Happy New Year WKC paddlers!  I think you will find the club will have a lot of exciting paddling opportunities to offer this year. Planning for classes and clinics is underway. Trip planning parties are on the calendar. Even if you are not planning to lead a trip, you are encouraged to attend the party to help plan our explorations and have some fun with your paddle pals. Please register on the calendar if you want to attend, so we can get a head count and plan the refreshments.

 

We are in need of SK trip leaders—and so are working on a number of ways to encourage more experienced paddlers to step into this role. A number of clinics, classes, and special SK trips will be offered to provide the knowledge, skill, and practice one may need to be a confident leader. There will be incentives for ‘prolific’ leaders. Mentors, co-leaders, and a trip leader community will be available to provide support. The first opportunity is already in place—we are pleased to announce that Leon Somme of BodyBoatBlade will conduct a full day classroom session on leadership on Feb 22. Full details will be on the event calendar and home page soon. 

Further opportunities in the works: we are planning to provide safety training for club members and trip leaders in particular. A Wilderness First Aid class in February will also be announced soon. CPR certification classes are also being arranged.

 

Finally, I would like to mention that our website has a ‘community announcement’ forum in place. Even in its infancy, it has already proved to be a valuable communication tool. Please consider subscribing to it, either through your personal profile settings, or the forum preferences button that appears when you go to the forum page. We hope to have other forums devoted to announcing trip opportunities in place soon.

 

Happy paddling, and may you always wash ashore.

 

—Dave Ortland