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Outrigger Canoe Paddling History

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Origins of Canoe Paddling Outrigger canoe paddling has been around for more than 2,000 years. This is a sport that is built on strong bond between each person. A canoe can’t glide over the water with out the help of each person in the boat. Working together is the only way the boat will move with ease. This sport has been kept alive hundreds of years and still practiced to this day. Canoe paddling isn’t only used for competitive purposes, but is also, a way of life. Before cars and grocery stores, Polynesians used canoes to get around, travel to the nearby islands, and also to provide food for their family. Hawaiian canoes have been a part of almost every islander’s life. The people that have been paddling for a long time have keep the tradition alive. We also have schools and clubs that compete against each other to be named the state champ of Hawaii. To this day paddling is the longest lasting sport. …show more content…

Some of these early outrigger canoes could hold up to 80 people at one time. These canoes were used for voyaging and were filled with food like edible plants and water. The large outrigger canoes would voyage to new land. Hawaii’s water is very rough for the large outrigger canoes that made it hard for them to come to shore. The smaller vessel allowed people to get passes the rough water with ease. This canoe is now knows as the outrigger canoe. The vessel only holds six people at a time. Polynesians figured out that they could carve a whole canoe using one koa tree. Hawaiians used giant koa trunks to carve these new canoes, as they follow the traditions that were started by their

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