Pacific Paddler December 2015 - (Page 36)

Greater Montreal Outrigger Challenge Choke Aloha "Greater Montreal Style" Over the last 16 years, I've been blessed with visiting many exotic and fun destinations while pursuing an outrigger canoe lifestyle, but I had never driven all-day to enter an event before. I drove over ten hours one-way for the Greater Montreal Outrigger Challenge held for the 36 PACiFiC PADDLER second year in a row on August 1st 2015. This race is the brainchild of Mony Sy and Patricia Gilbert. The event's growing popularity, in its second year of existence, has a lot to do with those two professional engineers who radiate genuine warmth and friendliness. The DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 PHOTOS BY, ROGER PIMENTA, GMOC--as it is known--is a well organized and run event, and this year's edition offered two distances: a 16 and a 32 km course (10 and 20 miles). The course is laid out as a 16 km parallelogram. With stiff winds this year, the upwind legs were worthy of those very fit paddling athletes who showed up to race, while the downwind leg offered the most fun. As Mony stated in his welcoming presentation, the GMOC is meant to be a Challenge; for some individuals it is a personal accomplishment, while for many others, it is about racing one another. The bilingual--French/English--character of the event provides a unique signature in the context of la belle province. The GMOC is very much a cultural immersion. Merci les Québécois for your warmheartedness. (But beware the drivers on the road! When you go there, you need to keep up!) While still very much in its infancy stage, outrigger canoe paddling in Quebec promises to become a big deal. Judging from the outstanding result in the 32 km race from the first place OC-6 crew, Montreal Outrigger--made up of dragon boaters and marathon canoe paddlers, but never in an OC-6 before--the Québécois are going to be a real threat someday on the international outrigger scene. The paddling community of Wai Nui OCC from neighboring Ontario provided canoes and brought crews and plenty of enthusiasm to support this event. It was a pleasure to meet Commodore Wendy Perkins--after reading about her contribution to outrigger canoe paddling development in eastern Canada--and "first mate" Rich Carson who is a positive force to reckon with. The GMOC is a sure sign that outrigger canoe racing is a growing concern in eastern http://www.fluidpaddles.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Paddler December 2015

Pailolo Challenge
Na Wahine Cancelled
Hawaiian Airlines Molokai Hoe
Catalina 2015
Greater Montreal Outrigger Challenge
Na Holo Kai:Oahu to Kauai
American Samoa in the Channel
3 stretches every paddler should know
Ikaika Hawaii rowing program
Canoes are “Whos”

Pacific Paddler December 2015