In May of 1908, Alexander Hume Ford started the Outrigger Canoe Club next to the newly opened Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach. Ford did so with the vision of a club where “men and boys might ride upright on the crest of waves.” Little did he know that throughout the next century it would grow to become one the respected and well-recognized waterman clubs in the world.

Ford’s hope in founding the club was that surfers, swimmers, and canoe paddlers alike would always have access to the ocean. As he stayed true to this desire, his club grew to see the memberships of some of Hawaii’s most elite watermen. Duke Kahanamoku, one of surfings founding fathers, joined the club in 1917 and was from that point, a lifelong member. Surfing world-champion Sen. Fred Hemmings and big-wave pioneer Rick Grigg are also among those who call themselves members of the club. “The Outrigger Canoe Club contributed significantly to me personally, sponsoring me at surf meets as an amateur surfer,” Hemmings said. “It’s where I learned to surf and it’s been home to many great Hawaiian watermen.”

With chapters now all over the world, The Outrigger Canoe Club embraces and promotes ocean sports in every sense of the word. That was the intended purpose of Alex Ford 100 years ago, and that is still their purpose today. It is for this reason that Sen. Hemmings went on to call the Outrigger one of the “greatest clubs in the world.”

Happy 100th Outrigger Canoe Club!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!

Posted by Shaun on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 in Surfing.

• -No related posts