By Sharael Feist
1998
Imagine sleek outrigger canoes slicing through the water and you’ll probably think of Hawaii, but the sport of Polynesian outrigger canoe paddling has crossed the Pacific to the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay.
The Bay Area is home to more than a dozen canoe clubs from Marin to Silicon Volley and one club in particular, San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club (SFOCC), believes in perpetuating the Hawaiian culture through outrigger canoe paddling.
Founded in 1988, San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club was originally named Na Mea Wa’a 0′ Ka Pala Kiko – which is the Hawaiian translation for “paddlers of the San Francisco Bay,” The club currently has 50 members, ranging in age from 16 to 44.
Crews are divided by age and years of experience. SFOCC president Phil Siaris stresses that one needs no experience or equipment to join. And the club’s flexible attitude is just what most people need while trying to balance school or a career with extra-circular activities.
Obviously, paddling in the bay is much colder than paddling in the warm, tropical waters of Hawaii, but it doesn’t seem to deter people from paddling here. Neoprene tops help keep paddlers warm, and other than an occasional splash, the paddler can stay mostly dry, just os long as the boat doesn’t huli – outrigger jargon for tipping over.
“We try to provide everything,” Siaris. said. “We will work around their schedUles. We don’t expect them to do the whole season. We try to accommodate people in every aspect by providing the latest equipment. We have what they need to paddle, All they need is the desire.”
Wooden outrigger canoes, similar to the ancient originals, are still used, but most competitive canoes are made of fiber-glass, making them faster and more durable. The most common competitive canoes hold six paddlers and are 40- to 45-feet long, but other boats hold as many as-12 paddlers and as few a one.
What’s it lake to become a competitive paddler? Siaris said anyone can become a paddler. “As long as we can provide the paddling equipment so that people can enjoy themselves, it makes me happy. But it upsets me when they don’t achieve what I know they can,” he added, showing a little drive behind his laid-back attitude.
A newcomer to the sports of outrigger paddling, 16-year-old Karina Umehara is dedicated to _ succeed. “You have to put your whole heart into it and if everybody does that in the boat, then you’ll do good – even if you come in last,” Umehara said. “And if you train hard enough, you can beat people that are bigger than you.”
It’s not just the paddling that Umehara enjoys, but the spirit of the team. “As soon as you become part of the club you become part of the family,” she said.
SFOCC coaches provide all the necessary training to become an experienced paddler. And while most new paddlers experience sore muscles in their upper-body early on, once they learn the correct form, they find themselves using their whole body to pull the canoe easily through the water.
Competitive and recreational paddlers alike are welcome to join SFOCC. “All we ask is that they tell us what their level of commitment is and what they expect to get out of it,” Siaris said. “There’s a lot of potential here in the city. I want the club to thrive and grow.”
Outrigger canoeing has two distinct seasons, featuring two different kinds of paddling. The long-distance season, in which the races cover anywhere from three to 31 miles, runs from April to June and then from September to October. During mid-summer, from June to August, the races switch to sprints that range from 500 meters to two miles. SFOCC practices four times a week in both flat water (for the sprints) at the San Mateo Aquatic Park and in open water (for long-distance races) near Fishermen’s Wharf at the Hyde Street Pier.
The Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association has about 14 active clubs that compete in races all over California, Hawaii and the South Pacific. For further information regarding Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling in the Bay Area, visit the NCOCA website at www.pica-org.org/NCOCA or the Sun Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club Website at www.sirius.com/-siaris/sfocc.htm.