Hawaii Outrigger Team

I consider this to be the best uniform design I ever did. False Creek sent a Canadian women's outrigger team to compete in Hawaii (mid to late 90s I think) There was some opposition to the base colour being black due to the heat they were going to be racing in but I was adamant. One of the team members got her brother in law to put up sponsor money and Sugoi made the garments. I still wear this one when cycling.

I preferred outrigger paddling because there was less organizing involved (6 people in a boat vs 22 in a dragon boat. Also, you could go much farther out to sea which was cool. Although I enjoyed this type of sport, I lacked the power and technique to be anything but a recreational paddler. Competitive outrigger was, shall we say, a tad TOO competitive for me as I discovered during relay practice one afternoon. Relay races can last for hours with the outrigger being followed by a pilot boat that drops fresh paddlers into the ocean. They tread water while waiting in the path of the oncoming outrigger, then clamber in while the exhausted paddlers fall out. The pilot picks those up and the race proceeds. I can't swim and despite all of us wearing life jackets, I found the whole enterprise rather awful. Below is a relay swap-out. Below that are some of the FC women in perfect form.