Mana Kai Water Sports Association, Inc

09/22/2026

Crazy race conditions this weekend with Philadelphia Outrigger Canoe Club’s epic Hoe Wa’a Race this weekend. Way to take a stand against the elements and jump back into your boats, paddlers!!!

09/22/2026

09/22/2026

There’s something pretty special about putting new paddlers in an OC6 for the first time — especially when they already know their way around a paddle!

Last night, we welcomed three dragon boaters (Jennifer Stover, Jay Stover, and Amy Potter) to the OC6, adding to an already strong paddling crew of experienced paddlers with Kelly Green, Mark Schmalfeld, and Christine Kerrigan. This boat did not disappoint. 🙌 🌺🛶😍

6 miles in 70 minutes, great energy, lots of laughs, and some seriously nice boat glide. You know that feeling when the crew starts finding the timing and suddenly the canoe just goes? Yep. We had some of that tonight. ❤️

And because September apparently has no respect for our paddling schedule, we squeezed every last bit of daylight out of the evening and finished in nautical twilight. 😂 One minute we’re paddling past a freighter, the next we’re basically coming home by moonlight.

We love introducing experienced paddlers to OC6 and watching them discover that it’s familiar…and completely different at the same time.

New paddlers. New energy. New beginnings for Mana Kai. Not a bad way to spend the last evening of summer. 🌊🤙

E holo kākou — let’s paddle forward together.

09/18/2026

The Golden Girls got a little wet last night! 😂🛶 🌅

We spent last night’s practice working on Huli drills — flipping the canoe, getting everyone back in, and figuring out how to work together when things don’t exactly go according to plan. And we did this more than once.

There was a lot of laughing, a lot of splashing, and absolutely no staying dry.

All wet and nowhere to go! 💦

Might have been the best shower we’ve had all summer. 😂

Great night on the water with these ladies. 💛

09/12/2026

✨ MANA KAI’S GOLDEN GIRLS ✨

While the rest of you lucky dogs were probably sleeping in, our Golden Girls crew (missing Debby Jennings in this pic!) was already on the water, putting in more miles and keeping our eyes on Nish in Miami. 🌴🌊

Today wasn’t just about mileage. We worked on an important skill: getting ourselves back up and into the canoe from the water. Because nobody likes a wet crotch. 😂 And because being able to self-rescue is something every paddler should know.

These ladies gamely climbed, pulled, pushed, laughed, struggled a little…and kept at it. 💪

Why the Golden Girls? Every woman in this crew is a Golden Master — 60+…with one almost-59-year-old steering exception. 😉

Call them determined.
Call them focused.
Call them inspirational.
Call them Golden Girls. 💛

Just don’t call them old ladies. 😎🤙

Miami, we’re putting in the work. Nish, here we come! 🌴🛶🔥

09/09/2026

🏁 PADDLERS, LET’S TALK RACE PREP! 🔥

I’m curious… what does your actual race-prep routine look like?

Not the perfect checklist you should follow 😂 I mean the REAL routine.

What are the things you absolutely cannot show up to race day without?

🛶 Favorite paddle
💧 Hydration/electrolytes
🍌 Race-day fuel
🧢 Lucky hat or gear
🎧 Pre-race playlist
☕ That mandatory coffee
🩹 Emergency kit
😅 Or that one random thing that makes absolutely no sense to anyone but YOU?

And I want to hear from the endurance paddlers especially…

🔥 Are you racing anytime soon?
📍 Which race are you preparing for over the next few months?
⏱️ When do you start seriously preparing?
🍽️ What do you eat the night before and morning of the race?
🧠 Do you have a mental routine before getting on the water?

And the BIG question:

What is your secret to surviving and actually ENJOYING a LONG endurance race? 😅💪🏽

Pacing? Nutrition? Hydration? Training? Mental toughness? Finding someone equally crazy to suffer with you?

Some of our paddlers are preparing for a few challenging races in the near future. Chattajack 31 being one of them.

Drop your race + your #1 race-day MUST HAVE in the comments! 👇🏽



Christine Kerrigan Heydi Lynch

08/23/2026

We talk often about using your legs. Here, April Zilg speaks to this point, and what muscles she is using during the phases of her stroke.

Join me in the Punk Paddlers group training space at PaddleTraining...

08/16/2026

Totally appreciate this message. Encouraging each paddler to take an inventory of what they bring to the boat (positive or not), make an honest assessment and review, and let go of what isn’t necessary. This is how we learn to trust each other.

I think this is one of the most important parts of crew training that we don't talk about enough....

And maybe it's because it's uncomfortable.

We're happy to talk technique
Fitness.
Race plans.
Strength.
But start talking about what's happening between people and suddenly it becomes personal.

Feelings of being singled out.
Feeling blamed.
They get defensive.
But here's the thing 👇🏾

It doesnt belong to one or two people.

When a crew dynamic isn't working THE CREW KNOWS

They feel it.
They navigate around it.
Everyone knows, even if nobody wants to say it.
And that's where we get stuck.

Because we look for the person who is causing the problem.

Whos difficult.
Whos negative.
Whos creating the tension.
But a crew is a system.
What happens between paddlers belongs to us all.
It doesn't mean everyone is equally responsible for every behaviour.

It means everyone has a role in what happens next.

It's pretty common for crews who look strong to implode under the weight of unmanaged emotions,
Assumptions, resentment and pressure.
Practically happens every Worlds Campaign....

I've experienced it myself.
So I know how EASY it is to get caught in it.
And how powerful it is when a crew can lean into it.

Not to blame.
Not to decide whos right.
But to understand what is happening and take responsibility for the part we each play in it.

This isn't soft stuff.
It is performance....
It's worth training too...