“Outrigger”
Day 36 of 366 Day Project
“Magic is everywhere, explore & be amazed everyday!”
On my way to markets today I noticed the National Outrigger Sprint Titles were underway on Lake Kawana…so I stopped and checked it out. This event was hosted by Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association.
What is an Outrigger Canoe?
It’s a traditional Hawaiian canoe, measuring 13.8 metres in length, with a smaller ‘outrigger’ (ama) for stability. Traditionally accommodates 6 paddlers, each of which paddle with a single-bladed paddle, with control of the canoe being left to the paddler in the 6th seat (steerer) who uses their blade in a similar fashion to a rudder to control direction of the canoe. A six-person canoe is referred to as an OC6.
Outrigger canoes also come in one-person (OC1) and two-person (OC2) styles.
In 1990 there were 11 clubs in Australia and today there are over 50 clubs. Racing takes on two forms, marathons and sprints, both in six person canoe and solo canoes.
What does Outrigger Canoeing offer Individuals?
Friendships, health, fitness, an affinity with an aquatics environment and a cultural education will be fostered, along with a deeper sense of self, obtained by meeting the very special demands that outrigger canoe racing and paddling makes on the paddler.
“There is MAGIC in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic compounded of distance, adventure, solitude, and peace. The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, And of a FREEDOM almost forgotten. It is an antidote to insecurity, the open door to waterways of ages past and a way of life with profound and abiding satisfactions. When a man is part of his canoe, He is part of all that canoes have ever know.” ~ Sigurd F. Olson
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