Outrigger canoeing rides waves of popularity in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Before the sun begins to peak, Sentosa’s Siloso Beach is already bustling with activity most weekend mornings.

The early risers are dragging large canoes out to sea. These crafts are known as va’a, used in the sport of outrigger canoe racing. The outriggers are fixed to the boats’ hulls to provide more balance in choppy waters as races are usually held in the ocean instead of flat-water areas like reservoirs.

Once used mainly as a means of transport, these canoes are now being deployed in races, which are popular in the United States, Tahiti and Australia. Ranging from one- to six-man boats, races can be 500m sprints or 65km tests of endurance.

There are five clubs in Singapore that compete regularly. They are Austcham Paddle Club, Singapore Paddle Club, American Dragons Singapore, Va’a Team France and Kiwi Waka Ama. They have about 600 active members in all.

They train up to four times a week out at sea and are based mainly at Sentosa, except for Kiwi, who are stationed at East Coast Park.

Among these enthusiasts are a Singaporean mother-and-son pair who have been paddling together for six years.

Pamela Chua was first introduced to the sport by her employer in 2016. Chua, 50, “wanted to do something different” and enjoyed it so much she roped in her son Oliver Bowhay, 15, to join her.

Oliver said: “I remember she came back from a competition in Hawaii six years ago... she was talking so passionately about it and how fun it was. I thought maybe I’ll try one session and I loved it, the feeling’s just something different to any other sport I’ve done before.”

Chua has since taken part in races in Hong Kong and Australia and added: “All the countries we get to race in, it’s fantastic to go overseas and do such a unique sport.”

Outrigger canoeing might be fun but it also requires a lot of hard work. The long distances covered and open-water conditions demand a high level of stamina.

Kong Teck Lee, who became the first Singaporean to achieve a top-10 finish in the 16km V1 open race at the International Va’a Federation World Distance Championships in Samoa on Aug 15, said: “It’s a sport that cannot be divorced from the environment, from the sea or the sun.”

The former flat-water canoeist, 29, added: “Because you’re dealing with seawater, it really soaks up all your energy and under the sun, with the feeling of the wind blowing at your face consistently, it’s challenging in a different way.”

Ever-changing conditions like the waves and tides are also an obstacle. “The biggest races in the world are being held in some of the roughest conditions in the sea,” Kong noted. “You never know what the conditions are, it’s something exciting and terrifying.”

For water sports instructor Lilian Tong, 32, who has previously done scuba diving and stand-up paddleboarding, outrigger canoeing’s appeal is clear.

She said: “You can travel far as it’s in the ocean. The community is very bonded, and the teams support one another.”

Briton Kevin Robertson, 45, started outrigger canoeing in 2010 and said he was drawn to the sport due to its intricacies. He said: “I don’t fear the sport. The main challenge is improving yourself.

“There are so many components to make the sport far more complex than what you think it is. You must continually figure out what’s best for yourself.”

He started out with dragon boating before switching and said that although there are similarities, “dragon boating is like all-out adrenaline, whereas this is longer and much more relaxed”.

A trip to Samoa was “mind-blowing” for Robertson as he saw 80-year-old paddlers racing. He said: “It really just paints the picture that this is a sport for all ages. You may not be as fit as you were in your 20s, but you can continue doing it.”

No wonder he hopes more locals will get their feet wet. “It’s better to have more Singaporeans doing it to bring awareness to the sport, as foreigners will come and go.”