By Sharael Kolberg
Summer 1996
“Imagine owning a magic carpet that would allow you the freedom to glide over the ocean.”
This is how Nainoa Thompson describes a one-man canoe. One-man canoes have become extremely popular because of their ability to allow a paddler the convenience of not needing five other people to go paddling.
Nainoa Thompson, navigator of the Hokule’a voyaging canoe, remembers the 1977 trip south when the Tahitians presented his crew with a one-man canoe to take back to Hawai’i.
“I believe this was the most recent re-introduction of one-man canoes to Hawai’i,” Thompson said. “The only place that I know of where traditional one-man canoes are still being used in Hawai’i is in Miloli’i on the Big Island.”
Thompson describes the Tahitian canoe as being made from only traditional materials including ‘ulu (breadfruit). The canoe has no rudder, which makes it difficult to steer.
When the canoe was brought back front Tahiti it sparked an interest in one-man canoe paddling in Hawai’i. Outrigger canoe paddling has been a prevalent sport in the Hawaiian islands for many years. The traditional six-man canoe has been the most widely used form of canoe paddling, but in the past four years one-man canoe paddling has quickly gained popularity.
“The one-man canoes have linked together the traditions of Polynesia with modern day technology. One-man canoes were used in old Hawai’i as a form of light transportation, for fishing, and for recreation.
The oldest one-man canoes have been traced back to Tahiti where they are still used today. The barrier reef surrounding Tahiti makes it easy to use long, thin one-man canoes because the water is very calm and flat.
Once canoes began to be made commercially in Hawai’i, the design had to be altered to a short, wide canoe for rough Hawai’ian water and waves.
Technology and modern machinery made it easy for the sport to advance because the canoes could be made quickly and with durable materials.
“The canoes, no matter what the constructional materials are, refer back to Hawaiian history. They have a cultural impact,” Thompson said.
Today there are only a handful of people in Hawai’i who make one-man canoes commercially. John Martin is one of the leading canoe builders and manufacturers. He took an interest in one-man canoe paddling and saw a need for them to be built. It was a demand that had to be filled. His one-man canoe, Honukai, has become very popular among canoe paddlers. “One of the first things we had to do was add a rudder for steering which made it much easier to handle,” Martin said. “One-man canoe paddling is easier than kayaking because the ama makes it more stable.”
One-man canoes are also a popular way for six-man canoe paddlers to keep in shape during the off-season. There is not yet a one-man canoe organization, so the one-man canoe paddlers are allowed to race with the kayaking association, Kanaka Ikaika. One-man canoes are becoming almost more popular than kayaks because they are easier to maneuver.
“Kayaking can take months to learn, whereas with a one-man canoe you can just jump on and go and in the first day are having fun,” Martin. “As long as the sport continues to be fun, it will continue to grow.”
CanoeSports sponsors the Kaiwi Challenge one-man canoe race from Molokai to O’ahu annually. Last year’s winning team of the 37-mile race, Jim and John Foti, enjoy one-man canoe paddling with a passion.
“Interest was brought to paddling because of competition,” Jim Foti said. “Racing one-man canoes keeps the Hawaiian culture alive in a more visible sense. Even though the equipment is modern, it’s still a way of preserving the past.”
Foti said, “In this sport you don’t win anything-you have to pay to compete. So you’re not doing it for money or what you win-you’re just doing it for a little piece of pride and to satisfy something inside.”
One-man canoes are quickly becoming an asset to the paddling community. Many canoe paddlers have said they enjoy one-man canoes because they are less restrictive.
Thompson said the most valuable thing a one-man canoe has to offer is the freedom that it gives YOU. “It offers independence,” Thomson said. “You don’t have to be locked into a practice schedule with five other people. It provides great access for me to do what I really love; I love to paddle. A one-man canoe is like a magic carpet for me, I just get on and go. It’s a very peaceful sport…just you and the ocean. I think it’s the purest form of canoe paddling.”
Price range: $1500 to $2600.