The Duluth Boat Club offers several programs through its paddling program, focusing currently on dragon boats and outrigger canoes. We want to make anyone feel comfortable in our program, regardless of ability or competitive desire.
Our goals are simple:
-Teach everyone how to enjoy paddling. -Make everyone feel welcome. -Help every paddler reach his or her paddling goal.
If you want to learn the basics of paddling in a safe, fun environment, try our outrigger program. Outrigger canoes formerly were exclusively used in open ocean in Hawaii and the Pacific. They carry six paddlers and have a float attached to the left side to keep them upright in big ocean swells. (You’ll learn the Polynesian names for all the parts when we take you through a training session).
That means you’ll be able to learn to paddle with the help of other paddlers of all abilities, without worrying about keeping the boat going straight or tipping over. This is truly a sport for everyone – the clubs in Hawaii include paddlers from age 10 to over 60! And we’re trying to keep the program as affordable as possible:
Singles pay $60. Families pay $90.
To join, download the appropriate form from the links at the bottom of this page, fill it out and mail with the appropriate amount of money to:Duluth Boat Club, P.O. Box 7004, Duluth, MN 55807
That gets you training and use of the canoes during regular practice sessions Tuesday-Thursday evenings. (Final details being worked out). We have paddles and lifejackets, but encourage participants to purchase their own equipment as they get experience. One of our members also organizes women’s sessions Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings.
And once you get some experience, you can organize your own group to go out when you want.
Outrigger canoes are also an excellent way for dragon boat teams to train – you’ll learn about an efficient stroke, good timing and get in shape without having to get all of your team together at the same time.
You can also organize dragon boat training sessions through the Duluth Boat Club. We coordinate training and on-water logistics for the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, which draws nearly 100 teams of 22 people to a daylong series of races in August.
Training sessions during the two or three weeks prior to the festival are included with your entry fee. But if you want more, we offer training throughout the summer. The fees are: $660 until May 1; $800 after that. We’ll provide someone to steer the boat for the first two practices, which we will also use to train your own steerer. After that, you get access to our dragon boat for regular training, subject to scheduling around other teams’ training.
Interested? E-mail Megan Kress at
for more information.
