With the Fotis

Terry Doyle

October 09, 2019

Holy shit! Jim Foti ? No way.
33 years ago I was spending the summer in Kailua and crashing at my brother’s rental on a small canal. The property belonged to your family and you and I worked together chipping loose tile from the entryway. We had a good rythem going where you would poke a tile to loosen it and I would grab it and remove, then repeat. Then came that one tile that needed another poke, but I had already started reaching for it when BAM – that spade hit my gloved finger and the leather immediately turned blood red. I was afraid to take the glove off for fear that part of my finger would remain inside. Lucky enough it was intact and you were like “my dad’s a doctor, let’s go see him”. Good thing my parents aren’t here to panic, I thought, they don’t need to know. So we get to your dad’s office and who’s there? My mom’s friend Pat Gilbert. Lol.
Your dad removed my battered fingernail (ouch!) and it healed nicely.
The bummer was that I could no longer practice with the Kailua Canoe Club since the canal water had plenty of bacteria that would have enjoyed my open wound. Oh, well – some had to drink the Primo beer.
So here I am, years later and living in Pompano Beach, Florida and I’m dropping my daughter off at the beach and I notice an outrigger canoe parked under some palm trees. I wrote down the club name Lanakila Iki, looked them up, and started paddling again. I’m longer 19 years old, but I can still pull my weight and love being on the water and getting a killer workout. I’ve been using a club paddle and started shopping for my own and I came across a paddle called the “Foti” and thought to myself “no way, you’ve got to be kidding”. Then I checked the video with you and your brother and that was it. You guys rock.
After borrowing and trying so many other paddles I set my sights on a double bend hybrid with a palm grip. I’ve noticed the palm grip isn’t so popular so I could use some advice to be talked out of it. It seems to fill my big hand a little more, but maybe that’s just cozy for a short run. We’ve been doing 8-10 mile races and some workouts up to 12 miles or so. A few of our club members are considering the 80 mile Crossing For the Cure again this year from the Bahamas to Florida in June and I’m tempted.
Would love to hear from you and laugh about some good times. Call me (954)275-0100