Paddle Battle (also known as Wooden Ships) is a recurring challenge from Survivor. It debuted in Survivor: Guatemala and has since re-appeared in Survivor: Kaôh Rōng.
The tribes must race in boats to the shore, then push and pull their boats up the hill until a finish line and complete a final task.
History[]
In Survivor: Guatemala, the tribes paddled out to buoys in the lake to retrieve a torch and then race back to the shore. Then four members of the tribe begun hauling up the canoe with a rope while the remaining tribe members rotated logs underneath the canoe, allowing it to roll up the hill. Once the canoe passed the finish line, each tribe's remaining member had to run to the top of the hill with the torch and light the victory cauldron to win Immunity. The fatigue of the Nakúm men after the Reward Challenge the previous day hampered their performance, Jim Lynch injured his bicep while pulling the boat, Danni Boatwright tripped over the outrigger portion of the boat, and Cindy Hall got her foot stuck under a log, leading Yaxhá to their first victory.
The challenge re-appeared as the first Immunity Challenge in Survivor: Kaôh Rōng. The tribes first swam to their boats where they had to dive down and retrieve four paddles. The tribes then raced their boats to the shore. Once they got to the shore, they pushed and pulled their boats up the hill using wheels and a rope. After the boats crossed the finish line, the tribes had the option to choose between a puzzle and a dexterity task. The first and second tribes to finish their chosen task won immunity. While retrieving the paddles for To Tang, Darnell accidentally lost the tribe's goggles, putting them at an early disadvantage. Chan Loh quickly came in first, and even though To Tang caught up to Gondol who struggled to push their heavy boat, Alecia did little to help Jennifer with the puzzle and after a close race Gondol placed 2nd.
