Flat Water vs. Rough Water

If you listen to paddlers talk about canoes, you will hear some people say one canoe works better in the flat water and another works better in the rough water. Well, why not get one that works well in both conditions? #daretocompare

With the Ares, we offer a canoe that performs well in all conditions. Whether it’s a big ocean or a calm lake, we got you covered. When going through the design phase of the Ares we were looking for more flat water speed in the design, yet played with moving the volume around so that she could handle open ocean as well. You see, even in Hawaii we have to plan for many flat water sessions. You don’t hear about them as much because no one gets excited when it’s flat…Unless you’re going fishing.

Recently, in the Hawaii OC-1 racing season, the Ares has once again proven its versatility in back-to-back races. The first race was a long, hot, and flat race that ran almost 20 miles along the coast of Oahu. The next weekend was a downwind race from Maui to Molokai. The course was a 26 mile run with surf from start to finish. The Ares performed well in both championship races.

Prior to the first race on Oahu, there was talk that the Ares had flatware potential so Tupuria King called me and asked what it takes to make the Ares run in flat water. I told him to work the sloppy stuff along the cliffs and when it mellows out, find your rhythm and enjoy. You see, with a longer waterline on the Ares, once you find your glide it’s all about maintaining it through your stroke rate and not pushing too hard. Just keep a nice pace and every now and then give a little push to get acceleration and then back into maintenance mode. Canoes with a shorter waterline require a higher cadence because you’ll lose the glide quicker between each stroke. In the end, Tupuria King, from New Zealand, finished first overall and Keakua Nolan, from the Big Island, finished 3rd. Both of these paddlers were racing on the Ares

This year's Maui to Molokai conditions were pretty epic but not as big as we all thought we’d see, but still pretty darn good. A very playful run. The Ares definitely owned the course with the top 7 men all paddling the Ares and the top 5 women on Ares as well. Kainoa Tanoai came back to reclaim his title from last year showing us all that he still owns the Pailolo channel, and the almost forgotten King of the OC-1, Karel Tresnak Jr., showed up and took a solid 2nd place to prove he’s still here and is a force to be reckoned with. The young star from Maui, Triston Kahookele-Santos, finished off the top 3 with a great performance amongst the most competitive field that this race has seen.

In the Women’s division, Lauren Spalding used the Ares for the first time in a race and broke the course record. Andrea Moller finished a solid 2nd, always a force in the surf, and Molokai’s Coral Mariano came in a very respectable 3rd overall. Coral is no stranger to paddling and has really stepped up her game this year in the OC-1.

So as you can see the Ares is very consistent in any condition you throw at it. This is a true story a significant piece of the 2019 racing season here in Hawaii. Dare to compare as we like to say; you never know what you could be missing.