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It's easy to think of surfing as the basis for some paddle sports we enjoy - like stand-up paddling and even foiling. But while the early Hawaiians gave us surfing on boards, surfing canoes were also a thing - whether it be a shorter, four-person outrigger canoe designed for the waves or six-man outriggers.  What came before those crafts were the large, traditional sailing canoes that enabled travel and migration across the Pacific and from island chain to island chain. This voyaging tradition is essential to the history and lineage of paddling.

Last month, the culture of canoes, particularly the sailing canoes, was the focal point of the 13th Annual Festival of Pacific Arts and  Culture, hosted for the first time in Hawaii's history - on O'ahu.  Sailing canoes from all over the Pacific voyaged to the island known as The Gathering Place from as far away as New Zealand and all across Micronesia.  The canoes gathered in the breathtaking Kaneohe Bay on O'ahu's windward side. Crews offered festival goers tours of the sailing canoes and even an opportunity to sail in the calm bay. 

Smaller sailing canoes designed for racing were also on display.  These lightweight, fast canoes bridge the gap between the 60-foot-plus sailing canoes and modern-day outriggers.  Most racing sailing canoes have three seats for paddlers and the steersman, while other crew members ride on a mesh "trampoline" stretched between the canoe's two amas or outriggers. It's almost as if the modern sailing canoe is a hybrid between sail power and paddle power. 

I had the opportunity to attend the festival for one day and sail aboard a teaching canoe based in Kailua. The crew that day was all female - young women learning the traditional ways of navigation.  The craft was smooth and stable.  The traditional "crab claw" shaped sail powered us across the bay in short order.

All around us were other teaching vessels and the larger sailing canoes, including a sister to Hokule'a, the canoe Iosepa, and canoes from the Cook Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific.  It was like a moment out of a movie! And it was easy to imagine what it might have been like when those first voyagers set out from Tahiti and landed in Hawaii between 400 and 1100 CE.

After spending the day at the festival, I gained an increased appreciation for these amazing watercraft and a deeper understanding of their importance and relationship to the "modern" watercraft I enjoy paddling. The festival was truly an enlightening experience.

The Hokule'a interrupted her most recent sail plant to circumnavigate the Pacific to bring awareness to climate change. After the fire on Maui, she came home to help Maui and all of Hawai'i heal after the devasting loss of the town of Lahaina. She will resume her voyage soon. If you are a paddler and you have an opportunity to see the Hokule'a, don't miss it.

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