Kialoa East

In a land far, far away from the islands of Hawaii, the spirit of Aloha lives on the shores of Nova Scotia. The ocean is cold, the paddlers are hearty and the leis are made with maple leaves. No, really- I mean it!!

Buried in the hillside of Dartmouth, NS exists a lake that I am convinced has magical qualities. Lake Banook is home to three canoe clubs (three!) and a dragon boat club that have been producing world class and Olympic paddlers for many years. Flatwater sprint paddling is their world with perfectly marked lanes dotting the lake and classic club houses hugging the shoreline. The language here is "K-1, C-1, K-4, C-2, War Canoe" and on an on. A new word has entered the vocabulary for a few that come from this idyllic place: "OC-6".

The Boys from Banook got their hands on an OC-6 recently and have been applying their lifetime of paddling to outrigger canoeing. They decided to test their skills in the Toronto International Outrigger Challenge last weekend and Kialoa got behind them. The team comprised of Max Tracy, Albert McDonald, Stephen Gallant, Bruce Chiasson, Ed Solino, Bryan Burns turned in the fastest time of the day and a course record!

Congratulations to this fine crew for representing Kialoa with po'okela (excellence) and growing the sport of outrigger to the eastern shores of Canada.

-mk