An Guide to Steering outrigger

By Marilyn Kali steersmen are the people who know how to read the w i nd and swel l. f you've ever watched an outrigger Usually people who surf make good Learning the Terms gliding gracefully through the steersmen because they are tuned in to I water, you' ve probably marveled at both the wind and swell. Just like any other specialty, the synchronization of the experienced "You can know all the steering has its own terminology: crew, dipping effortlessly into technica lities of steering, but not be a UNE the water in unison. good quarterback. so it's important to a Steer or turn from front of the canoe. On the other hand, if you've ever crew to find a steersman who is both. Example: Seat number 1 unes (puts watched a ca noe zigzag its way from "An effective steersman k nows point A to B, you've probably chuckled what to say, how to say it, when to say in the water) and steers the at the novice steersperson in the back of it and how often," Ackerman says. " [f nose of the canoe around the turn. the . you' re a chatterbox, no one will listen. BACKWATER " You have to know what your crew The steersperson is the quarterback Paddlre in everse. of every canoe, and as Outrigger begins is capable of and then call your moves competition th i s month in the Oahu j udiciously. You can't yell 'Power I 0' WINDOFF Hawa iian Canoe Rac ing Association after every change." Stop . Regalla seaso n, you' II have the Being a good steersperson, Brant opportunity to watch the Club's bes t, says, involves three things: POKE and its newest, and all types of • Technical Skills-Understanding Placing blade fully in water to make a steerspeople in between. the wind and swell, getting a good full correction . Board member B rant Ackerman , start, and knowing how to maneu ver Coordinating Director for A thletics and upwind, downwind and crosswind. HALF POKE Wi nged " 0", has been steering • Psychol og ica l Skills-K nowing Placing blade half way down in water Outrigger crews since he was 12-years how to motivate and get the best out to make a minor correction. old. He steered hi s first crew to a state of your crew. JSTROKE title at the age of 13 and has won many • Analyti ca l Skills-Figuring out sta te and Oahu championships since before the race even begins, how A cross between steering and then. H e i s al so a veteran of the you're going to execute the start, the paddling. Steersman paddles to side, Molokai-to-Oahu race, steering and straightaway, the turn , and the pulling back of paddle toward boat. pa ddling o n 20 Mol okai c rews finish. Changes direction of stern of canoe. including the winning crews of 1975, "The steersperson has to know how 1977, 1983 and 1984 and more recent! y to position the canoe to compensate for steersman shou ld ideally padd le at wi nni ng Masters crews. all conditions," he adds. least hal f of the time. Otherwise, "A good stee rsman can be the The steersperson actually combines he/she is dead weight in the boat. difference between winning and losi ng three different functions: • Poking o r Steering-Keep a rac e," Ackerman says. " The best • Paddling or J Stroking-The corr ec tions small and freq uen t. Bigger corrections slow the boat down. Proper Position for Paddle lntry • Anticipating-Pay attentio n to what's happening in the race and be prepared to act. As above, sma ll correc ti ons are better than big corrections. T he way the steersperso n places the blade in the water is critical to how well the canoe can stay on course. " The steersperson should always keep his/her forearm flat on the gunnel when they are poking. This will give them better control and will secure the blade to the side of the boat," Brant said. "The front of the blade should be angled toward the hull when you put it Right Wrong into the water. A s you pu ll through on

2 your stroke, the pressure of the water forces the blade toward the hull. Making a Correction "The greater the angle, The g reater the angle or the blade, the greater the correction. However, the greater the angle, the mo re the boat w i II slow down. Keep corrections small a nd freq uent. Make the the greater the correc tion correcti on hair the distance you need to get back to center point. The boat wi ll go the rest of w ill be. The greater the the distance o n momentum. As the boat hits the center point, stab on the opposite side to stop depth, the grea ter the the momentum. adjustment. When you make a small adjustm ent, you should go in shallow. A medium adjustment, put the blade in halfway, and a full adj ustment, go in all the way and increase the angle," he adds. " However, the best way to stee r, i s to make small, frequent corrections. Getting the blade into correct position. Initiating the correction. To do thi s, you have to ha ve good anticipation. M ake the Fortunately, kids lea rning to steer three strokes, and the stee rsperson correc tion before you need to, rather don' t have to make turns on the race should be paddling." th an after. This takes experience but if course until they reach the Boys 16 or Outrigger opens the se aso n with you work at it, you' ll learn. Girls 18 races, and most have had time the Clem Pai ai na Regatta at K ee hi " Most stee rsperso ns feel the to learn by then. For those who are L agoon o n Sunday, June 5. For pressure from their crew to paddle, and trying to learn to turn, Brant has these steerspersons, the true tes t will be the th ey w ind up paddling too much," tips for turning. Kamehameha D ay Regatta at Kailua Brant sai d. " When th e steersperso n "Use th e front tip of the ama, the Beach Park th e following week, June paddles too much, the canoe stands to buoy and your own eyesight as key 12. lose more than it gains." points. During a race, the three points " Kai lua is the most di fficult race Ackerman says th at the form a natural curve. As you get closer for even the most experi enced steersperson shouldn' t ever let the boat to th e buoy, the three point s will line steerspersons because of the wind and veer more than I 0 degrees off course up. When th ey' re al l lined up, that's ocean conditions, especially the cross without a correction. A lways have a when to start the turn. If you start too angles and cross swells. That's why it's reference point or landmark to aim for. soon. you' ll be too low (close to the so i mportant for al l steers persons to Brant has taught many stee ring bu oy), and if you stan too late, you' ll listen to the head coach before the race clinics at th e C lub and tau ght man y be too high (far away)," Brant ex plains. so they' II know what to do." novtces. " You' ll also need to correct for the I f you don't know what to do with " The best way to teac h a new w ind and ocean conditi ons, and the your Su ndays, j oin the 200+ Outrigger steersperson is to mount a motor on the boat nex t to you." padd lers at various beaches around the back of a canoe. With the motor, you On the following pages, Brant has isl and during June. A nd don' t forget to ca n go faster and th e steersperson ca n tips for Outrigger steerspersons, but j o in us o n the 4 th of July at th e feel th e se nsa tion or the blade in th e reminds all padd lers that the first three traditional Walter J. Macfarlane Regatt a water. strokes of a race are the most importan t. at Wai kiki Beach. See you there! 1 "They get th e feel of the paddle " A race can be won or lost on the first biting and kn ow what to expect. It's a great way to teach turns, and you don' t burn ou t a crew."

Proper Paddle Depth for Quarter Poke Half Poke Full Poke Poking Grasp shaft at neck of blade Grasp shaft 2"-3"above Grasp shaft 5"-6"above neck of blade neck of blade 3 canoe Racing Strategies for Steerspersons

By Brant Ackerman 1RED Flags Before your race, count the lanes at both ends of th e i GREEtl course to make sure the same color flag is at both ends. Do this about one or two races before yours, as the flag positions 1 BlACK may change just before your race or the colors may change at one or both ends. ~RED 1RED

~BlACK ~BlACK ~GREEN ~GREEN

~GREEN ~GREEN

Lining Up ~RED 1REO When lining up for the start of the Not only should you know th e color of your flag, but race, look at which also the color of the flags on both sides of you. This is in case way the w ind i s you should lose sight of your flag during the race or if your blowing. Face th e flag should break loose. This can and does happen. If it does, bow o f the canoe just go between the two flags. d irectl y into the Sometimes j ust the flag stem breaks and a small orange wind at the closest point to the flag. This will keep the canoe buoy is left. Other times the whole flag and buoy break lose. from drifting and will avoid having to turn the canoe around In either case, knowing the color of the flags on each side can many times. keep you on course. Ihf you ave to make a turn, turn even with the other flags. U se your stroke (Seat No. Adjacent Crews I) as much as Find out what crews are next to you on each side and possible to keep also the color of their . They can be of help if you lose the nose pointed sight of your flag by staying between th em. However, do not into the w ind . depend solely on them. becau se they may not know where There is nothing they are going. worse than to be Do not let them lead you off course either. This situation out of position at happens frequently when there are two lanes with the same the start. Inform your stroke before you paddle out what the color an d the ot her ca noe may be head ing in the wrong j ob includes. direction.

Landmarks W hen you are paddling out to lane. I f you lose sight of your flag building, or just about anything that your lane, paddle down to the center during the race, you can locate your you can eas ily see. o f your course and l ook both l andmark w hi ch w ill keep you o n If there is no landmark, only forward and backward. Try to find a course until you sight your fl ag again . open ocean, it is helpful to find a landmark which is in line with your A l andmar k ca n be any pro minent cloud formation just above your flag. feature such as a mountain, hill, tower, Since clo ud formations change constan tl y during the race, when you see your flag just look up 1• -+- ~(~ --- ~ ----- ~(~- o occasi onally and find the cl oud formation above. This formation will ~ A _)_ -~Ef!_ ---- -~ --- - i GREEI!_ -% generally stay the same for a couple of minutes which is time enough to get a bearing until you ca n pick up ~ ~\~ ----~ ----- ~ -- ~ your flag again.

4 Crew lnstmctiom Overlapping Just before the start of a race there is so much confusion A dan gerous situation arises and excitement th at it is vital for the crew to listen to you. when another canoe crosses over Make this perfectl y clear before the race. They should know into your lan e. I f th at canoe hits th at whatever you say goes. I f you say padd le ahea d. you, it may get disqualified and bac kwater. or wind off, they should do it instantly at your you may just lose the race. Avoid command and not just sit there. A split second ca n make a big a collision at any cost. difference. If you think your crew ca n speed up, try to steer away The steersman should be th e only person talking and slightly and pick it up. Tf you can 't pull away, slow the crew everyone else should be listening. During the race, the crew down and let the other ca noe pass in front. You may lose a should keep their eyes strai ght forward. The steersman should boat length. but if they hit you, you could lose 8 or 10 boat not yell just to yell , but should do construc ti ve yelling. length s. Emphasize such things as breath ing, reaching and timing, etc. You should constantly watch the other boats and try to see When ye lling at the crew, it is best to yell encouragement thi s situation com ing before it happens so you can avoid it. instead of insults. A boat will move much faster when the Sometimes you can yell to their steersman, bu t do not cou nt crew is "stoked". on him/her listening to you. For best results yell at each individual separately, either by name or seat number. That way the individual will listen to Turning you when you speak directly to him/her. The best time to yell Making a good turn can gain your ca noe two or three boat is ri ght after a change. That way you are not going to interfere lengths on the other canoes. Every steersman has his/her own with the person calling the changes. method for turning. Some like a close approach and a wide When approaching the finish line, if you are neck and exit. Others like a wide approach and close exit, or still others neck with another boa t and about 50 yards from the fin ish a fa irly wide approach and fairly wide ex it. line, inform No.2 "do not change." This can gain a few extra Whichever method used, th e most important thing is for feet which ca n and has won many a race, espec ial ly short the boat to slow down as litt le as possible. races. When you are about 75 yards from the turn, inform No. 2 that you are approaching the turn. No. 2 is res ponsible for Tile Start making sure that he/she is on the lef"l side and No. I is on the This is the most importan t part of the race. A fter the right side going into the turn. This saves time and speed and prev ious race has ended. the official boat wi II raise a gree n No. I is already on the side he/she is going to " une" on. flag meaning the race had no violations. A red fl ag means a The crew should pick it up before the turn to bu ild up violation has occurTed and there may be a delay. There is fi ve momentum, slow it down around the tu rn, applying the power minutes before th e start of the nex t race at which time a and picking it up again coming out of the tu rn. It is best not to yellow flag will be rai sed during the five minute period. make a real tight tu rn because the boat will slow down too Twenty seconds prior to the start, the yel low flag wi II much, and it will overwork the crew. start waving. The race can start anytime within the 20 second As f"ar as the tl ag goes, the shortest distance between two peri od. The starter will raise the red flag. Within 1-3 seconds points is a straigh t line, so it is best to get as close to the fl ag th e starter will drop th e red flag and raise the green f lag as possible without hitting it. W hen turni ng around the flag, signaling the start. you must correc t for the wind and current which can move You may hit or run over your starting flag but not the you into or away from the flag, depending on which way you finish flag. Watch the starter for a few races (the more th e are heading. beuer). T he starter's starting habits are usually consistent and You must make the necessary adj ustments depending on predictable. You can anticipate the starting procedure and be how strong the wind and current are. If you are running with pos itioned to get a j um p at the start. the current and wind, then a tight tu rn is possible, but if you Your entire crew must each know what is expected from are padd ling against the wind, give ex tra room at the flag for their seat. Number one and two will help to keep the front of the wind will blow you into your flag. the canoe near your starting flag. Three and four wi ll help move forward or reverse. Fi ve will assist six with the stern Overlapping 0 11 a Tum positioning. For those of you who have to tu rn . If a canoe on your left The entire crew must all be anticipating the start- not j ust is behind you, an overlap can occur at the tu rn . This can the steersperson. Inform the crew of the starter's habits prior develop into a collision and poss ible disqualification, or a loss to going out on the course. It is critical for al l six paddlers to of boat lengths correcting to avoid them. hit the first stroke precisely together. It is the key difference 11· a boat on your left is prettyb efar hind and i f when you between a good start and a great start. will be coming out of your tu rn they will be coming in, make your own tu rn a wide approach so as to come ou t close to your flag thus avoiding an overl ap. / 5