Interview by:
Sarah Thornely
(Supjunkie)

Photos: Woo & Luc Cividino

Pirogue pleasure

Sarah Thornely (SUPjunkie), interviews Woo Director of Operations Fanny Ringrave, about the outrigger company, the future and the memories of her father Guy, the founder of Woo, tragically lost at sea in April 2019.

Fanny – as a proud owner of a Woo Outrigger myself, it’s great to be able to interview you. Can you let me know how long the company has existed and where you are located?
Hello Sarah, it is a pleasure to answer your questions.

The company has been in existence for just over ten years now. My father built it up from scratch, just from a crazy idea: making a living from his passion. He realised that nobody made outrigger canoes in France and that it was very difficult (but above all, very time-consuming!) to import them. This frustrated him a lot as a practitioner and awakened in him an opportunity as an entrepreneur. Indeed, this was not his first project – he had always set up businesses, but I can say that this was the first one for him with real meaning.

We are based in Anglet in the Basque Country (south-west France). Guy moved there out of love for the region more than 20 years ago.

I understand Waina Outrigger Organisation (‘Woo’) was the brainchild of your late father Guy – what were his core values at that time for the business and visions for Woo’s future?
Guytou’s (his nickname) values were very strong: humility, resilience, tenacity, generosity, cohesion, team spirit, authenticity and respect. We are imbued with these values today, and we continue to defend them daily.

He believed very strongly in his idea, which he called ‘his great adventure’. The first ones were not easy. In retrospect, his only mistake was to have been right too soon. About 15 years ago, outrigger canoe was an ultra-confidential sport: there were only two or three boats on French territory.

So, when he said he was going to start an outrigger canoe ‘business’, everyone told him it was crazy, and he readily admitted it himself, but he was a stubborn man! Today, we can say that his determination and all the work he did, allows us – 10 years later – to benefit from the expertise and a serious and stable basis that make us a significant player in a market that is constantly growing. Guytou had set down his vision for the next five years on paper in a business plan that he had time to finalise. His business plan became our one and only roadmap.

WOO’s future will therefore be through innovation, the optimisation of our manufacturing processes, maintaining and developing employment in France, sustainable development and CSR, products adapted to the practice and its spirit and finally, relevant services that will allow the #WooFamily to be even more connected. 

Your father passed away 18 months ago on the water doing what he loved – are you okay to let us know a little bit more about that time, please?
On 24th April 2019, Guy decides to go to sea with three of his friends in a downwinder in his OC1. The departure is from the port of Soccoa in Ciboure for an expected arrival at the port of Anglet. After two hours and 15 minutes of paddling in a windy sea, the team arrives at the mouth of the Adour River. All experienced, side by side and each in turn, they pass this difficult course; it is there that the three other paddlers lose sight of Guy. Despite a quick call for help, he was found the next morning on the beach of Seignosse in the Landes.

Our grief is immense – nevertheless, he left doing what he loved, in the middle of the ocean, where he felt good and free. We find this idea pretty comforting. He couldn’t have dreamed of a better outing. I imagine that knowing this must also help his friends and all the paddlers he left that day. 

You and your other family members have taken over the running of the company – how’s the transition been over the last 18 months?
The boss left us too early, too abruptly but my sister and I, we are his daughters and – like him – we are not used to giving up. Of course, it wasn’t easy for the company, but it was his project, his passion and from 25th April 2019, it became his team’s dream, and our dream too.

With my sister, we went through a long phase of turbulence in which we had to react quickly: management issues, taking stock of the figures, managing the concerns of our partners and suppliers.

We had to make some difficult decisions, but fortunately, we were able to rely on a solid, committed team that never gave up. We were able to count on each, and every one of them and I fully appreciate how lucky we are to have them.

Support, tribute and remembrance, I think that this is what guided us and helped us in this challenging transition. We were carried along by our community (the Woo Family) who supported us very strongly. It is this chain of solidarity that ended up saving the project.

We are proud to manufacture in France, and we have never lost our determination, our strength, our values, and we intend to continue to build this project for him and the whole Woo Family.

We were joined at the end of 2019 by new partners who came to support our development. I have to admit that we needed them. Now the results are there, and we have even more projects in mind!

You have an incredibly small but loyal and strong team working for you – are they part of the family too?
As I said in the previous question, I am proud to work with each one of them every day. There are not many of us (eight), but all of us are very involved and essential to the success of the project. I want to take this opportunity to thank them individually and collectively for their commitment and the daily ‘good vibes’ they bring!

Some have left, and those who are still here. They all built this project and they are, of course, part of the WOO FAMILY forever. Big up to them! 

Which was the first outrigger designed by Guy and which has been the most popular model?
His most beautiful project was the Feline because it is a project that he created for himself. This means with a vision of a practitioner and a passionate person. Guytou was a sailor out of the ordinary, and his thing was navigation and challenging conditions. What he loved was downwind sailing; it was about understanding the ocean to get the most out of it. That’s why he had the crazy idea of creating the smallest outrigger canoe in the world! Its small size makes it a more playful outrigger canoe, and above all, more manoeuvrable in the close swell of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a great poker shot in a discipline attached to traditions. Today the Feline is our biggest commercial success! When I tell you that Guytou was a visionary…

I know from my own experience that you can customise your outrigger – what has been your most popular?
When you buy an outrigger canoe from us, we make YOUR OC. Customisation options are discussed with the customer at the time of the request and everything, right up to the joint, is customisable. In the basic price of the outrigger, the customer can choose up to three colours on areas that do not require masking (deck, hull, outrigger or the entire canoe), choose the colour of the seal and the stickers which then leaves plenty of room for creativity.

If the customer has a more complex or precise customisation project, we do that too! These are options that can be activated upon request. On our side, we are always pleased to make the Woo family’s wildest dreams come true! 

Where in the UK might we be able to see and try out the Woo brand?
Anyone who would like to see or try our canoes can contact Jenny Williams, our distributor in the area. Jenny is passionate about paddling sports. From a client of WOO to a friend of Guytou and WOO in general, she joined the adventure as a partner in 2018 and will be delighted to take you for a ride! We are 100% convinced that Jenny is the best person to carry our values and bring the WOO Family together here in the UK. We know that you are in good hands to test our canoes, so don’t hesitate any longer! 

I believe the Woo brand is huge in France – in 2020 (where we have had a distinct lack of races) have you been able to attend or support any races?
Indeed! We were the partner of the Corsica Paddle Trophy for their second edition which took place on October 22nd, 23rd and 24th. At the Paris boat show at the end of 2019, we met Daniel Damien, one of the organisers with whom we immediately got on well. We very quickly adhered to the project, which focused on friendliness and sharing with an all-inclusive and multi-disciplinary format. Given the potential of the event and the playground, it was apparent that the outrigger canoe had its place!

We just came back from the event, and I can tell you that we were not wrong: a crazy atmosphere, 250 registered (25 OCs) on four disciplines (stand up, surf ski, outrigger canoe canoes, prones) in a magnificent setting! It was crazy and in this challenging period, hats off to the whole organisation team who fought for the maintenance of the event and who knew how to apply a strict sanitary protocol without ever spoiling the party. We needed it. Many thanks to them!

Despite the current climate, we realise that many of them did not give up and continued to develop projects! And that’s good. We are at the moment exchanging on a surfing competition in OC4 in Ericeira in Portugal, organised by Miguel Ruivo from Laneez Ericeira Surf House (laneezericeira.com) which should be held in March. So, if you have OC4 and you want to participate, don’t hesitate to contact us on our website or on our social networks to know more about it. It promises to be huge!

Finally, with my sister, we did not give up the idea of organising an annual race in April in honour of our father (the G.Race) to be held in our region! We had to cancel it last year, but the first edition could be held in 2021 if everything comes back to normal by then. We keep our faith! 

I hear you are launching a new Outrigger which is very exciting – can you let us know more about that.
Our biggest project in 2020 was the design of a new OC1 pro, and we’re almost there! The Covid didn’t help, so we’re a little late, but this OC is the fruit of the work of our whole team. This is our tribute to Guytou. We’ve been working on it for a year now, and we want it to make a difference, so it will take as long as it takes! But don’t worry, it won’t take much longer, we’re close to our goal, and everything should be ready at the beginning of 2021.

We designed the plans, using an iterative principle, integrating the feedback and wishes for improvement from our riders and friends. We want to be disruptive, to innovate, to dream, the objective is to bring out a high-performance outrigger canoe on the flat without impacting the manoeuvrability in downwind, thanks to the development of two outriggers specific to the conditions of the water surface. Paddlers will therefore have the choice between a downwind and a flat ama. They will even be able to customise the configuration of the fittings to meet their needs precisely according to their size and the conditions.

With this new OC1, we push customisation even further! It’s a stimulating challenge.

I have heard you run an incredible downwind camp in Guadeloupe – can you tell us more and why you chose this destination? What can people expect if they experience this camp?
Guadeloupe has always been a strategic course of the ‘Great Adventure’, designed by Guytou. We think of the Downwind Camp in such a way that it is more than a simple ‘paddle school’, it is an event during which paddlers from all over the world (Canada, Argentina, USA, England, Spain, France) have the opportunity to get together around the same passion.

These are moments of sharing with the Woo family that are very important for us. The 2020 edition was a success, but unfortunately, the current context forces us to cancel the 2021 edition, which was to be held as every year in January. Even if today the situation does not allow the Downwind Camp to be maintained, one thing is certain: sporting events like the Downwind Camp or races must be part of the future because they play a crucial role in discovering who we are, allowing us to progress, to push our limits, to widen our fields of possibilities and to make magnificent encounters. Then we are sure; the DW camp will come back stronger in 2022. 

So, a small family business which has at its core, a loyal team that still holds dear the ideas and passion of the late Guytou Ringrave. I know from personal experience how much fun OC paddling is and also what great cross-training it is particularly for SUP.  Do get in touch with Jenny if you fancy giving it a whirl – you won’t look back!

Fanny, thank you so much for taking the time to let us know more about the history and plans of your family business Woo Outrigger – we very much look forward to paddling with you one day.