Welcome to KANUculture, founded in 1994 by Steve West.
KANUculture started life as an annual book covering the Pacific wide sport of Outrigger Canoeing, based in Australia. Twelve years of research and participation, led to the production of ten books, several magazines and the world's first outrigger canoeing coaching manual.
Ultimately, after many thousands of miles of travel, racing, coaching and time spent talking story with some of the world's best canoe paddlers, two final and significant publications were created.
The Art and Skill of Steering
First Edition 2003 Second Edition 2006
The Paddlers Guide to Outrigger Canoeing
First Edition 2007
Steve and Mandy West, met through Windsurfing in 1980 on Hayling Island UK, and continue to share of love of ocean sports. Currently they are pursuing the emerging sport of Stand Up Paddleboarding, drawing on 20 years of Outrigger Canoeing knowledge and formative years as professional Windsurfers, considering varied ways of promoting and nurturing its continued development.
A pioneering Windsurfer, writer and researcher from 1979-1986, Steve produced articles for most major windsurfing magazines and was editor of the Hayling Island (UK) Windsurfing newspaper first published in April 1981. He was founder together with Peter Williams of the 'Round the Island' (Hayling) event in 1980. In 1983 he moved to Australia and continued to dedicate his life to a variety of ocean sports through writing, publishing, photography and active involvement at the highest levels.
He has had published over 10 books, produced the world's first coaching manual for Outrigger Canoeing and been editor of an Australian Ocean Paddle Sports magazine, covering Paddle Boarding, Kayaking, Surf Kayaking, Stand Up Paddling, Outrigger Canoeing, Surf Ski Paddling, Canoe Sailing and all other related concerns of Ocean Paddle Sports, including fitness, health, nutrition, clothing, accessories, travel, equipment testing and car reviews.
The KANUculture Books
The KANUculture books, comprising of 9 Volumes and two magazine format publications concluded 11 consecutive publications, totaling over 1800 pages of information. The contribution of these publications to the sport of outrigger canoeing, between 1995-2004, while difficult to quantify, can be measured perhaps by the biblical reverence by which they were esteemed. Prior to 1995, no periodized outrigger canoeing publication existed catering to the needs of paddlers widely spread between the Pacific Rims of Australia and the North American West Coast and all islands in-between.
When the first KANUculture books arrived in Hawai`i in February 1995, it seemed incredulous that such a publication should have its origins in Australia and arguably, this created a catalyst for the notion of creating an Hawaiian home-grown publication.
Encapsulating the tropical vibrancy, physicality and timeless thrill of canoe surfing and paddling. Marc Haine steering, Cassandra Sedgeman and Lisa Curry-Kenny screaming. Photo Sue Sheard.
Where possible I will present original material or contributions and will avoid bad practices of failing to provide credit where due, plagiarism, questionable copyright infringements or speak of issues I know little about. It is unfortunate that some revel in being outspoken on many central issues, yet so far as I can tell, are eminently unqualified to draw reasonable conclusions or opinion as a consequence of having, 'been no-where and done very little' and made no study of the sport.
If you speak of the Tahitian way of things with authority, it would be reasonable to assume you have made many ventures here, as of Hawaii, the Marquesas, New Zealand, Fiji, California or any other area of the world where the sport is practiced. Having a voice via the mechanism of a website is all well and good, but I believe I am reading more each day misinformation and assumptions about our sport based on limited understanding, research or vision of the big picture, which I believe counter-productive to growth.
 |
We incorporate PayPal. No need to have a PayPal account.
Simple, safe credit card processing.
Contact steve@kanuculture.com with any questions/problems.