Outrigger canoe club paddles into the new year
The day was mild, not exactly Honolulu, but still warm for Lewes on Dec. 30.
It was a perfect day for six members of the New Hope Canoe Club Ministry Team Atlantic to climb into one of their outriggers and say aloha to 2024.
“We have a threshold. It’s got to be 40 or warmer and the winds have to be right,” said David Schofield, who is the founder, head coach and an ordained chaplain.
The boat they were using Dec. 30, their final paddle day of the year, came direct from Hawaii. It had “HI Outrigger” on the side, and “Kumu Wa’A” on the bow, Hawaiian for “training boat.”
The team trains locally on the canal, bay and ocean. They stick to the canal in the winter for safety.
The team takes part in competitions all over the country.
Schofield lived in Hawaii for 16 years, where he fell in love with the outrigger life.
When he moved to Lewes in 2021, it was natural for him to launch a canoe club that is also a ministry and life group. It is a combination of a physical and spiritual workout.
“As a kid, I think we learn about God, first, from being in the environment: ‘Wow, look at that dolphin’ or ‘Look at that sunset!’ I think that’s how I started off knowing God, and that’s kind of what we’re all about,” Schofield said.
Schofield said there are some big differences between paddling in the 50th state and the first.
“Hawaii has continuous, predictable waves. Here, you have to be on your game, especially when we go around the [Cape Henlopen] Point. There are two breakwater systems and it can be difficult to steer,” he said.
The group has four outriggers and about 50 members. Schofield said about a dozen hardy souls come out in the winter.
The club has partnered with Camp Arrowhead and Children’s Beach House to give back to kids in the community, and Schofield said they plan to do more in 2025.
“We try to live the aloha,” Schofield said. “[We are] thankful for this ohana mau loa, forever family.”
He said the canoe club and life group is open to all faiths and skill levels.
See more information at newhopeatlantic.org.
