Outrigger Canoe Paddling started hundreds of years ago in ancient Polynesia. Polynesian voyagers used just the stars, wind & their paddles to travel thousands of miles north to what we now know as Hawaii. It is an integral part of the Polynesian culture & was an essential form of transportation. It helped sustain the Polynesian way of life- fishing, recreation & transportation between the islands were all possible because of the outrigger. Some of the outriggers could hold as many as 100 people. Today most of the outriggers are used for pleasure or racing.