paddling my way to happiness

Today was my favorite day in Kauai thus far.  My morning was spent obtaining spectroscopy data from the rocks we collected the previous day.  Natural lighting is required for the spectrometer to accurately read the subject material, thus we decided to set up our laboratory outside on a veranda that overlooked a lush valley. We listened to great music and had lovely conversation. Even with technological frustration, it was blissful.

For the latter part of our evening, we paddled outriggers in the ocean to collect data using loggers that measure temperature and conductivity every 5 seconds.  I, along with others in the group, had never been on an outrigger before.  A scary thought on such violent waves! Lucky for us, a group of men that belong to an outrigger club on Kauai taught us the mechanics of Hawaii’s state sport.  There are one-man outriggers and six-man outriggers.  As novices, we went in the six-man outrigger to have constant instruction while on the water.

This is by far the coolest sport ever.  I told our steersman (the sixth seat, or the man behind me) that I would be moving to Kauai to join the team.  He gave a light chuckle and welcomed me to the team.  

After a hard day’s work, we went to a restaurant with some guys from the outrigging team for beer and fish.  It was my first time eating fish on the island.  Mahi Mahi was a great choice.