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Molokai to Oahu or Bust!

I am ready to rock this weekend as I take on one of the hardest races in outrigger paddling.

Yes, we pay to do this and yes, even when it is hard it is still fun!

Na Wahine O Ke Kai is this Sunday, and I head out to Hawaii on Friday for a paddle across Kaiwi Channel, which is the channel between Moloka'i and Oah'u. Na Wahine is a 42 miles starting at Hale O Lono Harbor, Moloka'i, crossing the channel over to Oah'u (26 miles out of the 42), and ending at the Hawaiian Hilton Village, Waikiki, Oah'u.

This is the big season finale, the race of all races and the end to an awesome summer. Wish the NAC girls (my crew!), all of my other California sisters, and the rest of the wahine paddlers a safe and fun crossing this weekend!

Here are some pictures from the last Na Wahine I did, in 2010. Enjoy!

Mom and I at Hale O Lono Harbor, Molokai

SanO Sundays

Our favorite thing about paddling is riding waves. Hands down. One of the best places to ride waves in a canoe in Orange County, Ca is San Onofre State Beach. This kind of surfing is what you see everyone on those canoes in Waikiki doing, catching waves from way outside and being able to ride them all the way into shore. For me this is the best of both worlds...surfing and paddling, can't get any better than that, in my opinion.

Photo Credit: Kel Thompson

My love for the ocean started when I was really young. I wanted to be a lifeguard at the age of three, swim lessons were my favorite and I started swimming on my own just after I turned three. My sister and I were in the water 24/7 in the summer with Jr. Guards, swim team, the beach, and our neighborhood pool. I started surfing in Jr. high every summer and started paddling my sophomore year of high school, so now I was on the water almost every day of the week year round. My senior year of high school I started surfing 3 times a week and paddling 6 days a week and that lasted through the first couple of years of college. Once I started art school at CSULB surfing dropped off for me, but paddling and my love for the ocean still hold true.

Photo Credit: Molly Bishop

I have never understood the surfer attitude that is given off when you are not someone who is there everyday or is just there to have fun, like the idea that this is their beach and why are you here, even though I had been coming to the same exact spot to go to the beach every summer since before I can remember. We still get the same attitude now as paddlers, or stand up paddlers, from surfers, even though a lot of us surf and have the same love of the waves and ocean that surfers do.

Photo Credit: Molly Bishop

Paddling was an easy choice for me because of the community, the history, the culture and the boat. Believe it or not I feel so much more comfortable in a boat, then on a board! There is always someone to paddle with and there are always dozens of people who are willing to go surf SanO with you in a canoe. We were able to muster up three surf canoes, 3 standup boards, a surf ski and a dozen surf boards on a trailer made for fun. We had people from all different clubs down there taking rides together and sharing some of the most gorgeous day! SanO days maybe only happen 2 -3 times a year for us but they are always well worth the wait and no one can get us down on days like that.

Photo Credit: Molly Bishop

It is whoever is having the most fun right? Its all about the people you meet, the experiences you find and the days you will never forget...that is what paddling is all about. xo

Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes of Mad Dream Design

SanO From Where I Stand (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

Fetch at Dog Patch (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

Ready for SanO (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

Race season has begun!

As some of you know, I paddle outrigger canoe year round. This is my 11th season paddling 6 man and it is still just as fun as ever! I started paddling as a sophomore in high school on the NAC Jr. team, quit soccer and never looked back! I now paddle for the NAC women's team and it is still a total blast! There may be no boys at practice, or no one coaching me like my high school coach did, but now I have a tight group of girls, and a much more mellow and fun outlook on paddling. My competitive nature still finds its way out at all the races, but for the most part this is all for fun. There is a time and place for everything and at this time in my life paddling career, it has become an extra thing I get to do for fun and to stay in shape, so I am just grateful to have it in my life.

Thank you Kel Thompson for the great race day photos!

We arrived in San Diego, Mission Bay, bright and early Saturday morning for the first Ironman of 2012, which makes it a very exciting, yet long day for all paddlers a like. Ironman races are long distance races that take place mostly in the ocean and range from 10 - 18 miles. We didn't really have any expectations for this race other than we wanted to place in the top 10 and have fun. Let me just say, even with a more laid back approach this year, our boat rocked the first race of the season!!! I am super proud of my girls and the team I paddle with. We were able to meet both goals this race! We were the 10th women's boat across the line, with only 1 coed boat in front of us and we were 4th in our division. What a great way to kick off the season!!!

To sugar coat our race, our top men's boat, in which Jimi steers, came in third overall in the men's race!

Here is to the 2012 6 man season! It is going to be a blast!

Paddling to Catalina and Back Again

This weekend around 100 boats will be paddling to Catalina Island out of Newport Beach, California and back. The women race there Saturday and the men race back on Sunday. This may seem crazy to most people considering the channel is about 27 miles wide and takes anywhere from 3 and half hours to six hours to cross over but to paddlers this is what we consider fun! This is not done with the same six paddlers the whole race. This is a 9 man race and a pretty big one at that, for California anyway.

This is one of my favorite races of the year, even though it is the most trying. I prefer to not have to look at the island for those 5 hours and prefer to look at fog but with this glorious heat wave I think we will be looking at island that never gets closer, even when you are a half hour away. At least with the warm weather it will not be so painful to jump in the colder ocean water to make a change.

A change? Right, we do actually switch people in and out of the boat because who wants to paddle for 5 hours in the same seat. Every 20 minutes or so a change is made where 1 to 3 paddlers jump in the water off a motor and wait as the canoe passes by. Which at this boat 1 to 3 paddlers jump off the other side while the paddlers in the water get into the canoe. The paddlers who just bailed out of the boat are now on the motor boat for about 10 to 20 minutes far a break and then it happens all over again.

Now you may think we are even more crazy jumping in and out of the ocean, dodging boats, barges, waves and whatever else comes our way out at sea but again we think this is all good fun. I guess that is what makes this sport so special. People ask me what they heck are we doing out here??? Teamwork? Yes. Exercise? Definitely Yes. What else?

Being one with the ocean, paddling through all the shit to the other side, to accomplish something that not only challenges you but is far bigger than you. To paddle is to move forward or IMUA (which is our team name), that is why we are all out there is to move forward and you get a little bit farther, a little bit faster and gain a whole ton of experience every season.

Catalina is the grand finale and we go out with a bang to reward ourselves for all the hard work over the past year. Catalina is goal at the end of the road, the goal accomplished, the end to a great year and the next step to move forward.

Good luck to all those racing on Saturday and Sunday!