Steve Taylor: Chairman

I have been paddling with HKOCC since 2007 after my passion for water sports and spending time on the ocean led me away from windsurfing to the sport of out rigging. I follow in the footsteps of our previous leaders Katherine Lynch, John Pache and Peter Austin who have built the club to what it is today, a platform for like minded individuals to train hard, have fun and be competitive in both domestic and international races. You will often see me on our home waters in and around Stanley or surfing the waves at Cape D’Aguilar.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for how we can make the club more successful feel free to email me at chairman@hkocc.com or grab me for a quiet word after training.

2009 is shaping up to be a great season for the club so see you on the water.

Katherine Lynch: Vice-Chairman

As one of the founders of HKOCC in 2002/2003, it is personally gratifying to see the hard work and efforts of the Club reaping benefits as we have become the dominant outrigger canoe club in Hong Kong. HKOCC has helped raise the level of outrigger canoe racing in Hong Kong by providing many racing and recreational paddling opportunities (both local and overseas) for our members in a supportive and positive club environment. Coming from an extensive background in competitive team sports and endurance based running and cycling, nothing quite matches the thrill of racing outrigger canoes in rough open ocean conditions. It is great to be able share my passion and enthusiasm for this sport with new paddlers to the Club. We are fortunate to have a fantastic group of committed paddlers in HKOCC from all over the world and from all walks of life but the love of outrigger paddling in the big blue ocean is what binds us all together.

John Pache: Head Coach

My name is John Pache. I am Head Coach. Listen to what I say. I know you didn't do that when I was Chairman, but then I always live in hope. I don't know that much about outrigging, so my main advice is "paddle harder". I have been paddling for five years, which funnily enough is the length of time it takes to be a really good paddler. I have the difficult task of picking crews, which usually involves having four people who haven't done enough training, and then trying to find two more who haven't done any. My goal for this year was to establish our A crews as the number one crews in HK. This has now been achieved, so if you have any other goals knocking around please let me know. I am also Hong Kong National Sprint Champion for OC1 and King of the Bay. Some people find this amusing.

Hamish McNicol: Safety Officer

As a life time sea lover I’ve usually been interested in craft that don’t need much effort to move. Growing up sailing and windsurfing competitively, I converted from dragon boat paddling in 2003 with the original intent of keeping fit in the off season and to get the blood pumping to drive away the weekend hangovers. After few sessions outrigging found a way into my soul and now I’m addicted to both the recreational enjoyment, the passion of racing and the way of life it brings.

You’ll probably either find me in seat 6 or on my surf ski and as the safety officer for HKOCC I’m keen to keep the club and the members out of danger and encourage a healthy love and personal respect for the power of the sea.

Lydia Ronnenkamp: Treasurer

I started outrigging in July 2007 following on from a very social dragon boat season. It's highly addictive and I'm now what you might call a paddling junkie. I love, just love the thrill of catching waves and learning something new about the sea every time I'm out.

I'm a keen racer and particularly enjoyed our 2008 Hamilton Island campaign, despite (or perhaps because of) the the 10ft tiger shark at the first change. This year's highlight was that stray humpback that breached right between our canoe and the edge of Beaufort Island; so close we could see the barnacles. How many endurance sports offer you that?

Oh, and ah for my sins I'm also club treasurer.

Elodie Coscas: Social Events Coordinator

I started outrigging in July 2007 and caught the bug! I loved it straight away, went to Guam and Hammo in 2008, and just can’t seem to seem to get enough (“I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough…”).

I organise events for a living, and thought it would be fun to work more (!?!) and organise events for the club. We are always looking for new ideas for social activities so if you have any suggestions whether it be parties, BBQs or Bar Mitzvahs, feel free to get in touch.

I look forward to welcoming you to one of our events in 2009 and seeing you out on the water. Oh and I forgot… I am French, so if I arrive late, remember that 15 minutes is still in my polite zone.

Jo Eades: Paddle Events Coordinator

I am Jo Eades, your Paddle Events Co-ordinator and hoping to making this a Racing Season to remember....

I started outrigging in 2005 as a way to satisfy my enjoyment of paddling and my addiction to endurance events! I have been to Hammo and Kona and would love to compete in more international races and win some more local races!

Unfortunately, I'm not able to break my running addiction and so my favourite outrigging race will always by the Three Peaks!

Mathilde Lucas: Women's Captain

2 years ago, “Outrigging, Hawaiian canoeing or Va’a” did not exist in my vocabulary....Since discovering this sport, I've embarked on a addictive ride with HKOCC, racing locally & internationally. I have always been a water sports enthusiast (swimming & skiing– snow is also water...) or any sport with a competitive edge. As women’s captain, my goal is to continue developing the club's great team spirit socially & competitively and get paddlers enthused with races in HK or abroad. This year, the HKOCC women's team is strong with its dynamic mix of experienced paddlers & new recruits and the outlook is looking very exciting!

If you have any questions about upcomming races, training sessions or even what type of waterproof make up you can use (and yes – I’ve been asked before!), I’ll be happy to assist.

Ladies, let's GO! GO! GO!

Gregory Fischer: Membership Officer

After the usual Dragon Boat season in 2007 I looked for a water sport to do during the whole year. I tried outrigging and enjoyed it right away. Each time I go for training it feels like being in holiday: go to the beach and meet friends (even though one should not hang around ...). I've participated to Guam '07, Kona '08, Micronesian cup '08, Dragons Run 08 (tough one, felt the pain a long time !) and the Round Hong Kong Island Race '08 and looking for more. The international races are great to learn more about the sport and travel in awesome places. The way I see it, it's a fantastic sport to learn to push your limits.

Julia Washbourne: Club Secretary

I moved to Hong Kong in January 2006, and with the help of John Pache’s recruitment skills, I joined the HK Outriggers two weeks later - all quite coincidentally while on a search for a sofa. A few weeks after joining, Katherine and John Pache asked me if I wanted to do a race in Australia, and not knowing anything about Hamo (Hamilton Island Race), I said “sure why not” and experienced the best races ever in my paddling life. The swell was unbelievable and although our women’s B crew came last in the 16 km race (we missed the start, taking our time with dragging the canoe out to the start – due to low tide), we had the best time and enjoyed every second surfing the big dippers! This picture of us was chosen for the cover of the official Hamo DVD.  After the Hamo experience, I was hooked!  A year later, I was asked to learn how to steer for the Guam races, again, thinking nothing of it: “Sure, why not!” I steered two teams in the long races, sprints and the slalom – my ever favourite! Since then I have many enjoyable races under my belt, or rather blade and to many more! ;-)

And the following is a useful hawaiian paddling phrase for any steerer, which is stuck on my fridge to practice and become fluent in it for the ATIR! ;-)
"hana ka hoe, pa`a ka waha!" In polite terms this means; "work the paddle, close the mouth!" And is usually translated as; "SHUT UP AND PADDLE!"

As secretary I take the meeting minutes (very exciting) and liaise between the Licensing office and our club.