My Favourite Things
My Favourite Sport
The sport I most love to participate in is paddling Outrigger canoes.
Outrigging Facts
What is Outrigger Canoeing?
Outrigger canoeing has grown from its roots in Polynesia to become a very popular paddling sport, with numerous sporting and social clubs located around the world. Outrigging is a relatively young sport in Australia. Seventy years after Hawaii’s first Outrigger Canoe Club was formed, the first club in Australia was formed in 1978 on the Gold Coast. The sport has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years with the development of clubs in other states of Australia, expanding the sport’s power base and spiritual home in northern Queensland and the Whitsunday region.
What is an Outrigging Canoe?
An outrigger canoe is a traditional Hawaiian canoe, measuring 13.8 metres in length, with a smaller ‘outrigger’ known as an ama, for stability. The canoe accommodates 6 paddlers, each of whom paddle with a single-bladed paddle, steering the canoe is left to the paddler in the 6th seat who uses their blade in a similar fashion to a rudder to control direction of the canoe. A six-person canoe is referred to as an OC6. Outrigger canoes also come in one-person (OC1) and two-person (OC2) styles.
History of Outrigger Canoeing
The original design of the outrigger canoe was developed in the South Pacific, and played an important role in the Polynesian exploration of the Pacific. Using strong, stable outriggers, the Polynesians traveled to many of the islands in the Pacific, establishing communities in distant lands such as New Zealand. The outrigger continues to be an important part of Polynesian life, and traditional outriggers are made by craftsmen who want to preserve Polynesian heritage.