make your way to the trinket podium, or even just crossing the finish line with all six paddlers still in the canoe, can make an impression on a young mind.  I have realized that our club's collective passion for paddling, and passion for sharing, can inspire those sassy kids to take on new challenges, to be unafraid, and to work together, communicate and have respect for others they encounter along the way.

It took a few years to realize it, but that is how Outrigger Paddling has impacted my life.  And my plans for the canoe, should I be lucky enough?  I hope to make the OC-1 available to our club's juniors both present and future, so they can take on more challenges, gain more confidence and hopefully learn to pass along their passion for Outrigger to those that come behind them.

Melanie Ramos

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Cali Paddler loves exploration. Point to point paddles. New water challenges and variety. And we have always been infatuated with races and events that challenge paddles to push beyond the norm. Physically and mentally. To be rewarded with accomplishments that re-invent what we 'can' do'!

In 2019 a rebirth of sorts will be taking place. The beloved California 100 river race used to be a pinnacle of racing achievement in our state. And two paddler rockstars have taken the steps to bring back this magic, in new form. And with various distance options to make sure paddlers are not intimidated by big numbers. Please welcome the CALIFORNIA RIVER QUEST to our calendar, and Emily Matthews who was kind enough to shed some light on this Memorial Day paddle awesomeness!

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After a huge success in its first year, the Wild Buffalo Relay is ready for its second iteration. We reached out to the team at Puakea Designs to see what was is new and changing in 2019. Check out the info below!

News about the Toyota SoCal Wild Buffalo Relay presented by Puakea Designs hit the California paddling community with raised eye-brows and plenty of excitement. But with it came tons of questions about details, logistics and costs. Cali Paddler wanted to get the answers to as many questions as we could. We reached out to folks with what they wanted to know. So Hopefully anyone on the fence is able to get their questions answered below and can join in the fun. Thank you to Maddie Spoto and Kelly Schwartz from Puakea Designs for taking the time to answer everything we could throw their way!

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[ This Benicia Race article is part of a series of Race Previews where we spotlight and showcase different racing opportunities for us to enjoy. ]

With a storied history, the WaveChaser Series is a wonderful part of the NorCal Race scene. Much like the SoCal Winter Racing Series, this group of races lasts from Fall until Spring, and gives paddlers the chance to race each other at various locations. With multiple courses at each to ensure each paddler has something they can tackle, you can't go wrong when you register and attend. Plus, the social scene is a big part of the community and you will certainly go home with more friends when when you arrived.

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Maybe you are getting into SUP, or have a friend who is paddle-curious and wants some tips on what shape of board to get? Well this entry-level article should be a great help as we will break down two main shapes you should be aware of in the stand-up paddle world. All-Around vs. Touring SUP.

The shape of the board you go with will determine much about your water-time experience. And your experience level should play a role as well? Are you new? Wanting flat water? Nervous about falling in? Are you looking to surf or explore? Or are you looking to paddle further, faster, and want something that really pushes your comfort level as you encounter various waterways? It is important to know the difference between paddle board shapes and their pros and cons.

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Cali Paddler is thrilled to have had the chance to interview one of California's premiere outrigger paddlers about one of the most popular craft folks are entering more and more in races. We are talking about Will Reichenstein, and rudderless canoes, (V1s). You aren't gong to want to miss this, so let's get started!

Hi Will, as someone who paddles every craft we can get our hands on, the rudderless canoe (aka the V1) has had a lot of mystique. We know it is popular in Tahiti, and some of the races we watched online show us that some of the top paddlers in the world race them. That said, we have tons of questions and likely some misconceptions about the rudderless canoe (va'a) and so are grateful to have your help in sharing your stoke and knowledge on this craft. Where would you like to begin?

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