On Monday 1/12/15 we had the opportunity to paddle with the Hanalei Canoe Club which was founded in 1973. The HCC has a long history of winning championship outrigger races and has competed in Tahiti, Australia, Western Samoa, California, New York and Thailand. In 1993, HCC built its current clubhouse near Hanalei Beach after the previous one was destroyed by Hurricane Iniki the year before. Forty-two years since its founding, the Hanalei Canoe Club has approximately 200 members is thriving with four divisions including youth, women and men’s competitive teams, and the recreational division that paddles year-round. The Club’s recreation paddlers go out on Mondays and Fridays at 10:00 this time of year and head up the Hanalei River about 2.5 miles, just beyond the one-way bridge into town.

Bill and I were excited to paddle on the Hanalei River because we were enchanted by it the first time we stood on its banks. The first night we arrived, we headed down to Hanalei from Princeville, and dined at the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant, which sits on the River. Since it didn’t open for dinner for another half hour, we ordered a glass of wine and sat by the water. The first thing we noticed about the Hanalei is that it had beautiful orange flower blossoms strewn across its surface, dropped there by the trees that lined its banks. It turns out that the flower we saw is a type of hibiscus (hibiscus tiliaceus) or hau flowers, as the locals call them. It has five creped petals that are yellow at first and then turn orange as they open and develop. It was dreamlike to see them floating down the river that evening and even more dreamlike to paddle through them in an outrigger.

The paddle was made even more spectacular because of the amazing views of the mountains along the way. As we meandered upstream, each turn of the canoe revealed a new and beautiful vista. The boat I was in glided along and I soaked up all of the beauty along the way. Gratefully, the paddler in front of me, Louise Barnfield had a camera and was busy snapping pictures each time we paused for a quick break. I asked if she would share some with me and she did…

Paddling with HCC; Photos by Louise Barnfield

We’re looking forward to more great paddles with the HCC and in OC1s in the weeks ahead.