I would like to see more iron man races. Do we really need to be making all those open water changes. To me the best part about canoe racing is being in a canoe surfing, chasing bumps and battling it out with your competition. I don't look forward to getting in and out of the canoe over and over again not to mention the escort boat. It seems that all my injuries over the years come from making open water changes.

Their are many things that can go wrong while making changes and I would like to see less emphasis on those kind of races and more iron man races. To me, they (iron races) are just as fun and just as competitive but way easier to run logistically. I would like to see canoe racing events that include multiple iron races like they have in Tahiti. You can have nine person crews and take turns racing but you don't have to make open water changes. Just a thought.

Hoe wa'a mau.

Back home from the World Sprints. Awesome week, awesome experience. Some thoughts....

1. Fun hanging with Hawaii. Not individual clubs, but Hawaii. We all came together as ohana.
2. Venue was good, but organization was awful. Having been to New Zealand, our Northern Cali gang had a hard act to follow and sure enough, they couldn't do it. Races itself was good, fairly organized, but everything else left a bit to be desired. From the car head lights that was used for the Culture night, to the bull horns that was used for the awards. Aloha to the Northern Cali guys for at least putting on the event. I asked my Southern Cali paddling friend why didn't they do it in San Diego or LA area and he said NO WAY! So, maika'i to the Northern Cali guys...you did it.
3. Hawaii Women 55's were the bomb! Swept all three events...500, 1000, and V12...convincingly. In their 1000 final they were more than 10 seconds in front of second place NZ.
4. Furious shirt trading going on on the last day. Our Hawaii shirts were hot items...everyone from around the world was popping into the Hawaii tent asking to trade. No way...I kept mine.
5. Coolest moment of the entire week.....our Hawaii Adaptive V12 team crushing everyone, then coming back to the Hawaii tent to a standing ovation. Everyone clapping and kissing/shaking hands/high fives all around. Chicken Skin moment.
6. Having all the finals on one day, on Saturday. Some teams had 6 finals to paddle in. Many paddled in 5 finals...couple of them back to back. Then, if you were a V1 paddler that made the final, then you had that final to deal with as well as the team finals. In NZ, they spread the finals over 3 days so that last day was not so crazy.
7. Because of all the finals on the last day, the awards ceremony....with the bull horms, lasted for hours!!
8. Tahiti, Tahiti, Tahiti.....awesome display of youth paddling. Their youth paddling program for the boys is second to none. On the girls side, the Kiwi girls more than held their own against the tahitians. Open Men, they were just as dominant, but it would have been fun to see the Lanikai boys line up against them in the open and Masters races. Shoot, I would pay to see that one.

In all, was a great experience. Everyone out there should make an effort to try to qualify for, then attend a World Sprints event, it is such an awesome experience.

Luana...job well done. See you guys in New Caledonia in two years.....gotta qualify first. Practice starts today.

Jaws Out......

Anyone interested in or know someone who can escort me in the Catalina Classic paddleboard race on August 24th, 2008? I will of couse pay for gas, time, etc.

anybody have links with results on Kaena challenge race?
mahalos!

Here I am talking about southern Californias often relatively flat conditions.

1) The LONGER paddle I use, the faster I go:

I am not tall (6ft) but I have a LONG torso...I hit my head in most cars that fit tall people. I started with a 51 and maxed out my 2.5 mile time 30 minutes. Then I went to a 52, that day I got loop in 28min, when I switched to the 53 I got 27min...still slow I know but the long paddle feels good though I have been assured I will damage my shoulders, no problem but it seems that a long paddle give such good reach, solid catch and a longer pull...I am talking over a 12 mile course of flat water so it is not a fluke. I want to try a 54. How do you know when the paddle is too long? Other than sore shoulders? I see some long paddles in the big race photos, Kai Bartlett being one. When I get my new canoe (which might sit lower) I will figure out how to link a vid so that I can get feedback on the length of the paddle and hopefully some comments on my stroke. Longer paddle = faster, is it just me?

2) To get the right trim in the flat you need to have your weight balanced in the center of the canoe (meaning front to back via seating position):

As I have been looking into the tiger Pahoa for a new boat that will seat my big ass I notice that Tiger custom builds his boats so that the paddlers weight in centered in the boat. How important to having a good "flat water trim" is it to be centered in the canoe?

3) Fast Rudder?:

It is amazing that a few long blades of grass stuck in the rudder can be felt clearly as drag. SO it would seem that having a big surf rudder dragging through flat water would really add up. I bought a flat water rudder that was about half the length of the surf rudder and it seemed to steer the canoe just fine...I hit a rock and broke it before I could time my speed but it would seem that the rudder is a pretty big deal in racing, it would seem like a big advantage to have a smaller/thinner rudder...is this true or does your boat track more poorly with a small rudder? Goto wrote: "If you are pulling your boat even a little bit diagonally, you’ll end up side-loading your rudder and the draft of your boat = more drag/less speed." So it would seem you want the rudder with the least slimmest profile that will keep the boat tracking straight and give you steering responsiveness you need for the type of water you are in.

4) Resisted paddling:

Just thought of this watching the olympics...the canadian 8 (rowing) had such a fast and powerful start, they made the others teams in the heat look like they were tied to the dock! The commentator said that they improved their strength so much by having 4 of the team pull the other 4 in some drills they do in training. I know cyclists do hill work with only one foot clipped in...I guess this one has been around already but I guess it is unweighted sprints or adding resistance. I know that when I come off a leg of really strong headwind everything else feels easy.

Thanks for any comments on the above
Shawn

Peggie goes under and Thor rides high in a short clip from an Epic OC1 surf session.

http://rambos-locker.blogspot.com/2008/08/outer-limits.html

or http://blip.tv/file/1159561/

SOUND MUST BE ON

Cheers Rambo

I want to buy ocpaddler.com t-shirts and stickers. it would be totally cool to have the prolific posters on the t shirt too.

Any details available for the Kaena Challenge race this weekend?

Hi. I want to start training on an OC1 as cross training for dragon boat racing. If you or someone you know might be able to help me get a used or reasonably priced new OC1, please contact me.

Thanks!

Alain - 305-215-3894

http://www.ivfworldsprints.com/