Tag: Ithaca

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Launch of the 2011 Season

April 28th marked the start of Cayuga Outrigger’s 2011 season. Cold water, air temperature hovering around 50 degrees, a brisk wind and a setting sun did not deter 5 excited paddlers from launching A’no:wara onto Cayuga Lake.  Starting with rigging at Myers Park the crew of Bill, Felix, Julie, Paul and me paddled for an hour until arriving at East Shore Marina.  So started our season which is filled with an upcoming open house and ECORA races.  Hope to see you on the water!

Hamming It Up, originally uploaded by Cayuga Outrigger.

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Hokuho’okelewa’a Blessing

Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club welcomed and then blessed our new canoe, Hokuho’okelewa’a, which is translated to a canoe’s guiding star, at a blessing on Friday July 17.

Lei on front of wa'aLei on the front of Hokuho’okelewa’a

IMG_3462Decorated Iakos

Linda served as the master of ceremonies and did an awesome job as well as Blair who made the offering while paddling the new wa’a.

The BlessingLinda performing blessing

This was also a monumental event for the COCC as more than 25 people attended the blessing, which when compared to our first blessing of A’no:wara showed how much our ohana has grown.

IMG_3488Placing Hokuho’okelewa’a into Cayuga Lake

Out for the offering
Paddling out to test Hokuho’okelewa’a and to make offering

Mahalo to all that participated in the blessing and the growth of the club.  It was inspiring to see us all come together and help in growing the club.

July 080Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club Ohana

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Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival

Cayuga Outrigger's Community Team

July 10th found the Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club participating in the Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival in beautiful Ithaca, New York.  We had fifteen club members in attendance and a cowgirl from Montana as our drummer as we set out to compete in a boat few of us had paddled in the past.  We competed in the Community Division against five teams including Tompkins County, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Glimmerglass Dragons from Hartwick, NY.

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Our race day started with a 250 meter time trial that we won with seconds to spare.  This was followed up by a second heat which we again finished out in front of the pack but were penalized for finishing in another lane.

As we waited for our final race some of the men from COCC were racing with the Ithaca Gorges Men sponsored by the Ithaca Dragon Boat Club.  Although we struggled to come together as a team in the early rounds we were in contention for a medal as the last race was held.  Some disqualifications in the final race had the men seemingly in position for at least a bronze medal but some questionable officiating found us in a 2 team race for third.  Although the Gorges Men gave it their all, the race was decided by less than a boat length which sent us home with a fourth place finish.

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Finally the BIG RACE!  COCC was set at the starting line with lane buoys shifting and our steersman nervous to stay in our lane.  As we were given the start call we paddled as hard as possible and quickly surged into the lead.  As we crossed the finish line we were happy to see that not only had we finished in first place but we had also stayed in our lane.  The gold medal was ours!

Cayuga Outrigger in motion!!!

Mahalo to all of the Cayuga Outrigger members who paddled on Saturday and a extra special mahalo to our captain Paul C., “C is for Cookie” for putting it together and remaining such a positive force on a very long day.

See more photos here!

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Success at our Open House

The day started with some questionable weather but as long as we don’t have lightening the Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club is in action and so it was today.  Club members arrived early and prepared to welcome interested people and future members to try the awesome sport of outrigger canoeing.  Julie and Cynthia planned this event and the results were tremendous.  We had Gimme! Coffee, Ithaca Bakery as well as fruit, P.O.G. and other tasty treats.

Open HouseWelcome Tents

As the first of our new paddlers arrived the good weather did as well.  The wind subsided and the sun and blue skies greeted us so we were soon paddling on beautiful Cayuga Lake.  We were fortunate enough get our new paddlers on the water and they quickly saw why this sport is so great.

Ready to goWaiting to Launch

Everybody ready?On the Water

We were able to get 6 new paddlers on the water before a cold front moved into the area and the temperatures started to drop and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  We quickly lowered the welcome tents and pulled the wa’a from the water.

Radar MapRadar the Open House

However we continued to get interested paddlers who wanted to paddle but settled for some good food and great conversation.  The keikis however took advantage of some of the largest waves we will see on Cayuga Lake while the adults planned for future adventures.

The waves keep getting bigger

Keikis Lovin’ the Waves

The end of the day

If you attend our Open House or planned to and couldn’t make it down feel free to stop by during one of our regular practice times.  We paddle Tuesday and Fridays from 6 to 8pm and Sundays from 9 to 11 am.  Thanks again to everyone who showed up especially our club members for making this such a successful event.



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Cayuga Outrigger’s Open House

Open House 2010

The Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club is pleased to announce our second annual open house to be held June 6th from 10 am to 2 pm.  It is open to all ages but children must be accompanied by an adult.  Please stop down to the Cornell Sailing Club at 1000 East Shore Drive in Ithaca to check out the fun.  There will be light snacks, Hawaiian music and an introduction into the awesome sport of outrigger canoeing.

For questions please contact us at: info@cayugaoutrigger.com

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Want Compost?

Spring is in the air and the time for gardening will soon be upon us so we ask you…..

Compost Earth

We are delivering top grade compost in the Ithaca area as a fundraiser that will allow us to purchase a new boat and expand our club.

You can purchase a cubic yard for $70 or 2 cubic yards for $130 and it will be delivered directly to your desired location.  We are asking for prepayment in the form of a check  that will not be deposited until your compost is delivered on May 1st.  We will contact you as the delivery date approaches to notify you of an expected delivery time.  If convenient an email address would also be helpful to make these arrangements easier.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at compostsale@cayugaoutrigger.com, or you may call Paul at 607-379-0748.
Thank you so much!  Looking forward to a great day of shoveling compost!!