Outrigger canoe surfing. Who knew it could be so much fun? About a month ago I was out surfing by the Hanalei Pier and saw a group surf a few waves there in this canoe (or wa’a). I was immediately smitten.

A few weeks later I saw a guy on the beach by the canoe (and a lot of beginner surfboards) advertising for free lessons and canoe rides.

I was intrigued.

I approached him about the details. (Essentially, he operates on gratuity and takes up to three people out for about an hour.) Sweet.

Yesterday afternoon, Bracken and I headed to the beach for a walk. It was a beautiful Hawaiian afternoon: blue sky, light winds, clean surf. As we neared the water I spotted the canoe. A smile erupted. Perfect.

Our guide (Ethan) was ready to go. “Just give me ten minutes to get it ready for the water.” He gave us a brief rundown on paddle usage and getting in and out of the canoe. Neither Bracken nor I had ever been in one before. (Between the two of us, we have pretty minimal experience with any kind of paddling sport.)

We headed out into the surf, me in the front, Bracken directly behind me, and our guide steering from the back. We immediately felt the water splash over us as we barreled head-first into the breaking waves. It felt good.

We paddled toward the Bowl—a popular reef break with overhead+ waves. We’d been out to the Bowl surfing this winter. It’s serious business when the waves are good. Ethan instructed me (sitting in front) to lean over as far into the wave as I could once we caught the wave, encouraging me to sit up on the side and really put my weight into it.

He steered us into the lineup. And then “GO! Paddle!” And we dug deep and fast, matching the speed of our canoe with the oncoming wave. “WE GOT IT!” And we did. I hopped up onto the edge of the canoe, leaned all my weight into the wave and felt pure joy. It was divine. Exhilarating.

We spent the rest of the hour at the bowl, paddling for, catching, and riding the waves. Then turning around and doing it all over again. We pulled out of a few (didn’t get the right amount of speed going—we all have to paddle exactly together, or the wave didn’t break as we [okay, Ethan... we were really mostly along for the ride] thought it would), but overall, caught quite a few.

At one point, a big outside set came through and we had to paddle hard to get over the crest. I flew out of my seat about 2 feet and landed hard. I don’t think my smile left. I’ll have a pretty serious bruise for sure, but I’d do it all over again tomorrow. And the next day, too.

Heading into shore, we relaxed a bit and paddled along the shoreline. Ethan shared some local history of the bay (how they used the pier to bring cattle onto the island) and history of hawaiian canoe surfing. It’s the oldest sport on the islands and for that reason, is grandfathered and exempt from many laws. No permitting requirements, no safety requirements, no life jackets and can land anywhere on shore (whereas boats cannot). It’s an ancient sport with amazing history and tradition.

And a total blast. I wanna go again!