by Xu Shumin, Liang Jiajun
HONG KONG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- While Hong Kong is globally renowned for its towering skyscrapers and relentless urban tempo, a growing legion of paddlers heading out into the dawn sees a different face of the metropolis.
For the paddlers, the city is defined by maritime routes threading from Deep Water Bay to Sai Kung and Lamma Island, nurtured by a vibrant network of clubs and enthusiasts dedicated to outrigger canoeing.
In late August, a 43-member Hong Kong delegation returned from the 2026 International Va'a Federation (IVF) World Sprint Championships in Singapore -- a testament to how the sport has evolved from a niche weekend pastime into a sophisticated, competitive discipline on the international stage.
Originating in the Polynesian islands and also known as the Hawaiian canoe, the craft features an outrigger float (ama) attached to the main hull via lateral spars (iako), creating a distinctive, wave-resistant structure.
Paddlers sit single-file in the slender craft, paddling rhythmically on one side before switching. Once an indispensable means of survival for island traversal and open-ocean fishing, it has evolved into a dynamic global water sport.
Watch a six-person canoe (OC6) slice through the foam, and the precision borders on telepathic. At the core of the frenzy is a simple, clipped bark: "Hut!" Calling the rhythm from seat three is 63-year-old Martha Levin. With every cue, all six paddlers cleanly alternate sides in lockstep, setting the vessel's trim and cadence.
Born in Hong Kong, Levin spent years abroad before returning in 1995. Seeking a way back to the emotional fabric of her hometown, she threw herself into water sports at the Victoria Recreation Club, where she now serves as chair.
"I was captivated during a race in Hawaii, looking out at hundreds of boats taking to the ocean alongside leaping dolphins," Levin recalled, her eyes brightening. "Right then, I was hooked. I was completely in love with the sport."
To Levin, Hong Kong's waters offer a diverse year-round training ground: calm, warm waters in the summer contrast with winter swells that can surge up to two meters. "Hong Kong is really my home," she said. "It feels like a way of life to come back here to the team, the camaraderie."
In Levin's eyes, outrigger canoeing is never a solo pursuit. In the same vessel, young corporate professionals in their 20s paddle shoulder-to-shoulder with mothers in their 50s; broad-shouldered powerhouses sit alongside petite teammates whose endurance keeps the rhythm steady. Each must juggle demanding careers, family commitments, and intensive regimens.
"It's more than just me, so everyone makes the effort to show up on time," she noted.
This distribution of power in a six-seater is almost constitutional. Seat three is the metronome, responsible for the switch commands, while seat six, the steersperson at the stern, reads the sea, sets the strategy, and commands the boat's overall course.
Steering from the stern is Alex Miranda, a native of Brazil who now serves as the paddle sports head coach at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Now in his 50s, Miranda remains a fixture across diverse maritime communities and disciplines.
For him, stepping into a canoe represents a deliberate return to nature and community. "You get really focused and all the distractions of everyday life just kind of clear out," he said.
On the open water, there is no margin for complacency. Paddlers must remain hyper-focused, continuously synchronizing their strokes, assessing the hull's trim, and reading changes in the wind and swell. To accommodate varying goals, the club runs structured programs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays catering to all age brackets.
Miranda and his peers also look beyond local shores, aiming to expand outrigger canoeing into other cities across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. "The Greater Bay Area already has good paddlers coming from the tradition of dragon boating, so they can combine that with outrigger paddling and try something slightly different to grow the sport," Miranda said.
While the sport once drew predominantly middle-aged participants, Miranda has noticed an influx of younger faces filling the docks.
Take Tommy Yiu, a 31-year-old local resident, who cut his teeth on university dragon boating before crossing over to outrigger canoeing in 2024 on a colleague's whim.
Unpredictable weather and shifting currents frequently threaten to throw a canoe off course. Once accustomed to tackling problems single-handedly, Yiu found that battling adversity on the sea taught him humility and team trust. "Survival and speed only come when you surrender your ego and trust your crew entirely," he reflected.
"The moment you set foot inside the boat, your pedigree, your job title, your socio-economic status -- it all evaporates," said 50-year-old crew member Wang Xiaoxin. "Everyone is reduced to the same basic weight, pulling toward the exact same marker."
A mainlander relocating to Hong Kong, Wang found herself in an emotional low two years ago. Multiple sports failed to lift her spirits until her husband recommended outrigger canoeing. The expansive horizon and welcoming community won her over on her very first outing, anchoring her immediately.
"I was an incurable late-riser," she laughed. "Now, dragging myself out of bed at 5 a.m. is second nature, purely because of the camaraderie of my teammates," she said. Recalling her first Round the Island race in Hong Kong, she remembered encountering towering waves near Po Toi Island. Relying purely on mutual trust, the crew persevered through the chop and crossed the finish line.
As a professional jewelry designer, Wang discovered that the resilience she gained on the water seamlessly translated into her daily craft. The rigorous mindfulness required during dawn paddles mirrors the stillness and precision demanded when handcrafting delicate jewelry, the two disciplines feeding into one another.
At the World Championships in Singapore, Wang saw competitors with disabilities racing flat out, and paddlers in their late 70s cutting through the water. "It made me embrace the passage of time and realize that we should never place limits on our lives," she said.
As the session winds down, paddlers rinse the salt from their skin, change into work attire, and disperse into the glass towers in town, the workshops of industrial estates, and lecture halls.
Hong Kong will always have its gleaming skyline, but just beyond the shore, there are waves, winds, and fellow paddlers moving forward as one. ■
