L-R: Kelly Truitt, Aryana Perez, Stacey Scanlan, Christianne Maigre de Abascal, Katie Peck, Megan Roberts
A woman’s crew that finished Second at The Gorge Downwind Champs might have had the most Firsts of all. First time at The Gorge. First time paddling downwind for most of them. First time paddling an ARE Tahiti V6 Matahina for all except one. And the first time they all paddled together.
But this spirited team of mostly all flat-water paddlers—four from the Philadelphia Outrigger Canoe Club (POCC) and two recruits from Florida—threw caution to the wind and paddled the thrilling 12-mile race in a first-rate time of 1:53:02. It was only 44.3 seconds behind a more experienced crew from Hawaii.
FOUR WOMEN PADDLING AS ONE
“We learned as we went,” said an excited Aryana Perez. “We worked together and got a feel for each other as a crew and a feel for the canoe.” And oh, what a feeling! The V6 Matahina responded beautifully to the changing winds, currents, and surf-like conditions for the first 8 miles, before the course flattened out and the women powered the Matahina home for the final 4 miles.
How was the experience at The Gorge? “Oh my God!” said Perez, “It was an 11 out of 10!” Perez learned a lot and had a lot of fun in and out of the water—with one downside. “It’s a little sad,” she said, with a wink in her eye. “After this thrilling experience, we have to go back and paddle on flat waters and lakes.” But just as quickly, she added the three iconic words made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I’ll be back.”
ARE OUTRIGGER WORLD
So will ARE Outrigger World, exclusive distributor of ARE Tahiti outriggers for North America and Hawaii, whose rudderless V1 Marara was raffled off as part of a fund-raiser benefiting the Gorge Outrigger Canoe Club. For more information on ARE Tahiti canoes, visit: www.areoutriggerworld.com.
