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           Hawaiian Paddle Board Race

      Hawaiian Paddle Board Race

Written by Tamayo perry
Even just one week prior to the event, I hadn’t given it much thought whether I was to enter or not. The reality was, I had only participated in just one other paddle board race ever in my life. What I vividly remember about my first and only paddle board race was that it’s competitive and that it’s extremely mental and physically challenging. What also comes to mind, is that even amongst all the over-heating an physical ache and throbbing, comes GREAT REWARD in the accomplishment of finishing!
As I woke up this past Friday, the 4th of July; I would have to admit, ” I didn’t wanna do S#!* ” !
I’ve been a bit out of shape and I had been telling my self for months to stop endorsing round as a shape. Ten days leading up to the 4th I had started my anti-couch potato / pro-treadmill campaign, so my body was already sore and both mind and body, tired. Needless to say, I had all the excuses in the world, and my answer to any one asking if I was to compete in this years 36th Annual Sunset Beach to Waimea Bay 4th of July Paddle Board Race would be, a BIG, FAT ” NO ! ” !
It’s funny how opportunities work; they don’t always come when you want them to. When an opportune moment shows itself, it’s up to the individual to recognize it for what it is and take the bull by the horns. So on this Friday past, that is exactly what I did…
That morning of the 4th, “chance” had been delivered in the form of a phone call from an old friend.
The call was from my good buddy Alika Anixt, who just so happens to be one of the best and most versatile craftsmen I have ever known. One of the main crafts that he specializes in is the rare and ancient Hawaiian art of surfboard making. The gist of the conversation was that he had intended to do the race on one of his personal and priceless, ancient ‘ Olo ‘ shapes. That morning he had awoken feeling sick and weak and didn’t have the physical energy to paddle on such a colossal, relic of a board. Ok, here I am, already body sore and dead tired, with the bottom line now coming down to, did I want to take up a dear friend on what could possibly be a once in a life time offer.
As you may have already guested, my mornings firm and steadfast ‘NO answer” to entering in to the days competition, had now been flip- flopped a full 180 degrees. Turns out a lot of people would kill or die to have such a chance experience to ride on such a rare and noble piece of surfing history. At this point, I figured at worst, all I would have to do is get that 16 foot monster of a tree that Hawaiian’s named an ‘ Olo ‘ across the finish line in roughly 2 hours or less and I would then earn, the next two days to sleep the pain away.
Walking up to Sunset Beach and seeing this 16 foot, jurassic beast of a vessel for the first time was rather intimidating. The reality of paddling a 4 mile voyage on a rare and ancient stock of will-wili tree was now beginning to sink in. This ‘ Olo ‘ type of the papa he`e nalu (ancient Hawaiian surfboard) family, is not only intimidating due to the sheer size and weight of the vessel alone, but also the intimidation can come purely from the cultural implications that exist in the ancient Hawaiian Kapu system (taboos). Surfing on the ‘ Olo ‘ in the olden days was reserved only for the Ali`i (chiefs or ruling class). Surfing on an ‘ Olo ‘ made of wiliwili was even considered to be even more kapu! Part of the reason was, even way back then the wiliwili tree was a rare commodity to the Hawaiian Islands.
Getting this mega craft of a papa he`e nalu to the shores edge was an endeavor all in itself. It took two of us big boys to cary the beast and with the board being dry, must have weighed around 100 plus pounds. With all the efforts involved, I really had no time to maintain my nervousness.
As the all the competitors began paddling out forming the starting line for the beginning of the race, I was still unsure of the control I would have on the ocean surface with such a giant and cumbersome piece of old world technology. Keep in mind that a surfboard of this legend doesn’t even have a stabilizing fin carved in. I figured it safer for everyone around if I went to the farthest ocean-end of the starting line.
The race is on! As the horn sounded and the 4 mile sprint began, I watched a large majority of the pack pull ahead rather quickly. This indeed was a good thing because it happened early in the race. At that very moment I realized that I couldn’t compete against modern advances in equipment and it’s a no brainer that you can’t beat mother nature… so all that was left for me to do, was to feel the path of the ‘ Olo ‘ and to give full surrender to the one of a kind journey that I had been so blessed to experience. At times the tree seemed to take on a life of it’s own giving me a little resistance, but over-all, I was extremely impressed by the functionality of such a centuries old design.
The satisfaction of the journey was already a Great reward in itself, but I must say, the true serving of humble pie came when I rounded the corner at Waimea Bay to see the finish line. You see, Waimea Bay would have been a thriving Ahupua`a to the people of old and these type of games or competitions would have been carried out on a regular basis for centuries. In being a traditionalist, there is something extremely profound that happens to the mind, body and soul when you dare to step away from the busy, hustle and bustle of every day life and put the human nature of competitiveness behind you for just a short second.
As I changed my Firm ‘No’ to an unsure ‘Yes’ at the beginning of the day… the over-all concept of “taking a chance” changed in my thought process. It really stands as no risk, no reward; but the reward doesn’t necessarily go to the guy or gal who comes in first at the finish line. With that person getting there so fast, did they really have time to enjoy the journey? I highly recommend that If you are ever given the opportunity in life to step back in time and to experience a piece of history; take the escape… It’s medicine for the soul!
I finished the race in a healthy 1 hour and 3 minutes. It was later brought to my attention that when I ditched my ‘ Olo ‘ at the water’s edge to end the race with a run to the finnish line, it took three big bradahs to lift the now water logged beast out of the ocean. The board now must have weighed close to 150 to 160 pounds. A BIG MAHALO goes out to all the volunteers of this years event who tirelessly made it all happen!New Paragraph

 

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