The Pacific Cancer Foundation runs an annual event to raise money. (No, I'm not going to ask anybody here for money. I'm not even going to give my donation page. This post is about my excitement to go on a paddling voyage.)
"It's not a race. It's a voyage," says the web site for the event. The Polynesians were voyagers and there are folks who keep this tradition alive today, making some long and perilous voyages by canoe, and some shorter, easier voyages. Recreational canoe paddling is, perhaps, a lighter way of keeping tradition alive. I am not Hawaiian, but I moved here after falling in love with paddling. Whether kayak (not a traditional watercraft here in the islands) or outrigger canoe, I love getting out on the water, moving under my own power and (in the case of a canoe) that of my fellow paddlers. I love the cardio workout, and the ocean. It is peaceful out there and beautiful. We sometimes see turtles out there, as well as other sea life. If you jump in the water with a mask, you can see fishes. In winter there are humpback whales. Of the two canoe clubs I belong to, one is recreational only, and the other has both recreational paddling and racing.
I don't race. I don't have the strength for it, and it does not interest me.
The first time I visited Maui I heard about the Paddle for Life and I wanted to do it. But I was never here in October, and I didn't yet have the stamina for a long canoe voyage. It's not a race, but the only people I knew personally who would be doing it, do it as a race. I could not go with them.
But now I live here and I paddle most mornings, and last week the subject came up and the captain of the boat I was in invited me to join his crew for the voyage. We will make the crossing in five legs of 45 minutes each, changing crews between legs. A support boat will drop people in the water and the crew in the canoe will jump in the water. The fresh paddlers will climb into the canoe and the tired paddlers will get on the support boat. And we'll switch back and forth every 45 minutes. We'll spend the night on Lana'i, and paddle back the next day. We'll go slow, maintaining an easy cadence. We'll have two people currently undergoing chemo in our boat for the first leg each way. I heard that there will be 30 boats this year.
I'm really excited for my first "voyage" by canoe. You can check out the link above if you're curious. Again, I'm not soliciting donations, and you won't find my donation page without knowing my real name, but anyone who feels like it can donate to the event, or to your own preferred charity.
And if you ever visit Maui, PM me and I'll tell you when and where you can paddle with us as a guest. And if anybody reading this lives in Maui, residents can try out paddling a few times for free, so you can decide if you want to join the club.
"It's not a race. It's a voyage," says the web site for the event. The Polynesians were voyagers and there are folks who keep this tradition alive today, making some long and perilous voyages by canoe, and some shorter, easier voyages. Recreational canoe paddling is, perhaps, a lighter way of keeping tradition alive. I am not Hawaiian, but I moved here after falling in love with paddling. Whether kayak (not a traditional watercraft here in the islands) or outrigger canoe, I love getting out on the water, moving under my own power and (in the case of a canoe) that of my fellow paddlers. I love the cardio workout, and the ocean. It is peaceful out there and beautiful. We sometimes see turtles out there, as well as other sea life. If you jump in the water with a mask, you can see fishes. In winter there are humpback whales. Of the two canoe clubs I belong to, one is recreational only, and the other has both recreational paddling and racing.
I don't race. I don't have the strength for it, and it does not interest me.
The first time I visited Maui I heard about the Paddle for Life and I wanted to do it. But I was never here in October, and I didn't yet have the stamina for a long canoe voyage. It's not a race, but the only people I knew personally who would be doing it, do it as a race. I could not go with them.
But now I live here and I paddle most mornings, and last week the subject came up and the captain of the boat I was in invited me to join his crew for the voyage. We will make the crossing in five legs of 45 minutes each, changing crews between legs. A support boat will drop people in the water and the crew in the canoe will jump in the water. The fresh paddlers will climb into the canoe and the tired paddlers will get on the support boat. And we'll switch back and forth every 45 minutes. We'll spend the night on Lana'i, and paddle back the next day. We'll go slow, maintaining an easy cadence. We'll have two people currently undergoing chemo in our boat for the first leg each way. I heard that there will be 30 boats this year.
I'm really excited for my first "voyage" by canoe. You can check out the link above if you're curious. Again, I'm not soliciting donations, and you won't find my donation page without knowing my real name, but anyone who feels like it can donate to the event, or to your own preferred charity.
And if you ever visit Maui, PM me and I'll tell you when and where you can paddle with us as a guest. And if anybody reading this lives in Maui, residents can try out paddling a few times for free, so you can decide if you want to join the club.
