MissFits

Two weeks ago, we had a beautiful, sunny Saturday to paddle in the Fraser River in an OC6, or 6-man Outrigger Canoe. We are the MissFits, 7 members of the Paddle Pushers dragon boat team who are rotating to go out each Saturday afternoon through the winter season. Because temperatures are dipping, and the Fraser River is now quite chilly, we wear wetsuits to paddle. In the event that we huli (OC speak for "capsize"), we have about 3 minutes to right the boat and start to bail before hypothermia sets in. How did we meet? We are all members of the Fort Langley Canoe & Kayak Club, a club that offers programs for young people and adults in both flat water paddling (kayaking) and big boat paddling (canoeing, voyageur canoeing, dragon boating, outrigger canoeing).



Before we could go out in the OC6 as a team, we all had to attend a huli clinic. It was a crash course in the architecture of an OC6 and the technique needed to right it once upended. To this end, we dressed to get wet and intentionally capsized. I did the clinic in October, and it was already quite cold in the Fraser River!!

The outrigger canoe is made up of the canoe body and the "pontoon". The float part of the pontoon is called the ama and the arms to the float are called the 'iako. When the boat is upside down in the water, the ends of the two 'iako, on the opposite side of the boat from the pontoon are called the muku. They are important in the process of righting the boat.

If the boat is capsized, seats 1 and 6 have the job of gathering the paddles from the water. Seat 6 also must have the paddlers count off to ensure that no one is missing. Seats 3 and 4 swim to the ama and push it up out of the water and over, before swimming to the ama side to scramble back into the canoe. Seats 2 and 5 scramble over the boat and stand on the muku, then lean over to take hold of the 'iako and use their body weight to help seats 3 and 4 heave the ama over to right the boat. They then also scramble in, at which time any free hands start to paddle for shore, while the rest of the crew bails the boat as quickly as possible.

We are very much self-taught at the moment. As you can see, the OC paddle is quite different from either a regular canoe paddle or a dragon boat paddle. The paddle has a concave blade, and the blade is pulled through the water on the curve side, which is counter-intuitive for my not-so-scientific brain. Seats 1 and 2 set the pace for the boat, and each seat paddles on the opposite side to the seat in front of it. The steersperson can paddle, but may simply steer, which (speaking from experience) is quite a challenge in river currents and eddie!

Every 20 strokes, we cry out "hike hup hoe". I have since found out that hoe means "to paddle." Theoretically, we should not lose our rhythm in the switch-over, but we're still a bit out of time in that department - but improving with each time we go out!

On this particular Saturday, two weeks ago, we decided to paddle downstream, then work away around and upstream past MacMillan Island and the Albion Ferry docks to the east end of the island. From there, we battled (for an eternity, it seemed) the cross-currents to get back into the Bedford Channel and paddle downstream to the dock. We did have to pause briefly, then paddle like crazy so as not to get caught in the wake of the crossing ferries. We waited until they were both docked and unloading, then "power stroked" to get past before they had reloaded and launched. Along the way we saw Canada geese and sea gulls, which are standard fare. But we also encountered a loon in the channel and seals playing in the river. At Fort Langley, the Fraser River still has some salt water. The float planes often fly overhead as there is an airport just upstream from Fort Langley.

Our goal, as the MissFits, is to race in one regatta, perhaps in January. We are working on endurance training, and many of us are doing cardio-core cross-training. The "short" races are 1 km in length. As you may have discerned from the terminology, outrigger canoeing has a South Pacific origin, and the boats are designed for open-water ocean canoeing. I imagine that a huli is much more likely in such conditions than in the relative calm of the Fraser River. Perhaps we'll become very good and race in Hawaii! In the meantime, I'm certain we may be paddling in one or two snow falls, which will be an adventure if nothing else.