On our first day, we joined the Lanakila Iki Outrigger Canoe Club for its 8AM paddle on the Atlantic Ocean. It was an exciting day to be on the water because of the 30mph winds and the 5’ surf rolling in. Now, on Cayuga Lake, the winds are often 30mph but the waves are nowhere near 5’. This meant that we needed to push the 45’, 440 lbs. boat into the water right from the beach into the surf – going in slowly was not an option. Our steersperson, Paul instructed us to pull the boat into the water and as soon as your ankles get wet, jump in your seat. For a split second, I was a tad bit nervous that I would miss my seat, flip my paddle out of the boat, or otherwise make a complete ass of myself. Before I could conjure up any additional dreadful scenarios, there we were plunging the canoe into the crashing waves. I helped pull the boat into the water for just a few seconds before I hoisting myself into my seat like a pro.

I was one of two women in the six-person boat and sat just behind the stroke in seat two. Each person in the boat has a role and mine was to follow seat one, stroke for stroke but on the opposite side. Since Bill, in seat four was following my stroke, I had to be as consistent as possible. On a flatwater day, you have the opportunity to focus on the technical aspects of your stroke but this was not one of those days. The boat was steered directly into the waves and thus was rising and crashing down again and again as we battled the wind and spray. I was soon drenched and felt like seat one and I were riding a bronking bull. I couldn’t help but laugh and yell out “woo hoo” as another amazing amount of water would come crashing in on us. A few minutes out, I got some of the salty Atlantic in my left eye and realized that I forgot to put on my sunglasses that were still resting on top of my baseball cap. There was no opportunity to stop paddling and put them on so I just paddled on with one eye closed until we turned the boat around and took a quick break before heading back to shore. Frankly, I couldn’t see any better with the sunglasses on but at least my eyes weren’t stinging. When we were about 200’ off shore we started paddling harder and faster and enjoyed the surf glide on a few waves up onto the beach.

Our next opportunity to paddle with the club was on Tuesday evening down in Hollywood, about 20 minutes south of Fort Lauderdale. This time we paddled on the Intercoastal Waterway and were joined by three more boats of paddlers ranging from lightweight recreation paddlers to serious competitive teams. Bill and I were in separate boats this time. The water was calm and only broken by the boats, our paddles entering and leaving the water, and the fish jumping out of the water, presumably to avoid being eaten by something larger. I was looking forward to a nice recreational paddle but I didn’t realize that I had been assigned to a boat with several women who were practicing for a race in a few weeks. After practicing several race starts and paddling at breakneck racing pace for 20 minutes, I had the sneaky suspicion that I was going to get a much more intense workout than I was anticipating. I felt like I had unknowingly entered a German boot camp on water and the drill sargeant was directly behind me evaluating my every move and publicly commenting. When we took a break half way through I was drenched again, as I was in the first paddle with the club, but not from ocean spray but from sweat. It’s not that I didn’t need the workout but, well, I kinda wanted to enjoy the water and the sights just a little. During the break I made it clear that I was not prepared for that intensity of paddling and the very nice woman behind me eased up considerably on the way back to the docks.

Bill’s boat was much more laid back and took a more leisurely paddle along the same route as my boat. I couldn’t even have eye contact with Bill as we sped past them at race pace but I assumed he was having more fun than I was! All in all, it was a good paddle but I learned a valuable lesson… ask what the intention of the boat is before getting in it!

After the paddle on Tuesday night, we were fumbling in the dark trying to call a taxi to come pick us up. It was not a good scene as we were being eaten up by mosquitos and were going to have to wait who knows how long in an unlighted, closed park for the ride to arrive. Gratefully, two club members offered us a ride back up to Fort Lauderdale in their comfortable SUV. This was much appreciated as the taxi ride down cost $45 – a bit more than we expected but worth the cost.

The Lanakila Iki Club is certainly filled with a lot of really nice people and embodies the Aloha spirit. Everyone was welcoming and helpful and asked about our paddling up north.

Our third paddle with the club was back on Fort Lauderdale beach on a much calmer day. The lack of high winds and huge surf allowed me to focus on my stroke and form which was a relief from the first two paddles that week. From seat one, I set the pace for the boat and was able to enjoy the open water in front of me. As we headed north, we enjoyed great views of the hotels, palm trees and beaches. The buoys provided convenient start and stop points for power sets, providing a nice workout on our last full day in Fort Lauderdale.

The Lanakila Iki Outrigger Canoe Club was started in 1997 with a donated boat from the California based Lanakila Outrigger Club. In Hawaiian, “lanakila” means victory and “iki” means “child of.” So the club is the “child of victory” which started out small but is now about 50 members strong. Their first boat, the Thompsons Ka’Uhane was modeled on the beloved and famous Hawaiian boat Malia.