The view from an outrigger canoe

Hui Wa’a Puget Sound North (also known as the San Juan Canoe & Kayak Club) shares an update on what the club has been up to for the past few years and what they have in store for the 2022 paddling season.

Back in 2003, Olympic kayaker David Halpern started a kayak and outrigger canoe club at Jackson Beach. The club flourished with around 30 islanders paddling 6-person outrigger canoes two or three times a week. Groups of kids paddled and families joined in. Informal races around Dinner Island earned successful participants a free dinner at one of the race series’ sponsoring restaurants.

There were lots of smiles and memories made, thanks in large part to Steve Simpson, then Port of Friday Harbor director, who made half the net shed at Jackson’s available for the canoe club and half for the sailing club.

Fast forward to today. With the canoe club relocated to Jensen Cove, canoe and kayak smiles once again abound. Thanks to the relocation by Port Director Todd Nicholson, the canoe club can access safe protected waters and is still close to town. “It’s such a great place to be, with so much potential for our community,” said Halpern, “It’s practically walkable from town and it’s the most protected waters with public access. Really it is a perfect place for kayaks and canoes.”

Halpern should know. Not only was he a U.S. Olympic Team member and many times a National and World Masters Champion, but he also served as National Olympic Development Coach and Head Coach at the Seattle Canoe Club. “What I learned from all that is that racing is important to those who love it, but recreational paddling is a healthy, social and beneficial activity for all if it is easily accessible. It is so rewarding to help people get out on the water, get some exercise, and maybe see a colony of harbor seals off Turn Island. Where we live is so beautiful and there’s nothing quite like seeing it from a canoe or kayak.”

Jensen’s Cove is undergoing a transition. There are plans to build new docks and relocate the boat launch ramp in hopes of establishing what promises to be a breathtaking facility and public-access waterfront area. Jose Domenech, one of the original club members and one of only a few who can steer the six-person outriggers, acknowledges the Port’s efforts. “They’re doing so much at Jensen’s. Over the next few years pretty much everything will be rebuilt or relocated. It’s a little busy at times. But they’re still trying to give us water access. It’s a juggling act, but it’s so important to the community.”

“We’re hopeful,” said Halpern, “that when all the construction settles, and the new Port facility is done, the paddle club remains here so that we may continue to offer our community year-round access to canoeing and kayaking. We have the boats, we have the paddling knowledge, and thanks to the Port, we currently have a place to access the water.”

Last summer, even with COVID limitations, the club managed to partner with Island Rec to get adults and kids out on the water. Cynthia Parkin, who moved here recently from Alaska, found the club a welcoming group for herself and her son, Oliver. “For Oliver, it was a perfect way to learn the local waters, the currents, the winds, and to make a few new friends,” Parkin said. “And for me, it was a new and great way to get some exercise and meet a supportive group of people that just love getting outside.”

Canoeing has a long history in the San Juan Islands and Halpern and Domenech plan to continue that tradition this summer in partnership with Island Rec.

“These six-person outrigger canoes are completely stable and still pretty swift,” says Halpern. “If you can sit in a chair and move your arms, you can paddle. It’s really just perfect for anyone needing to get back to the days when smiles were more contagious than COVID.”

Anyone interested in more information can contact David at [email protected]

Regular outings start up again on Sunday, March 13 with the benefit of Daylight Saving Time.

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