Category: Paddle Life

Topics cover everything paddlesport related.

Gorge Downwind Championships: Highest Female Race Participation on the Globe

Priscilla McKenney

On race day this year, westerly winds howled up to 30-35 mph, churning up frothy waves on the Columbia River Gorge. Perfect conditions for the 2018 Gorge Downwind Championships, a 13 mile paddle race, attracting over 750 racers, including top notch elite athletes from around the world. A ride, it was, flying eastward along fast moving wind waves from Home Valley to Hood River. As I surfed my outrigger canoe, I scanned ahead for the next set of waves to drop into for the next ride while I kept my…

California 100 – Going the Ultradistance

Priscilla McKenney

Below is an article I wrote, published in Sea Kayaker Magazine in October 2013. This 100 mile paddle race,  will be hosted again in 2019 under a new name, the California River Quest. For me, the past five years have been a huge learning curve in training for paddle endurance races. The keys to improvement and progress are to be consistent, set goals and keep it fun. Introduction The California 100, California’s first paddle sport ultramarathon, is a 100-mile paddling race on the Sacramento River from Redding to a takeout…

An Epic Odyssey- part 2

Priscilla McKenney

The morning I had been waiting for, the Ka’iwi Channel Relay, a 40 mile outrigger canoe race, crossing from Molokai to Oahu, had arrived. This relay race is paddled in a one person outrigger canoe where you switch out with your partner every 30-45 minutes, requiring an escort boat. The Ka’iwi channel is notorious for its reputation of being one of the toughest ocean channel crossings in the world because of its strong winds, currents and large swells. Situated in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with exposure to thousands of…

An Epic Odyssey- part 1

Priscilla McKenney

I returned home humbled, inspired, and with a full heart from an epic odyssey in Hawaii.  After months of consistent training and planning, my vision and goals came to fruition. I competed in three outrigger canoe races, two solo races and one solo relay, in three weeks. Two of these races were significant channel crossings ranging from 26 miles to 40 miles. I felt welcomed by the paddling community (ohana) and am forever grateful for that support of aloha in practice. My first weekend, I warmed up with Kanaka Ikaika’s State…

Ocean Inspired-Training Tips

Priscilla McKenney

In less than two weeks, I will be in the final hours of preparation for a long awaited race day in Hawaii.  This will be my second time to participate in The Pailolo Channel crossing race, a 26 miles, solo outrigger canoe competition that begins on the Northwest shores of Maui, crosses the Pailolo (“Crazy Fisherman”) Channel, to finish in the harbor of Molokai. A week later, with my buddy, James, we will compete in a 41 miles relay across the Kai’wi channel, paddling a solo canoe and switching out…

Back in the Boat- reflections on tides and currents

Priscilla McKenney

This morning felt balmy for February as I prepared my one person canoe to get on the water and paddle with my club, San Francisco Outrigger. I tag along with the six person canoes. We launch at Crissy Fields, just inside the Golden Gate bridge and Fort Point by 9:30. After a warm up paddle to the Golden Gate bridge, we head along the San Francisco waterfront towards the Bay Bridge in hopes to catch the ebb tide home before it turns into a flood tide by 11:30 am. The…

Out of the Boat- Rest and Recovery

Priscilla McKenney

Out of the boat today. Tired. Recovery day. Normally, Thursday mornings, I am on the water by 7am and paddle to the Golden Gate Bridge and often beyond to Point Diablo before I begin my workday. I love starting my day on the water, quiet, feeling the water, my focus on form, not speed and being among the sea birds, porpoise and harbor seals. Often sola. Last Thursday, just before arriving at Point Bonita, my buddy, James, and I saw a gray whale sloshing along while we rode up and…