How I Spent My Birthday

December 2003 - January 2004

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Alex Matthews

Teamwork is what it’s all about. Brian Henry photo.

It’s Saturday, February 22nd and I’m up at 7:30 a.m. It’s my one day to sleep in, but instead, I’m standing in the Ocean River Sports shack on Victoria’s Gorge waterway, coldly clutching an outrigger paddle.

I’m trying to hog the spot in front of the propane heater, but others seem to have the same plan and being serious racers, are more competitive about it. I think about burning my paddle for heat.

Today is my birthday. I am thirty-nine years old. The Who’s rock anthem ‘My Generation’ seems to be ringing in my half deaf ears—‘hope I die before I get old’. Well I’m not dead but my back surely hurts. The only reason I’m here is because an alleged friend, Steve, signed me up to race in a sixperson outrigger. Our team will be a rag-tag group of folks who have never paddled together. Most have never met.

True to my word, I am here, but I would rather be snuggled in bed back at home being spoiled with birthday breakfast in bed. Besides, I’m a kayaker; I don’t know anything about canoes, big or small.

Most of the other crews consist of people who seem to actually know one another. This is not a good sign for us. Our steersman tries to get our names straight. He doesn’t know it yet, but we are about to get our asses kicked. We will not be edged out at the line for last, no, we will establish a lock on last from the very start. Our losing will never be in doubt, we will hold all the other boats off to secure a thundering defeat.

Originating in Hawaii, the six-person outrigger consists of a narrow 45’ canoe, stabilized by an outrigger or ama. Without the ama, an outrigger canoe is impossible to paddle, as keeping it upright is simply not an option. Without the ama, the canoe should be thought of, not as a boat, but rather a rigid swimsuit for six. Making the craft so very long and skinny results in very little wetted surface area on the hull, and even with the addition of the ama, the boat is very efficient.

With six strong motors powering the four hundred pound boat, these babies can go very fast for extended periods of time. Good teams will pull on their paddles in perfect unison, resulting in great forward glide and little or no bob. The paddlers alternate sides, switching to the count every 12-15 strokes. Five of the crew supply the power, the sixth paddles stern. This is a key position because the stern steers the boat and many a race is won or lost by the steers-person.

 

Alex works on his stroke in the Gorge Waterway, Victoria.

The paddles used are bent shaft units and the key to a powerful stroke is good strong torso rotation and a powerful ‘catch’. The catch is the initial planting of the blade at the beginning of the stroke. The goal is to maximize reach by rotating the lower hand forward from the torso and then, unwinding, to pull the boat forward to the blade, which ideally remains stuck in that same first bit of water. It is a short, powerful stroke when performed properly and mirrored by the other paddlers in the boat.

Outriggers also come in two-person and single or solo configurations and are very seaworthy in the hands of experts. They’re at home in open water and surf, and handle swell and wind waves very well, although capsizes or ‘hulis’ are not unheard of. In Hawaii, teams will often huli a boat at the end of a workout just to cool off. This is decidedly less popular in Canada in February.

As our boat finally crosses the finish line and we suffer the fate of most teams hastily thrown together—being thoroughly crushed by the competition—I realize I have had a great time. We are all sweaty in abject defeat and quite pleased with ourselves. We are happy. There are lots of grins and vigorous handshaking and discussions on why we sucked so badly. We even pretend to remember one another’s names.

It’s a wonderful way to start my birthday and I still make it home in time to have lunch in bed. And next year, at the great old age of forty, if I can get my walker down the dock and my geriatric specialist says it’s okay, I would love to start the day in an outrigger with a bunch of perfect strangers. Happy birthday to everyone!

© Alex Matthews resides on Vancouver Island where he can easily indulge his obsession with paddling. See Alex’s new gear review column.

In Victoria the outrigger resources are: Ocean River Sports: 1824 Store St. Victoria, BC, V8T 4R4. Phone: 250-381-4233 or 1-800-909-4233. www.orspaddlingclub.com The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club: 355 Gorge Road West, Victoria, BC V9A 1M9 www.vckc.ca Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre: 2940 Jutland Road, Victoria, BC, V8T 5K6 Phone: 250-380-4669. www.f2000p.org/gorge For more on outrigger psddling in other areas : www.jerichooutrigger.com/links.html.