Katie and Damian welcome some really great people through their Sunday Social paddles. Winter Series is a great way to introduce these new paddlers to other MOCC members, other waka ama clubs in Te Tau Ihu, and to racing.
Waikawa always hosts a great event. When the weather is good it’s great and when it’s not, it’s a memorable adventure. We were fortunate today as you can see in the photos. Anisha did a great job at organising the event in Mike’s absence as he begins his seven days of isolation.
The first race of the day was a mixture of OC2, OC1 and Rangatahi. Rodney and Jaquline went out in Ani Hau followed by two Women’s crews with Dom and Suzy steering. Then Dean took a men’s crew out and we finished with a mixed club relay race. MOCC happily welcomed Motueka rangatahi into our waka and basically paddled ihu to ihu all the way, with some healthy debate over who came in before the other, hence the photo finish which Cliffy has declared (without even knowing) that Dom was the winner on the day.
Plenty of people were around for the hardest part, the loading/unloading, de-rigging and re-rigging and it was all done with lots of whanaungatanga (connection/collective strength) and manaakitanga (kindness/supportive/generosity) which is what waka ama is all about and we had this vibe all day long. Charlie Kawana didn’t come away with us but turned up at the marina to help with the last unload and re-rig. Lots of members were joining in and learning from Damian, Charlie and Rodney the skill, and the odd little trick, of re-rigging. The more for us that know how to do these things the better.
Its never too early or too late to start paddling waka ama
We always welcome new members to the Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club.
We have social and racing waka ama crews catering for a wide variety of ages and abilities.