History

The Old Days

In the spring of 1977, seven golfers form Puka Da Sky Golf Club had a dream to perpetuate and start an outrigger canoe club for their children, families and friends. This dream became a reality when they created Kaimanu Outrigger Canoe Club.

The name Kaimanu was chosen by one of the founders who was adrift on a fishing boat for four days with only water, crackers and fish they caught. During this ordeal, the fishing boat was slammed and tossed about in the hazardous waters off the coast of Hawaii. The fisherman were finally rescued four days later, tired, weak but unharmed, the fisherman all knew their survival was based solely on safety, trust and stability of the fishing boat: KAIMANU.

The founders, along with 10 other people pulled their money together and purchased an outrigger canoe from Southern California, the canoe was 42' long and weigh 450lbs but it was OURS, she was blessed, Kaimanu. The membership held fundraisers such as luau's and food booths at festivals to repay the founders and members and to also purchase more canoes since Kaimanu was flourishing into one of the largest outrigger canoe clubs in Northern California. In 1979 and 1980 2 "top-of-the-line" Malia canoes were purchased from Hawaii and shipped here to California.

In 1979, the first Northern California State Championship was held and Kaimanu walked away with the prestigious title of Overall Champions for that year. In the years to follow of competitive racing, Kaimanu has won the northern California Outrigger Canoe Association Overall State Championships for 1987, 1988, and 1989. This 3-year consecutive win entitled Kaimanu to take permanent possession of the two perpetual trophies from the Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association and the Maui O Hui Kamaaina Club which had been passed from previous club champions. No other outrigger canoe club had been able to accomplish this feat.

Kaimanu Outrigger Canoe Club's main objective is to encourage, maintain and perpetuate outrigger canoe racing. Our goals are to introduce, train and teach men, women and children to the ancient and modern art of Hawaiian Outrigger canoeing regardless of race or creed. Padding outrigger canoes is a team endurance sport, which encourages sportsmanship, teamwork and respect for your fellow teammates while still having fun and getting your physical exercise.

With these goals in prospective, Kaimanu has been fortunate to receive sponsorship from Anheuser-Busch for 10 years. Another enthusiastic supporter is the Spinnaker Yacht Club of San Leandro. The members of Spinnaker are solely responsible for making Kaimanu's San Leandro Channel Long Distance Race a huge success.

The San Leandro Marina is the practice site for the club. We are fortunate enough to have an enclosed lagoon area to practice sprints or venture out into the channel and have the whole San Francisco Bay to practice long distance. The canoes are berthed in the water within the confines of the Marina for easy access in and out of the canoes. The berthing of the canoes with the Marina allows the paddlers access to the showers and modern restrooms with the Marina. There are also two great restaurants in the Marina, our favorite is Horatio's and the other is El Torritos. The San Leandro Golf Course is directly across the street from our practice site with Brass Putter Restaurant and 19th Hole for a more casual atmosphere. We are also fortunate to have the Marina Par Course, which most of our paddlers take advantage of by jogging or bike riding before practice starts.

Kaimanu Outrigger Canoe Club owns 2 Bradleys, 3 Malias and 2 OC-1 Kaiwi Challenger canoes. The Bradleys were purchased in 1994 and 1997. The Malias were purchased from Hawaii and are still in very good condition. Both OC-1 canoes were just purchased 1 in 1998 and 1 in 1999. Both of the Bradley canoes have brand new canvases, which were purchased from Art Nelson Company in Hawaii that specializes in outrigger, canoes canvas. We own one canvas for the Malia canoes that are interchangeable. Our club takes pride in maintaining our canoes and canvas's, our philosophy is, if we take care of the canoes, the canoes will take care of us.

We have 2 major fundraisers each year. The first is in May, which is part of the May Day Festival that takes place at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The Kumu Hula Association puts on this program which invites Hula Halaus to participate in Hula and Song. Booths are set up to sell all types of arts and crafts from Hawaii and other places. There are also food booths, which Kaimanu always sell our specialty Lau Lau Plate lunches. The second fundraiser is in November that is also put on by the Kumu Hula Association, this is a 3-day hula competition event.

The Kaimanu Outrigger Canoe Club is very fortunate to maintain a booth at the Oakland Coliseum for the Oakland Raiders and the Oakland A's games which is also part of our fund raising.

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