“So, are you rowing again this weekend?” my colleagues ask me, “Yes”, I reply, “paddling..”

Does anyone else find it hard to explain this thing we do with our spare time? My entry drug to outrigging was dragon boats, which I took up while living in Singapore. In the past I’ve described outrigging as “kind of like dragon boating but out on the ocean”. It’s not really though is it? Dragon boat is all adrenaline; big, loud and exciting, 120 people at the start line all trying to get the end first, finding out just how much you can give in two minutes. And outrigging? It’s a bit like Moana, where the water is a main character in the story – it’s you, your crew, your boat and the ocean all working together, partly to get to the end, but mainly to experience the journey.

It’s not just about training for races though, there’s more to it than that. It’s beautiful where we get to go and play – the sun on the rock faces in Sydney harbour at sunrise and sunset, the occasional visit from dolphins and seals, the water when it’s crystal clear…. Then there’s the traditions, the language, the respect for the canoe and the environment we interact with. I’ve been doing this sport for nearly ten years and am still learning and appreciating the Polynesian culture which surrounds it.

And so I find it hard to explain, on a Monday morning while I’m waiting for the kettle to boil and someone asks what I got up to on the weekend. The best I can come up with is “Paddling outrigger, you know – like on Hawaii five-O” what do you say??

by Victoria FitzGerald