First Day of School

Aloha nō kākou – good day to everyone.

I am sitting at my laptop, somewhat exhausted after a couple of hours on the water, and am trying to gather my thoughts for my first Posts from the Pacific blog entry. You are probably wondering why you, let alone anyone, would want to read this, and frankly, I don’t blame you; I too am wondering why I let anyone talk me into writing this.  Well, it is all the PR lady’s fault, but I am getting ahead of myself, so please allow me to start from the beginning and explain (or is it defend?) myself.

My name is Chris Luedi and I am the Regional Vice President for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts here in the State of Hawai`i. I set foot onto the Hawaiian Islands for the first time back in January of 2001, when Fairmont acquired its first Hawaiian resort, The Fairmont Kea Lani on the island of Maui. At the time, I was living and working in Scottsdale, Arizona, at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, and the company asked me to go to Hawai`i to run the first “international” hotel for what was then a small, but fledging hotel company with roots in Canada.

Knowing next to nothing about life of any kind in Hawai`i (does one wear three-piece suits and ties in Hawai`i?), I arrived on Maui with not much more than a suitcase (yes, including one suit and tie) and many good intentions of getting to know this place in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

Shown here at The Fairmont Kea Lani

Today, 12 years later, including 10 years on Maui and now already 2 years on Hawai`i Island, this is my home and the people here are my family and that I have a tiny bit of understanding of what the spirit of these spectacular and magical islands is all about.

Over the years, I have been taken under the wings of many a great cultural person, individuals like Kimokeo Kapahulehua, a great Maui waterman and cultural guide, Kumu (teacher) Keli`i Tau`a, a prolific perpetuator of Hawaiian culture surrounding the Hawaiian outrigger canoe, and Kaniela Akaka Jr., the soft-spoken historian most knowledgeable about the local area now referred to as Mauna Lani Resort, home of The Fairmont Orchid. In the process, I have had the great privilege of experiencing some of the most interesting and life-changing experiences a human being can ever have, and lived through some great adventures on land and in the water.

Shown here with Kimokeo Kapahulehua

Which brings me back to the PR lady, whose fault all of this is! Like any other hotel, we have someone very knowledgeably handling our public relations efforts by name of Jaisy Jardine.  Jaisy, born and raised on Hawai`i Island, has obviously a good understanding of all things Hawaiian, and over the past couple of years she has offered me lots of support, particularly as it pertains to my Hawaiian adventures and all that I have had the great fortune to experience since coming to the state.

Jaisy is very much aware of how much I love Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling and everything surrounding it, and she has been quite interested in a monumental canoe voyage I participated in, which spanned the entire Hawaiian archipelago, all 1,650 miles of it, from Hawai`i Island to Kure Atoll (I don't want to talk about all of that right now, but if you must know, visit www.familyofthewaa.com to get a glimpse).

Anyway, after two years of not paddling as part of an outrigger canoe club (after having done so on Maui with Kihei Canoe Club for 8 years), I made the decision to return in 2012 and make once again the commitment to paddle the entire canoe season with one of the local canoe clubs, from early May until mid-October. Jaisy thought that it would be a great idea for me to share some of this experience with some of you that are interested in such a thing, and have you follow along as we train and compete and in the process perpetuate the very essence of Hawaiian culture.

Through weekly writings, I will share the aches and pains, the trials and tribulations, the successes and disappointments and all that comes with paddling with a group of similar-age (mid-fifties), like-minded individuals, many of them local and native to these isles, with the occasional relative newcomer like me. I tried hard to fight her on the idea, but every so often, you have to give in and pretend that these ideas are worthwhile and great!

Which brings me to the title of this writing – “First Day of School”  Just a few short hours ago, in board shorts, with paddle and water bottle in hand, I find myself on this early Sunday morning on the pier in Kailua-Kona, looking for coach and steersman Kulani, the Samoan gentlemen who will integrate me into his team of paddlers who have committed themselves to "going all the way", which in paddling terms means going through short-distance regatta season, followed by long-distance races, culminating on October 7^th in the Moloka`i Hoe, the annual world championship of long-distance canoe paddling, going from the island of Moloka`i across one of the world's most treacherous bodies of water, the Ka`iwi Channel, to the island of O`ahu and finishing on world-famous Waikiki Beach. My “new team” has been paddling together for a few years, but this year they are in need of one more person, which right now is me. So here I am, paddle in hand, meeting the crew, trying to make a good first impression. If they don't like me, if I can't keep up with them, if my stroke is different than there's (something that is quite common as every canoe club uses a slightly different technique) or if any other of a dozen reasons why this couldn't work out comes true, then my 2012 canoe paddling season could be over before it even got started.

The immediate good news is that I locate the group, and that on first glance, they seem to be accepting of newcomers and gentle in spirit. Kulani turns out to be one of the finest souls on the beach, tough but with lots of drive and ambition to create a smooth paddling team that indeed can go all the way.

Sitting in seat 5 on my "first day of school"

And just like the first day of school, things happen quickly, one after the other, and before I know it, I am out of the water after my first team practice session in over two years, a bit tired and worn, but looking forward to the next training session.

So with all this background behind us, I kindly invite you to check back every so often as I will try to give you a glimpse into the life of an everyday man in Hawai`i who tries to make a living in his day-job while connecting with the true spirit of the island as a way of life in a local canoe club.

A hui hou - until we meet again.

Chris