The Paddlers Guide

to Outrigger Canoeing

Extract from Paddlers Guide to Outrigger Canoeing

To Purchase On-Line

 

Chapters 1-14 / Chapters 15-29 / Sample Pages 

485 pages 7.7"x 9.25" [19cmx23.5cm] 2.5lbs [1.13kg]

ISBN 978 0 9586554 22

 

Photo Steve West  Paddler Traci Phillips
Location Kona Coast Big Island Hawaii 1995

The Paddlers Guide to Outrigger Canoeing, I consider but a humble offering to what I believe to be a truly noble sport, wherever and whenever practiced by those who understand its mystery on all of its levels. I can think of no other sport so all encompassing, offering to the adventurer, the journeyman, the maverick, the dreamer, a journey through life through active participation, rich on so many levels, from the cultural to the spiritual, from the physical to the metaphysical. This book is in essence a culmination of many journeys, many meetings, many experiences and I hope worthy of this noble sport.

I remain outspoken on some key issues, to which end I make no apology as my aim is to present the issues as I have come to know them, whether of a cultural, traditional technical or historical nature.

Fifteen years of travel throughout the Pacific has given me rare insights and enlightenment regarding key issues and rights of ownership over many claims and it continues to concern me that many paddlers form deep seated cultural notions and pre-conceptions without having left the immediate sphere in which they live. For those who belong to a va`a-culture within the Pacific, their voice is rarely heard and as so often happens throughout history, there seems a pervading euro-centric slant wherever there has been intervention of European culture onto that of another, rarely if ever, vice-versa.

 European intervention may have eroded the practice of va`a paddling and building in many regions of the Pacific and though reinstated it was not always done so in such a way which would have pleased the elders and traditional owners of the sport.

On the face of it, va`a paddling, is the late bloomer as far as paddle sports go. Though it has been around as a design concept for thousands of years, certainly pre-dating the kayak, there have been certain forces at play preventing it from rapid global expansion in the same way kayaking, dragon boating and open canoe paddling have developed.

As a paddle sport, va`a paddling, has created a catalyst by which ‘Va`a Cultures’ of Oceania can focus a re-awakening of a cultural identity and pride. For many peoples of Oceania, va`a paddling is an activity of great significance, a fundamental part of the cultures of Oceania, commanding respect, ritual and remembrance, serving to keep the legend of the va`a and it’s people alive.

For those who find themselves involved with the sport, whose cultural origins are not of a ‘Va`a Culture’, realise that the design of this paddle craft is considered to be one of the most accomplished of all maritime designs. Take time to understand why this is and your participation will take on new meaning. To participate without empathy with the va`a and without an understanding of its origins, will make your experience only half fulfilled.

Universally, va`a racing has undergone a rapid change in recent years, from its laid-back ‘Island Style’ roots, towards a more stressed out, fast paced, technologically advanced sport; but not without some continuing resistance. On the upside, improved user friendly equipment has been developed in spite of pervading questionable design restrictions in some regions of the world, providing the potential for wider global appeal and greater enjoyment.

Whatever the attraction for you the paddler, some effort to nurture an appreciation of the craft’s origins together with a respect for the cultures who developed their many different forms, will greatly enhance your experience and connection with the sport as a whole.

I do not embrace this sport as Hawaiian per se (though there are distinct differences between va`a and wa`a types) but essentially ‘Polynesian’ and, as if to confuse even more, Melanesian and Micronesian as you begin to understand that proud cultures from these regions, indeed older than Polynesia, also associate with and have a powerful affinity to the va`a. The va`a is perhaps more profoundly associated and encompassed by the scope of Oceania and not just one region within it.

Much of the contents relating to the technical consideration of va`a paddling in this book are fundamentally arrived at by intuitive notions and many, many  hours of discussion, observation and participation. The science is presented not through physics or complex formula and theory, but more in lay-mans terms, which I hope anyone and everyone can comprehend.

Steve West