A mixed crew of paddlers makes their way to Tinian on the morning of May 4
The Micronesia Cup is a regional va’a outrigger race held alternately in Guam, Palau and Saipan.
THE Marianas Outrigger Club paddlers successfully crossed the Saipan-Tinian Channel on May 4 and 5 as a team development exercise and to conduct a youth va’a paddling workshop at Unai Tachogna on Tinian.
MOC members Ashley Pangelinan, Kika Halstead and Tim Asaivao spoke to Variety about their experience.
Pangelinan said MOC used two six-seat va’as, or Hawaiian-style outrigger paddling canoes, to paddle a distance of between 20 and 22 miles.
On May 4, one all-male crew and a mixed women and men crew departed Kilili Beach at around 5:30 a.m. The crews exited the reef near Bantalan and entered the open water to cross from Saipan to Tinian. Two chase boats were available for safety measures, one for each canoe.
Asaivao said the float plan for the trip included one crew change off the reef at Unai Chulu along Tinian’s western shore. A separate set of men and women were safely waiting in the water, and when the va’a floated by them, the men and mixed crew jumped out, and the new crew members jumped in.
The mixed crew va’a was swapped for an all-female team who completed the last leg of the paddle to Tachogna. They stayed relatively near the coastline.
The members estimated that the all-men crews took around two and a half hours to cross all the way to Tachogna, while the mixed and women crews took around three hours.
Pangelinan said her team had a “let’s do it!” attitude.
“The Marianas Outrigger Club is a competitive sports club and so it’s not for leisure. We’re training to be the best,” she said. “Going through the Tinan channel was fun. It was a great experience to go through that. It was rough waters and we surfed a few waves.”
Halsted and Pangelinan had never crossed the Saipan-Tinian Channel in a va’a before.
Halstead, 19, said the paddling opportunity was her very first time to leave Saipan. She was one of the all-female crewmembers that performed a water change-off at Unai Chulu on May 4.
Halstead said her teammates made her feel safe.
“On the crew that I am on, everyone is more experienced than I am,” she said, adding that she started paddling just this year. “I trust everyone on this team. It’s not scary at all. Not only that, they always know what they’re doing.”
All three paddlers said the “adamant” and “meticulous” coaching of Jason Tarkong weeks before departure had them feeling prepared.
Pangelinan said Tarkong had them performing capsize drills and live water changes to be prepared for the trip. She said he emphasized physical fitness to be ready to make the crossing.
For his part, Asaivao said his crew felt like a “machine.”
Like Halstead, he was part of the crew change off the coast of Unai Chulu.
“I felt like the whole crew was really in tune,” he said. “We were able to blend really well, we could feel the canoe really well and I feel like everyone on the canoe was seeing the same water, and adjusting the stroke rate to the calls. With [steersman] Richard Sikkel at the back, we could see him adjust his line according to the swells and adjust our stroke rate and power. Everything was clicking the whole time.”
By Asaivao’s estimate, the crews encountered swells between four and six feet in height, with windspeeds of around 12 knots.
Once on Tinian, the MOC members conducted a paddling clinic with Tinian youth ages 13-17.
The students received a crash course on paddling, including stroke techniques, canoe history, and safety, Asaivao said. They then were able to race from Tachogna to Unai Taga.
“It was their first time so I believe it will be something they can remember and talk about the next day at school,” Pangelinan said.
In a previous interview. Asaivao said he wanted to leave two canoes on Tinian so that the community there could make use of them. Pangelinan hopes Tinian High School can form competitive teams in order to race against Saipan schools.
On May 5, MOC departed Tachogna and reversed their course. They again swapped crews around Unai Chulu to make the crossing back to Bantalan.
Pangelinan said she’s not going to forget this experience.
“It is going to be memorable for a lifetime,” she said. “I can’t wait to share this with my niece and nephew who are interested in paddling one day.”
Asaivao hopes the va’a crossing can be expanded in scope.
“We’re looking to build on it,” he said. “We’re hoping we can make this into a race. We’re looking to make this a big event and the more the merrier. So if we can get 500 Sails cruising along or if we get a fleet we can bring over to Tinian to keep the spirit and culture of [va’a] alive. I think that would be a really cool sight to see five canoes, a couple of proas all cruising into Tachogna Beach to go to a festival.”
He said Rota is in their sights as well, but there is no concrete plan at this time.
The paddling crew members were as follows:
Mixed crew
1) Ashley Pangelinan
2) James Lee (May 5)/Jason Tarkong (May 6)
3) Marisol Ladino Potes
4) Chris Guerrero
5) Jenn Itibus
6) (Steersman) Maverick Itibus
Women’s crew
1) Lori Rabe
2) Bonny Grow
3) Sharleen Sablan
4) Elaine Sablan
5) Francisca “Kika” Halstead
6) (Steerswoman) Leisha Deleon Guerrero
Men’s crew
1) Clinton Dela Cruz
2) Jason Tarkong (May 5)/Mario Salas (May 6)
3) Vince Aguon
4) Rodney Camacho
5) Mario Salas (May 5)/(None on May 6)
6) (Steersman) Darrien Salas
2nd Men’s crew
1) Jose Quan
2) Billy Grow
3) Steven Beyer
4) Tim Asaivao
5) Dan Taitano
6) (Steersman) Richard Sikkel
The women of Marianas Outrigger Club paddle through the Saipan-Tinian Channel on their way to Saipan on May 5.
