Novice No More: NAC at Paopao 9-man Outrigger Challenge

Tori Vick

Hi all, let me formally introduce myself! My name is Tori Vick and I am one of the recent novice “graduates” for the 9-man portion of this season. I was encouraged by one of my close friends (shout out Mel Chmelik!) to try NAC’s Intro to Outrigger program and immediately got hooked! Growing up, I loved playing as many team sports as I could. I loved the competition, the camaraderie, and challenging my body to move faster and be stronger than the day before. Outrigger paddling captured all of those loves! Plus, who wouldn’t want to soak up the beautiful California sun while getting cooled off by the sea spray and laughing with friends? Sign me up!

After completing a successful novice season (winning multiple medals – might I add!), we moved on to the first 9-man race of the season – Dana’s Whitey Harrison race. Of course, the learning curve of jumping in and out of the boats was a little nerve wracking for us newbies, but with a lot of encouragement and practice, none of us *literally* missed the boat. My Garmin watch might have told me that I was in a “high stress environment” right before I jumped off the chase boat for the first time, but I haven’t seen that alert on the boat since! I definitely felt more comfortable and confident to move on to the next race of the season.

Oceanside’s Paopao race was next on the list. The day before the race, I checked the crew I was going to be paddling with and I was excited! This was going to be a awesome co-ed mix of three novice ladies, two seasoned ladies, and four seasoned guys. I tried to not be too nervous from the start – these people are really good and I want to make sure I keep up!

The morning of the race was nice and relatively cool with a little fog, causing a slight fog delay. We also found out that our 9-man team would be only an 8-man team (how does that work? I thought). Both of these situations ended up not being any issue at all! Yes, some of us would have to be in the canoe for multiple shifts, but we had some incredibly powerful paddlers with us.

767709010014 I was the on the chase boat first with Mel. Emma, Kanahe, Tyson, Dustin, Nick, and Steersman Bobbie were the first paddlers of the day. The starters gained a huge lead right at the start line — probably at least three boat lengths in front of the next boat and about two boat lengths behind the leading boat. At the first change, I jumped into seat one and we kept our large lead with eyes ahead to try and overtake Dana’s co-ed boat in front of us. After switching a few more times, we firmly kept that second place position and kept our rhythm going. I’m still getting used to the Stroker position, but this team pushed me in great ways! It was awesome hearing the encouragement from behind and hearing the “get ready…push!” cues to ride the waves at the right time. I genuinely learned so much just from watching and listening to this crew.

Before I knew it, the finish line was in sight! I felt our energy renew when we saw those big Dorito-shaped buoys. Our rhythm felt great as we got closer and closer to crossing that line. Once we crossed it, I could feel the collective exhale of a race well done! We did it! The second place medal was ours! Big smiles could be seen from everyone!

NOW ONWARDS TO THE CATALINA CROSSING!

Tori Vicks

NAC sent down six crews (one Women’s, three Co-eds, and two Men’s teams) to Oceanside for the second 9-man race of the season and came home with five podiums! All three Co-ed’s had a great races, and even with the fog delay in the morning it turned into a beautiful day on the water. The Open team came in third across the line (and second Open), and Master’s and Senior Masters won their divisions. The Senior Master’s Men grabbed a third place and the Open Men’s team (with a full 9 paddlers this race!) handily won first place and first across the line.

Next up: The Catalina Channel Crossing! Women and Open Co-ed’s race from just outside Newport Harbor to Avalon in Catalina on Saturday, September 12th. The Men and age division Co-ed’s back from Avalon to the Newport Dunes on Sunday, September 13th. Let’s go NAC!