Rambos Locker Ocean Sports Video Blog

My Oc1 canoe of choice is the Mike Giblin Hawaiian designed "Hurricane". This Carbon composite sandwich Oc1 is now made in China and is the most popular canoe here in Australia and available from importer Chris Maynard of "Paddling Promotions" on the Gold Coast Qld.

This canoe suits me as i am 70 kgs and the conditions here "Down Under" are very similar to the waters the Hurricane was designed for in Hawai'i ..... very fast in flat water and upwind, but still able to surf downwind in seas up to 3 meters. Having said that i have found that there is an extended learning curve with the Hurricane, as any one canoe cannot be designed to do all things equally well. If you put in the water time on this canoe and learn how to make it "sing", it will reward you with an exceptional ride.

In longer races over the 2hrs mark, the seat on the Hurricane can get a little uncomfortable with pressure on the Sciatic nerve, so i have modified the original seat to suit my butt and now have no problems in 4hr+ iron races. The modification still allows hip twist. Those with wider butts may need to carve out the sides of the foam to suit. Try it for a while first though, as the foam does conform to your shape after a few long paddles.

Another recent modification i have done to the canoe is to install an after market "surfing rudder". It's 60mm longer, thinner and half the weight of the original rudder. The canoe now tracks straighter in flat and upwind conditions and responds much better, jumping from bump to bump on wind chop and swell.

Labels: Hurricane Oc1, seat modification

How lucky am i to live and play in what many regard as "Outrigger Central" in Australia. I belong to the most successful club ... (Mooloolaba Outrigger Canoe Club) in the most perfect place for year long, on water training. The weather, ocean access and conditions no doubt play a large part in what makes this Club so successful. If i had to pick a another place, it would be Maui, Hawai'i, where i raced over two consecutive weekends in April 2006. (more on this Later)

The Club is ideally located at the Yacht Club on the banks of the Mooloolah River, with a 1km warm up paddle before exiting the river mouth into the glorious blue Pacific Ocean. From this point we can paddle north across the bay or round Pt Cartwright and head south to Caloundra. Quite often we will head straight out to sea to the shipping channel and surf the runners back in. When the wind blows 25-30 knots southeast we head south to Moffats Beach for an exhilarating downwind run of approximately 14.5kms, which we complete in about 55 mins. Another run is north to Noosa, 44kms in around 2hrs.40 in similar conditions. These downwind paddles are what every hardcore outrigger paddler lives for, linking swells in a never ending quest for more speed .... sex just doesn't come close ....... any more, ha-ha .... at least not for this 54 year old nutcase.
I paddle 1 man, 2 man and 6 man outrigger canoes, but my favourite is definitely the one man.
The freedom of being able to train anywhere at any time without the restrictions of team paddling is very rewarding, just you and the ocean. I like to paddle shirtless often just to feel the elements on my skin and breath in the clean air as the worries of modern life are put on hold. Of course you are never alone. Every day, dolphins, turtles, jellyfish and numerous other marine creatures welcome you to indulge in their world, the best high you could ever experience i reckon.

So if you've got this far and it sounds like something you would like to experience in your life, feel free to check out the rest of this site and the information it links to. Who knows, you too could be paddling shirtless ( optional for ladies) into the sunset to a whole new healthy lifestyle.