Tahitian Outrigger lifestyle

There are two main places for practising canoe paddling in Tahiti. Lots of Tahitian outrigger clubs have chosen the 10 miles on the West coast between the town of Papeete and the well-known Taapuna surfing spot in Punaauia as their training itinerary. It takes about an hour and forty-five minutes for a well-trained va’a person to paddle back and forth.
There is another spot on the East coast of the island where many clubs such as Punaaruu Vaa, Matatia ,Te Ui Va’a, and Shell Va’a practice.
Faaa Canoe Club, whose coach is Milton Laughlin, and also EDT Va’a will also be seen there. It’s also from the Pointe Vénus, in Mahina, that the start of the Aito race begins.
The practise sessions start in January for most clubs. The solo va’a opened the season with a one-month training session. The 12-men-canoe teams are working on getting the most efficient synchronized movements, while the 6-men-canoe teams are getting ready for the first big marathon race of the year, the 2010 ABC CUP which is scheduled for April 10. The best team will be able to go from Punaauia to the island of Moorea and back to Tahiti in about an hour and forty minutes one way. Apart from hard physical work outs and jogging, their preparation program includes a minimum of two hours of paddling per day from Monday to Friday and up to three hours on Saturdays. Even though the leader teams have the best paddlers, they train unbelievably hard. They begin their day at 4 in the morning, and they have one of the most demanding training plans in Tahiti.
By "Tahitian Paddler"