Suzanne Martin, foreground, Pat MacNabb and Doug Klepfer work as a team to paddle an outrigger canoe in Kent Narrows during a new paddler welcome event held by the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club.
Jessica Kennedy of the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club in Maryland demonstrates the proper technique with a traditional paddle. 7m Window Cleaning Pole
A six-person outrigger crew concentrates on synchronizing their strokes during a demonstration paddle in Maryland’s Kent Island Narrows.
A head-on view of an outrigger canoe underway in Kent Island Narrows in Maryland shows how the outrigger, or “ama,” gives the vessel the stability that it’s narrow main hull wouldn’t otherwise have.
An outrigger canoe is inscribed with the Hawaiian expression meaning “family of the sea.”
Suzanne Martin, foreground, Pat MacNabb and Doug Klepfer work as a team to paddle an outrigger canoe in Kent Narrows during a new paddler welcome event held by the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club.
Skipjacks, deadrises, log canoes, tall ships, bugeyes — the Chesapeake Bay has no shortage of iconic boats. But if a core group of devotees has anything to do with it, a vessel closely associated with the South Pacific could be next.
The outrigger canoe is practically synonymous with Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures. Many Americans of a certain age, though, likely received their notions about outriggers from the closing credits of the original version of the TV crime drama Hawaii Five-O, which showed a sequence of muscly men vigorously paddling through waves.
That depiction — of brute strength and more than a whiff of masculinity — continues to loom over the sport of outrigger racing in the popular imagination. But the brand practiced by Maryland’s Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club tends, by intention, toward inclusivity and working in harmony.
“People of all ages and abilities can do this,” said Bill Key, 72, a longtime member. “You can’t screw it up. We’re thrilled to have you out here no matter what.”
To that end, during routine club practices, members are often found welcoming newcomers who want to try their hands at the ancient sport. This spring, they hosted a series of outings explicitly geared toward coaxing novices onto the water, with the hope of boosting membership.
So, there I was on a Sunday morning in April, standing with a strange-looking paddle in my hands and absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.
A six-person outrigger crew concentrates on synchronizing their strokes during a demonstration paddle in Maryland’s Kent Island Narrows.
The first thing you notice about an outrigger canoe is how long and narrow it is. Single and tandem versions are available. But, like the one in the Hawaii Five-O outro, the craft I boarded could comfortably seat six adults. Most outriggers in this class measure more than 40 feet from stern to bow, roughly the length of a school bus, but the main hull might be a mere 16 inches across.
This is where the “outrigger” part comes into play. Two arms (iakos in Hawaiian) project from one side of the canoe. These connect to a float (the “outrigger” or, in Hawaiian, the ama). Without these second hulls, the vessels would be highly unstable in the open seas.
Now, let’s turn to the paddle. The shaft isn’t straight like a traditional canoe oar or kayak paddle; it’s slightly bowed, and the blade is angled back a bit to compensate for the bend. At the opposite end of the paddle is a t-shaped handle. Your palm wraps around it, kind of like a bicycle handlebar. Your lower hand should be gripping the shaft just above the blade. It feels more like digging into the water than sweeping through it.
The setting for the club’s practices is the Kent Island Yacht Club, situated on a narrow peninsula bordering the channel through Kent Island Narrows. Here, you’re practically in the shadow of the U.S. 50/301 bridge. The high-arching structure looks impressive until you remember it is only a prelude to the more famous Chesapeake Bay Bridge found 6 miles west.
The scenery can be summed up as Outer Banks-lite. Wooden piers frame gleaming-white fiberglass fishing boats. The ramshackle tiki bars in the distance compete to outdo each other’s color schemes. But the splashes of salt marshes and pine-dominated woods serve as reminders that nature hasn’t been completely crowded out yet.
The outrigger club here traces its history back 25 years, when John Fulton, who had recently returned to Maryland after a few years living in Hawaii, raised enough money to purchase a communal outrigger canoe.
“It’s the state sport of Hawaii,” he said. “Just about everybody does it.”
A head-on view of an outrigger canoe underway in Kent Island Narrows in Maryland shows how the outrigger, or “ama,” gives the vessel the stability that it’s narrow main hull wouldn’t otherwise have.
The sport has long since migrated to the mainland United States, but its presence on the East Coast remains limited. The nationwide parent organization for outrigger canoe racing chapters lists 70 clubs operating in the three continental states that border the Pacific Ocean. The East Coast boasts a mere 17 clubs.
The Kent Island club, the only outrigger group with a Maryland address, counts about three dozen active members. They compete in races up and down the East Coast and host their own event over Labor Day weekend, a 35-mile relay race in which paddlers circumnavigate Kent Island.
From what I could gather, outrigger canoe racing tends to attract experienced standup paddleboarders or kayakers looking for a team environment.
“This is a great way [to] get out on the water with people who become your friends,” said longtime member Nancy Wallace. “I think I knew one person when I first started. It becomes a family.”
In this way, the sport embraces another Hawaiian cultural export: the concept of ohana. For a definition, let’s turn to the 2002 Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. In it, viewers are told, “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind — or forgotten.”
At the April practice session, at least a dozen or more of us were new to outrigger canoeing. The club regulars were cheerful and generous with advice. They made sure no one felt left behind.
Jessica Kennedy, a converted standup paddleboarder, instructed the first timers on the paddling technique. What matters most, she said, is staying in sync with other paddlers. When the paddles slice into the water at the same time, the canoe glides across through the waves with the greatest efficiency. There’s a beat to it that you can keep in perfect time — or miss.
Jessica Kennedy of the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club in Maryland demonstrates the proper technique with a traditional paddle.
“If you fall behind,” Kennedy explained, “just get in on the next one. It’s no big deal.”
I was in one of the first groups to go out on the water. We were a mixture of regulars and newcomers. I’m a fairly proficient kayaker, but this was like learning a new dance. My entire concentration was wrapped up in performing the individual steps — keeping my hands vertically in line with one another, leaning forward as I started the stroke, “burying the blade” in the water, rotating through my core.
We would do several strokes on one side. Then, someone would call out “Hut!” and our crew would answer with a “Ho!” This was the signal to switch our paddles to the other side and begin anew.
Invariably, I would miss the first “hit” on the new side. I made it my goal to do it right just once before the canoe returned to shore. But it never happened. I was too slow making the transition.
I didn’t notice how fast we were going until I looked around and saw how far we had gotten from our starting point. We were flying across the water. The pace was anything but leisurely. Tiring quickly, I whipped out my notebook at one point and caught up on some notes while others picked up the slack.
Neil Macindoe, a 15-year outrigger veteran, was in the front seat of our canoe. As such, it was his job to set the pace. To hear him describe it, there’s something mystical about every paddle meeting the water at the same time.
“You can feel the boat come alive when we’re all in sync,” he said.
This didn’t happen much while I was in the canoe. (My fault, probably.) But I felt it once or twice. It was as if we were a 12-armed creature, with one brain and one heart.
An outrigger canoe is inscribed with the Hawaiian expression meaning “family of the sea.”
Some of the other people, regardless of their experience level, described the feeling of working together as something akin to “meditation.” I can see that. You can’t afford to think of anything except the movements of your body and those of the people around you.
Who’s to say what the next trend will be in water sports? In this post-COVID world, I think many of us are trying to reestablish connections with our fellow human beings. An outrigger canoe could be one great way to bring us together again.
About the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club
The club is based at the Kent Island Yacht Club, 117 Yacht Club Drive in Chester, MD.
Practices are at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. Sundays. Nonmembers are always welcome. Check for weather-related cancellations and other information on the group’s Facebook page.
Other clubs in the Bay region include the National Capital Area Women’s Paddling Association and Washington Canoe Club, both in the District of Columbia. There’s also the Mid-Atlantic Paddlers Association in Virginia’s Hampton Roads. A complete list of East Coast clubs can be found under the “About” tab on the East Coast Outrigger Racing Association website: ecora.org.
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