Updates
September 23, 2011
“Un… Duex… Trois….” Hundreds of motor-boats and thousands of spectators on land, all counting down the seconds in unison. It felt like the fate of the world rested on the outcome of this timeless battle. “Quatre… Cinq…Six.” Everything seemed remotely familiar. But nothing was clicking. Was this paddling? The sport that I’d committed my life to felt like a shadow of what I was witnessing. “Sept… Huit…Nuef.” He crosses the line and the crowd goes berserk. Possibly the most epic instant in outrigger canoe racing history went down somewhere between sept and nuef. And nobody outside of Pape’ete on August 6th, 2011 knows anything about it.
I was at the Super Aito. Lucky enough to have convinced my wife that it was in her best interests to spend the last day of our honeymoon on an 18’ motor boat. Not going through the picturesque lagoons of Tahiti’s outer islands, but through Pape’ete harbor and the surrounding area. Dwarfed by 200 other diesel spewing boats watching the 100 best Tahitian paddlers battling it out to become 2011’s Super Aito Champion.
The race started innocently enough with a time trial. Each paddler is traditionally released in one minute intervals. It’s a race against the clock and against the mind. You’re battling only with the ever-present specter of your competitors. After a one hour time trial Rete Ebb was 1st with a 13 second lead over his soon-to-be nemesis, two time 2nd place finisher, Yoann Cronsteadt. Nearly a third of the pack finished within three minutes of Rete’s winning time. Meaning that the race was open to nearly anyone going into day two.
At seven the next morning we were jockeying for position among the hundreds of security patrolled spectator boats to try and see the action up front. For most of the race it was only between two people. Rete and Yoann. The throng of spectator boats surrounding them was enough to throw off a surfable wake to everyone else behind them. But they were alone, as if in their own private ocean. Dead calm, so every stroke was taken as if it were their last. Yoann was able to pull away and finish with a 20 second lead over Rete. The minute between 2nd and 3rd felt like a short eternity in the scale of Tahitian racing. Usually the pack is so tight, the competition so intense, that open water between paddlers is a rarity. The next six finishers were all within 30 seconds of each other. After two hours the last place finisher was within 20 minutes of the leaders.
Going into the final race Rete had a seven second lead over Yoann. And they each had over a minute on their nearest competitor. Making it clear that this race was just about the two of them. The final leg started at noon, the hottest and windiest part of the day. The course starts with a brutal 90 minute leg straight upwind. Even with hundreds of spectator boats throwing off wake, it wasn’t enough to give a second of rest to any of the paddlers. Rete and Yoann sat about a hundred yards behind the leaders for most of the upwind portion. And then, as if on cue, they both pulled up to the leaders together in time for the turn at Point Venus.
The race proceeded straight downwind through very surfable conditions for half an hour and then into the lagoons near Pirae and into Pape’ete Harbor. Rete outsurfed Yoann and put a massive lead on the rest of the pack. Enough so that most spectators didn’t even bother to follow the pack as it went on its course five minutes past the finish line to circle around back. Nobody doubted that Rete was going to walk away as champion. And then something happened. In the final minutes of the race, when most paddlers begin to resign themselves to their fate, Yoann made an incredible comeback. As we sat moored on the finish line watching the pack come at us, we saw Rete looking as if he was running from something. And then Yoann emerged from the crowd of boats. With a look of determination I’ve never seen on a paddler, and closing huge gaps with every stroke. Rete, from an insurmountable lead looked as if he was about to get passed by Yoann, who only needed to come within seven seconds to win the race.
It was like no paddling event I’ve ever imagined. I felt like I was on the sidelines for the final seconds of the Superbowl. Witnessing the losing team throwing an impossible hail mary in slow motion into the fumbling hands of a running back in the end zone. Rete crossed the line ahead of Yoann. “Un.. deux…trios.” Everyone counted outloud. And then Yoann crossed right at Sept. Seven seconds. And the crowd literally exploded. For one instant, nothing else in the world mattered but the titanic battle we all felt a part of. After fighting each other for five hours and 23 minutes over two days and three races, they tied. Regardless of how the judges analyzed the split seconds, everyone knew it was a tie. The final call was in favor of Rete. But, neither of them gave an inch, and neither was able to walk away with it.
September 16, 2011
Wow. We're finally following through once again. If you've tried to order apparel from us sometime in the last year, you probably heard us say that we were on the verge of having an online store. But then twelve months passed by and you forgot our false promise. Well, we're proud to announce that the day that you've all been waiting for is finally here. The Kamanu Store is open for business. Don't judge it too hard, as it's still being worked on and items will be added all the time. As a way of saying sorry for the delay, we're offering free shipping on almost* everything in the store to anywhere in the US through October 1st.
store.kamanucomposites.com
*Seats, 'iakos, rudders, and canvas canoe bags do not qualify for free shipping.
September 09, 2011
This is a new format of post for KamanuComposites.com. This essay was written on the eve of the 2011 Na Wahine and the Moloka'i Hoe in order to bring awareness to the dangers of open ocean changes. What is written is entirely the opinion of the author.
The Moloka’i Hoe has repeatedly changed my life. When I was twelve, I watched in awe from the escort boat as my dad and the Kaiola Canoe Club senior masters raced across the Kaiwi. I remember thinking, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” Five years later as a desperate and reckless seventeen year old about to leave Hawai’i for college, I stole my brother’s ID card and switched to a canoe club that didn’t know my age. I did that channel thinking that I may never get the chance to race across again. But I came back. Repeatedly. I would fly home from college every year to race in the Moloka’i Hoe, the Moloka’i Relay, and the Moloka’i Solo. I couldn’t get enough of the Kaiwi channel.
What I learned over 20 crossings is that the race is never the same and it’s nearly impossible to prepare for. Just when you think you have a good grasp of what’s coming, the channel changes. Which is what I’ve learned life is like also. At last year’s Moloka’i Hoe I was poised to jump in for the first change off of La’au Point. Standing on the edge of the boat waiting for the call to jump, I was confident in my knowledge of the channel, confident in my skill as a paddler, and confident in my physical fitness. Before every race start, I would visualize and attempt to embrace the pain that I knew was coming. I’m sure that I had a smile on my face as I jumped in, thinking about the pain that was about to consume me for the next six hours of racing. But, as confident and knowledgeable as I felt, I had no idea what was coming.
To make the story short, I jumped in and was run over. The prop hit me five times. It split my pelvis, severed the gluteal muscle in my right leg, and broke off three spinal processes. Through luck and the fast actions of my escort driver, my team-mates, my coach, the paramedics, the Moloka'i fire department, the Maui Air Ambulance, the surgeons, and the 3rd floor nurses at Maui Memorial Hospital, I lived. And now, with the support of my family, my friends, and the paddling community, I may have a full recovery. The prop was less than an inch from ending my life or paralyzing me on nearly every pass it made through my body. But it didn’t. I can walk, I can paddle, and I’m alive.
But I’m not writing this to tell everyone my story. I’m writing this because it’s important that we don’t forget how dangerous it is out there. Shortly after my accident a swimmer was hit and killed off of the Big Island. A couple of months ago a diver off of Lana’i was hit and killed. Two days ago a swimmer was hit in a race off of Maui and is currently battling for his life. These are not isolated accidents. They won’t stop until we do something about it. The next time it happens in the Moloka’i Hoe somebody will probably die. And it will be our fault for standing by and letting it happen.
There is no substitute for prop guards. I understand that there are price and efficiency concerns, but they are irrelevant. Every boat in every relay race in Hawai’i needs a guard. Period. The organizers won’t do it if they feel there is community resistance. So we need to stand up together to make sure that it happens. But, until that gets enforced, there are some basic things that we can do to avoid accidents.
Every team should have a simple change protocol in place. Maybe that protocol will vary depending on the team and their driver, but it needs to be followed regardless of the experience level. An example could be:
1) Before any paddlers jump the engine needs to be in neutral.
2) A spotter, other than the captain, will verify that the prop is disengaged and will give the call for each paddler to jump.
3) When every paddler has swum well clear of the boat, the spotter will notify the captain that the prop can be engaged.
4) When picking up paddlers the same process will be reversed. The captain will come within swimming distance of the paddlers and then disengage the prop.
5) When the spotter verifies that the prop is disengaged, they will give the call to the paddlers to swim to the idling boat.
It’s up to each of us to enforce that protocol. Until the governing bodies sit down and figure out how they are going to make the race safer (making it an iron race, extending the first change, mandating prop guards, etc), it’s up to each of us to do it for ourselves. More than anything else, the paddlers, the coaches, and the drivers all need to be aware of the acute danger of propellers. Let’s work together as a community to make sure that nobody gets hit again.
August 26, 2011
This is long overdue. Our website has become hopelessly outdated and even our previous excuse is now two years old (but still worth reading to understand why updates are always on the back-burner).
This post is the start of a new beginning. Or at least a semi-promise to try and have a new blog post every other Friday. Most of the time they will be about what's going on at the shop or possibly a race story. But sometimes it may end up being just a couple of sentences rushed out on a Friday afternoon in order to uphold our promise. But regardless, please bear with us as we attempt to keep the world updated on Kamanu Composites.
I don't want to use up all of our topics on one post, so I'll write about just a few of the recent going-ons.
Company Retreat
We followed through on another long overdue promise by taking the whole shop to Kaua’i for a blissful weekend of not working. For the first time ever, the shop was closed Thursday-Sunday as 14 of us camped at Poli Hale for two nights. Hanging out at the beach and playing in the ocean on Kaua'i was a solid reminder of why we do what we do.
Team Manufacturing
As some people may have noticed, we've been experimenting with different methods of organizing our shop for production. Between January and July we had two teams. You may have received a canoe from us that had either "green team" or "blue team" written on it. The shop was basically split in half, with each half completely responsible for producing three canoes a week. All scheduling and problem solving was left to each team. Recently we switched to a simpler method that allows for more specialization, while retaining the scheduling, increased communication, and creative freedom of the original method. Now each step in the production has a team. Spraying, Laminating, Guts, and Finishing are all separate teams. We can easily pinpoint kinks in our production flow and hopefully it will allow us to isolate flaws and areas that need improvement.
Hiring
Our first hire under this new process will be for the "Finishing" team. This is the final step in the process and it requires a very quality oriented individual who enjoys problem solving, working with their hands, and working with a team. Interested individuals can send a cover letter and resume to Keizo@Kamanucomposites.com
California/Seattle/Hong Kong Container
We're nearly finished with our sixth full container for overseas. Canoes will be distributed along the West Coast, Canada, and Hong Kong. However, this container has a unique and exciting difference. Tim Lara of Hawaiian Paddlesports is importing V-3s and V-1s from Tahiti. So we can avoid having to put 50 canoes in the container and so Tim can save some money on shipping, we're joining forces and merging our containers. This next container will arrive at Newport Aquatic Center filled with Pueos and with Tahitian Va'a. It's exciting to have such a large number of Tahitian exports arriving in Hawai'i and the mainland. However, it's making the arrival of this next container rather unpredictable because we're not completely certain when the container of Va'a will arrive in Hawai'i. If you're a customer waiting for a canoe, keep in touch with your reps for updated information.
Australia
Travis Grant and Peter Corbishley are currently building the Pueo (OC-1) and Ha'upu (V-6) in Australia under the subsidiary name Kamanu Composites Australia. So far they've built 4 V-6s and 6 OC-1s. For more information, contact Travis at info@Kamanucomposites.com.au.
Hong Kong
We now have an official presence in Hong Kong. We are now one of the few composite products to be imported into China. Adam Giles and Andy Cummings are Kamanu Composites' Hong Kong representatives and are anxiously awaiting arrival of approximately eight custom Pueo within the next month. For Hong Kong ordering information, email Adam@Kamanucomposites.com.
So here's to the end of broken promises. Or at least the beginning of upholding this one promise. There will be a new blog post every other Friday from now on. And hopefully some website updates along the way. As always, thank you for your continued patronage and support.
July 18, 2011
When most people paddle a Pueo for their first time they look at all the options for rigging and get overwhelmed. You have the choice of three settings for the front and unlimited settings for the back. Meaning that there are basically an infinite number of ways to set up your ama. Ask around before the start of a race and you will invariably hear at least seventeen different theories on the best way to rig your Pueo. Look at the canoes on the starting line and you'll see some people paddling with the nose of their ama sticking into the air, and some people paddling with the nose nearly carving through the water, and you might, if you're lucky, even see a few people with their ama rigged just right. There are as many opinions on rigging as there are custom Pueo on the water. The most common question that we get here at Kamanu is "which pin hole do I put the front 'iako in?" And our answer is always unsatisfyingly the same: "it depends."
Mainly, it depends on your weight. But it also depends on your balance and the type of conditions that you're paddling in.
The heavier you are, the lower the canoe is going to sit in the water and the higher, correspondingly, the ama is going to be relative to you. The lighter you are, the higher the canoe is going to sit in the water, and the lower the ama will be. Still with me? Try and imagine a cement truck pouring cement into a Pueo as it sits on the water. The heavier it gets, the lower the hull will sink but the ama, because it's not getting any cement, will stay high. At some point, once you've filled most of the canoe with cement (718 pounds to be exact) you'll have a canoe sitting under water with an ama holding it up. In this extreme example, the canoe started off higher than the ama (and leaning left), and as it got weighted down it went below the ama (and leaning right).
So, step one of rigging is to get the canoe approximately level based on your weight. You can use a level across the footwells, have a friend look at your bow from the front, or, as a last resort, just go by feel. If you're heavier, you're going to sink the back 'iako deeper (which leans the canoe left) to compensate for the fact that the canoe is leaning right. And, on the flip side, if you're light, then you're going to keep the back 'iako high (which leans the canoe right) in the ama sleeve to compensate for the fact that the canoe is leaning left. Make sense? Now here's where it gets controversial and complicated
By sinking that back 'iako all the way in, not only are you leaning the canoe left into the ama, but you're also pulling the back of the ama up which trims the nose down.
PICTURE
And, again on the flip side, if you're barely putting the back 'iako in (because your'e light) then the tail of the ama will be pushed down and the nose lifted high.
PICTURE
Which is why we have three settings (two on the original ama) on the front. Those three settings are to adjust the trim of the ama so that it sits relatively flat on the water (as it was designed). They should correspond roughly with where you're setting the back. If you sink the back all the way to the bottom (200+ lbs), then you're going to utilize the bottom hole of the ama. Come higher than that (150 - 200 lbs), and you'll go to the middle pin. Take the 'iako nearly all the way out (less than 150 lbs) and you'll want to use the top pin. By following that basic guideline, you'll set up the ama to sit on the water as it was designed to.
However, there are a few other factors that come into play when you're rigging. If you're just learning, you'll likely want the canoe leaning left so that it's more stable. So, in that case you'll sink the back 'iako deeper. Also, if you're left leg or left butt cheek is going numb, it means that you're physically leaning left because the canoe feels tippy to you. So, in order to balance that out, drop the back 'iako until you feel comfortable (the deeper you go, the more stable the canoe will be). But, make sure that you work on your balance as the canoe is going to run best when it's level.
The last variable in rigging is the ocean conditions. If you're doing a run where the wind is blasting from your left, you may want to drop the back 'iako to stabilize the canoe. And, lastly, if you're doing a huge downwind run, you may want to rig the nose of the ama a bit higher, just to ensure that it's not digging when you're surfing. In that case, you can drop the front 'iako one hole down from what you usually use.
And that, in a verbose nut shell, is how to rig your Pueo. Like all things paddling related, don't hesitate to email us at info@kamanucomposites.com or call at (808) 228-8609 if you need more clarification.
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