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The White Canoe (a story of a Molokai Hoe crossing)

by Clarke Graves 0 comments

Molokai Hoe 2014[This was written by Team Writer Clarke after his Molokai Hoe journey across the Ka'iwi Channel in October 2014. Good luck to all the Cali Paddlers who will be taking on this special journey in the coming days and years. ]

I didn’t really set out to do this race when teams were first being discussed months and months ago. In fact it took some pretty amazing support and encouragement for me to even think it could become a reality. But it did. Conditions were described by several local Hawaiian clubs as “challenging” “fun” “rough”. I had some amazing teammates, some were in the canoe, some back home, help get me across. And I will be putting this down as one of those achievements that makes me a better person, nevermind just a better paddler.

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MBX 2015 - OC1 Crossing Recap

by Cali Paddler 0 comments
Monterey Bay Crossing 2015
I decided to really challenge myself and compete in the OC1 category. Looking back, I think a bit of “crazy” came over me when wanting to do the crossing. Training for the race was difficult.  I often trained alone, putting in a lot of early mornings and late nights. Training for more than 2.5 hours was new to me and presented many new challenges that I had to overcome. A lot went in to being 100% ready for the race, from the millimeters of adjusting the ama, to the miles and hours put into training and getting ready. My goal had been set from previous training sessions. I wanted to complete the MBX in 4 hours. I felt ready.

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MBX 2015 - A SoCal Paddler Perspective

by Cali Paddler 1 comment
Monterey Bay Crossing - Map
Paddle Recap - As we try and bridge the different paddle regions of our state we often reach out to those who travel from their normal waters to try something a little different. Thank you to Conrad Stielau for taking the time to do this interview and share his impressions. This adventure-loving paddler from San Diego and friends from the Newport/Long Beach area made the trek up to Santa Cruz for the Monterey Bay Crossing. Enjoy this qa session and his impressions of MBX for those who might want to try it in 2016.

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MBX 2015 - Whattacrew Novice Team Tackle the Crossing

by Cali Paddler 1 comment

Monterey Bay Crossing - Iron Novice Crew[Join Jocelyn and this novice group (nicknamed "Whatacrew") as they take on their longest race yet, the Monterey Bay Crossing. After an amazing season, this ended up being the final bang to go out on!]

This past weekend "WhattaCrew" faced their biggest challenge yet. A full novice crew, who decided to take on the Monterey Bay Challenge, Ironed the entire 26 miles. As I sit here, not sure how to even start describing the entire experience from beginning to end, I go back to the first day we were all tossed into a canoe together and knew immediately this was about to be one EPIC ride! Let me tell you how we earned our vacation...

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Memoir of a Voyage: Moku ‘o Keawe to Mokupuni ‘o Maui - Journey to my Roots

by Cali Paddler 6 comments
Cali Paddler Explorations Big Island to Maui
In the darkness of the early morning, with a sliver of moon and an army of stars watching over us, we carefully set our canoes on the water at Kawaihae Harbor on the northwest side of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The time had come for thirty five paddlers from around the world, many of us total strangers who share a passion for Hawaiian Outrigger Paddling, to embark on a long awaited voyage from Moku ʻo Keawe (Big Island, Hawaiʻi) to Mokupuni ʻo Maui (Island of Maui).

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Vitamin "Sea"

by Greg Gagnon 0 comments
Vitamin SEA
If you have you ever camped beside a river, fallen asleep next to crashing waves after a surf, tossed stones into a lake, or brought your deep thoughts to the ocean at sunset for a swim...you've felt it. The magical presence of water, in all its forms.
I think we can all agree that there is a sensual force that acts upon us physically, mentally and for some, spiritually, when we are near water. It is a mystical sensation. No doubt we have all experienced this in a multitude of ways while playing in, on, or around, this luxurious liquid. However, much like Sasquatch, or Tahoe Tessie, it's a bit hard to explain at a dinner party. I'm hoping to change that for you.
I believe there is far more going on here; that we aren't completely mindful of. So... Let's dive in!

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Cali Paddler Explorations: Brent Allen Outside

by Cali Paddler 0 comments
Brent Allen Outside
Cali Paddler is proud to showcase and highlight the wonderful sense of exploration Brent Allen has for our state's beautiful coastlines. With a sense of stewardship through his coordination of beach and waterway cleanups, and his respect for sea life by promoting and teaching safe distance paddle techniques (did you know its helpful to seek out kelp beds during whale breaching episodes to help keep a safe distance?) Brent has become a favorite of Cali Paddler. He has no shortage of amazing up close nature experiences to share with us and remind us how important it is for Cali Paddlers to respect and nurture the waters we love. He offers paddle tours of the Monterey area and is a great resource to contact next time you want to explore our wild coastlines in a safe and respectful manner with an experienced tour guide. He will take you places you never dreamed of. Enjoy the videos below to see what we mean!

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Hawaii - Aloha and Honor (A Cali Paddler's first time racing in Hawaii)

by Clarke Graves 2 comments
Cali Paddler Kona Queen Liliuokalani
Good luck everyone who is racing this weekend in honor of Queen Lili`uokalani. Knowing that you are all about to embark on such a special and fun race, I wanted to dust off and share my first time racing in Hawaii, and hope that you all have the same magical experience I did. Then be sure to bring that amazing back home to California with you, so we can continue to pay respect to our paddling heritage and share with other Cali Paddlers how amazing an impact our sport can have.

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Cali Paddler Connection: Ernest Johnson & Paddle Republic California

by Greg Gagnon 0 comments
EJ Paddle Republic CaliforniaWhat if I told you I met a guy who got into SUP because of a bet? And how about that same guy going on to represent a national brand called YOLO, then designing paddles and racing all over the world competing with top athletes in the water arena! Sounds like an EPIC bet to lose!

EJ is our guest today and this man is as unique as they come in the sport, yet as down to earth as all of us.

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NorCal Outrigger and Why it Rocks!

by Clarke Graves 1 comment
Norcal Outrigger Paddling
Pretty cool when you travel 8 hours, (12 if you embrace wrong turns as opportunities to explore our state), arrive in foreign waters, and make friends with several hundred strangers who are all related to you through the community of paddling. Even cooler when you have a chance to relive it in a recap. Our trip to the Bay Area and the Kula Anela (Angel Island) Race was our chance to check out the teams and paddlers who paddle with NCOCA (Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association). We are still reliving the fun!

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