The OC-6 Huli

It’s not a question about IF you ever huli (capsize) the canoe but WHEN you huli and are you going to be ready for it? This is a water sport so you need to be able and ready to swim and tread water. I tell the keiki that it is more important to know how to tread water and hang on to the canoe.

Do not bring anything into the canoe that you don’t want to lose in the water. Before you leave the beach make sure you take a little time to:

• Check your canoe and rigging. Are the plugs in and secure? Is there water filled up inside the ama or in the canoe? Are the ropes tight and secure? Is there cracks in the canoe or ama?
• Make sure you have at least 2 bail buckets that work (did someone unscrew the caps and leave them somewhere?). Are they secured in the canoe and tied up in such a manner that you can untie them upside down under water?
• Take an extra paddle and steering blade and leave them behind the steersperson’s seat.

To not huli:

• Keep centered and seated in the canoe. Sit up. Do not lean over the gunnels, especially when making paddle changes. Keep your hips loose and moving with the forward movement of the canoe.
• When loading/unloading paddlers, do it from the left side. Seat 2 and 4: lean on the iako.
• Be alert! Even when you are resting! That’s probably when you will huli! Be aware of the ocean’s movement always.
• Listen to your steersperson.
• Steerspersons: try to minimize pulling water to you on the right, especially when you are barely moving or at a stop. Uni on the left instead.

During huli:

• Try to save the canoe by leaning left.
• If you are going to go over anyway, hold onto your paddle.
• Do not push away from the canoe as it goes over. Roll out with it. The ama will be going over your head and you need to stay close to the hull in order not to get hit by the iako or ama.

After the huli/Recovery:

• While surfacing from under the canoe, put your hands above your head to make sure you’re not going to bang your head on a part of the canoe.
• Steersperson/Captain: do a head count either by seat number or name. If someone is missing, start looking under and around the canoe. If there is an injured paddler, assign someone to watch him/her. Start assigning duties to the rest of the paddlers as follows:
• Smallest paddler or best swimmer: swim around and collect all the paddles and hang on to them.
• One person swim to the bow or stern of the canoe and point it into the swell. You might need to use 2 people if the water/wind conditions are rough to steady the canoe.
• Two paddlers position yourselves over the hull on the non-ama side of the canoe in preparation of flipping the canoe over. You may need to use the iako tongues as a step to position yourself over the hull.

• One or two paddlers go outside the ama and get ready to push it upwards on “the call”
• When everyone is ready, at one time, on the “call”, the ama people are going to push the ama upwards and the hull people are going to grab either the gunwale on the ama side of the canoe or the iako and pull the canoe towards them.
• Paddle holder: take a head count again. Stern/bow person: make sure you keep the canoe into the swell.
• One or 2 of the lightest paddlers need to get into the canoe on the ama side and start bailing as fast as you can. Lean to the left when bailing and bail the water over the ama side of the canoe or you will huli again. When a bailer gets tired, they should jump out and change places with another paddler.
• As the water level drops in the canoe, paddlers can enter the canoe one at a time (from the ama side) until all paddlers are back safely.
• Secure the bail buckets back with the lashing ropes before you start paddling again.

Special notes for keiki paddlers:

• You might not be strong enough to right the canoe. Take a head count and stay calm. Never leave the canoe and try to swim to shore. We will come out to help you flip the canoe back over. Especially watch over the younger and smaller paddlers and make sure they have a grip onto the ama or iako. If you need to, drape them OVER the ama and tell them to hang on.
• If you had extra keiki sitting on your iako, make sure you count their heads too!

Other considerations:

• Water up to your ankles means you have about 70-80 lbs more in your canoe. And, it’s sloshing from side to side as you paddle. Try to keep your canoe as dry as you can on the inside, especially as you race.
• If you huli in a race and recover in time to join back, start paddling as quickly as you can but you might consider leaving one paddler to keep bailing until you are good to go.

Main thing, don’t panic. It’s only water and you must learn to be comfortable in water if you are doing a water sport. You must also have the athletic ability to pull yourself out of the water and into the canoe.

Today is Tuesday, August 24, 2010:

Mahalo a nui loa to all of you for the beautiful steering blade and koa peni!  I also got your thank you card yesterday from Auntie Laura.  I tried my paddle for the first time yesterday and it is perfect! I will using my pen at work even tho' it's too nice!

Miss paddling yet???  Come down on Mondays and practice your steering skills and I will teach you some race strategy as well.  We will start Na Opio Season in November.

I am so proud of all of you who finished out the season strong!!  To the 12 paddlers and to all the keiki who came out to support your crews and help in the food booth, awesome job! 

Look at your wonderful results!!  Open Keiki:  you came in 5th and managed to beat Kailua CC!!!  12 Mix: you came in 9th and managed to beat Lanikai CC!!!  AND remember, you are 5th and 9th in the STATE of Hawaii!!  How many other clubs got eliminated before their association's chamionships? And you were one of only 14 crews who got to the STATES--that's HUGE!