Testimonials

We had such an amazing experience with you, Kai and the other clinicians.  We learned more than we thought possible and had the chance to paddle in beautiful ocean!  We would absolutely love to come back to Kauai and practice our skills.  I am positive that you will see our young guys again.

Barb says, “Thanks, Keone, for making my day.  I was feeling really low but you managed to get me out on the water and brighten up my spirits and make me feel part of this sport again.”

Ken says, “Keone, you da bomb.  Thanks for being such a great coach and host.”

“Whinny ” – that was from Joe the horse…who thought it was the best paddling trip he has ever done.

It was a true honour to be able to work with you and Kai.  Thank you for everything you have done to make the clinic awesome.

Grace and the Lotus Sports Club paddlers
2018 Kauai Summer OC1 clinic with Kai Bartlett and Keone Miyake

Thank you all so much for making our trip to Kauai so amazing! Everyone had a great time during the clinic and learnt a lot. Having the combination of the OC6 and OC1 worked well and being able to do the second downwinder on the OC1/2 was awesome.

For all of the guest coaches (particularly Kawika) and paddlers throughout the camp, they were amazing. Really patient and sharing of their knowledge and skills. We all want to be like Shaydon and fly the ama! Noe really brought home the meaning of team spirit which is something we constantly need to remember to come back to as a focus to grow as paddlers.

There are a lot of skills that we will be taking back to our club to share with everyone.

Thank you also for the extra special care you took with some of our less experienced paddlers. I believe Cathy will benefit greatly from the tuition and Paul was hugely appreciative of being able to get out on the OC1 on the last day while the rest of us did the huli practise.

Please say a big Mahalo to everyone who was involved in the sessions, they were truly awesome and inspirational! If anyone is coming to Australia to paddle we would welcome them to come paddle with us at any time!

Amanda Wyllie, Pacific Dragons
Kauai Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

Each day of the clinic was a highlight, particularly when we were on the water.

On Wednesday, before we were to venture on to the open ocean for our first downhill run, Keone had all of us hold hands in a circle and pray for the blessing of the wild, beautiful, powerful ocean, and for our safety, which was very moving and generous of him. Moments later I was on the water, amidst the waves and 17 knot winds, catching (almost) a bump, and saw 3 feet off my starboard a large, green sea turtle essentially doing the same thing – WOW! – did I feel blessed to be in that place, guided by Keone and his team, immersed in sacred nature that we had just shared thanks for. A memory I will have for a lifetime.

Steve Holland
Kauai Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

All the people involved in organizing and coaching are passionate about the sport. They were genuinely interested in seeing us improve.

My highlight would be getting the opportunity to paddle downwind in some great surfing conditions for someone with limited experience like myself. Having those great volunteers to help us was a bonus. They were all knowledgeable and much appreciated.

Keith Wags
Kauai Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

Keone is a great coach – his warmth, good humor, down-to-earthness, and love of the sport was really inspirational. I also enjoyed the nice variety and quality of canoes.

Rick Ree
Kauai Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

Everyone we came across in the camp was so generous with their time and knowledge, it is so very much appreciated.

Nicola Frowen
Na Pali Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

I learnt so much from your clinic and greatly appreciated the tips and feedback from Tim and Keone…you were both amazing coaches to me and I’m forever grateful.

Cath Panetta
Kauai Clinic 2017 with Keone Miyake

I wanted to thank you again for a great prep-clinic. I learned so much and had such a great time. I realize how much more there is to learn and I know that can only happen on the water.

Pat – thank you for your patience with us/me on the two man. Sitting in front of you and trying to anticipate what wave, what direction and when to push vs when to hold on was invaluable. It took a village to make this happen and I greatly appreciate everyone who supported us.

Lorie Vos
Maui Clinic 2017 with Pat Dolan

The clinic staff was welcoming and friendly and super fun. Thank you for teaching me how read da ocean surf, positioning my canoe and when to geevem!

I soon learned how addicting this sport can be after a few Maliko downwind runs. Every day was new day the ocean was different and learned something new every day. I felt I was improving day by day and the clinic absolutely help thru my first M2M (I didn’t want it to end). Always room for improvement and I’ll be back again!….. To all my new paddling friends I’ve meet it was great being on the water you, until we meet again. A Hui Hou & Alooooha!

Gorden Martinez
Maui Clinic 2017 with Kai Bartlett

I would like to start off by saying your communication has been timely and informative. I went to Kauai thinking I have paddled in big waves, which I have but I am very pleased that I chose to take a clinic first before the race. The waves were different, and I was a little apprehensive after day one.

By the time race day arrived I was confident and happy I had the experience of the camp. Expert tutoring from Laci, Keone, and Kai helped immensely. The extra people who showed up just to paddle with us showed a lot of ohana to us. If I had to rate on a scale from 1-10 this camp was a 10, everything I expected and lots more,…. information that I used in the race. New canoes and chances to get on the double gave me a variety of different learning experiences.

I thought it was a huge plus paddling every part of the KWC race course. Knowing points to look for and course to follow was bonus. First class camp all the way. Thank You very much and Mahalo!

Bruce and Darryl (The Lost Boys)
Kauai World Challenge Prep Clinic 2017 with Kai Bartlett and Keone Miyake

The clinic was great, I think everyone had a blast. Thanks for the time and effort from [the instructors] and the other paddlers – there was a nice “ohana” feel to the clinic.

There was a good variety of water conditions and technique and skills for the group. Many of the paddlers hadn’t paddled in Hawaii or surfed before, while the experienced ones have raced Queen Lili and Gorge. The focus in OC6 on levels and changing gears was good as Canadians tend to paddle steady state, so the transition to surfing can be difficult (whenever I’m in the Mixed Distance program’s canoe calling pushes, they complain I call too many, so hopefully this changes things). It was good when you moved to seat 1 to show the rate and rhythm of the stroke.
‎It would have been nice to get more big water steering experience, but we had a lot of steers and swapping in new steers all the time would have constantly set back the dynamics of the crews.

The OC1 was fun as the conditions allowed the newbies to get comfortable in the waves. Thanks for getting all the escorts out – with almost 1 to 1 for the women, I’m sure it made them more comfortable. For me, the conditions allowed me to focus on linking waves rather than staying upright or tiring myself catching a wave, then being too tired to link to another wave (miles vs smiles). It also got me thinking about KWC.

‎Thanks again!

Ronald A. Chin
Kauai World Challenge Prep Clinic 2016 with Kai Bartlett and Keone Miyake

[The clinic] was such a rich experience for me in so many ways, that I’ve been struggling to describe it. Suddenly, this morning I was thinking about how my whole experience of paddling has changed since the camp, and it struck me that you gave us small fry the BIG picture of paddling.

In a hundred different ways, you helped people appreciate the power of the Ocean; their dependence on the boat; a sense of responsibility for taking care of oneself and looking out for others. Instead of tweaking about form, per se, your focus was on moving the boat. I wish we’d had some more time to work on that, but that’s a whole other camp!

We not only got to learn about how we paddle, but about how really *good* paddlers paddle as well. This camp really helped Carin understand how much more there is to paddling than she has experienced here or even in Kona, and why certain skills we practice that may not be needed on flat water (though they sure don’t hurt!) are really important when you have winds and waves and shore only on one side if at all.

I grew up on the water, but not everyone has, and you did an amazing job of teaching folks how to be water people: you talked about checking weather and setting your landmarks and being aware of water and current and wind – you did it on land and on the water where we had the chance to *see* the drift or the wind drive (can’t guarantee that we all saw it, but the forces were there and working pretty much as you described them!). The ocean is such a dynamic environment, but you have to learn how to recognize it (otherwise you come ashore and you don’t know where you are or how you got there!); land people aren’t use to the concept of moving even when they aren’t doing anything, or doing something and not going where they think they’re going!

And putting in at different locations depending on conditions was great! Each day brought new water and new lessons. The only thing I could wish for is more!

Maria Duryea
Spring Break Clinic 2016 with Laola

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