NEWSLETTER
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| December 2016 |
Join Our Club |
| Check out our Kayaking Resources tab: One stop for all the information you need to go paddling! |
From the Prez
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| By Mike Germani |
We hope to see you at the Deception Pass Dash! This year the event will take place Dec 10 - 11 and Outdoor Adventures is looking for volunteers. Contact them for more details - there is still time to register!
There are several holiday kayaking events this month. If you are looking to be on the water, join us in celebration:
And SAVE THE DATE - Jan 19. Susan Conrad with her traveling companion Ben Wells are coming to speak at a WKC event at Mercer Library. More details to come.
Please keep an eye out for upcoming sea kayak and whitewater trip planning parties. We'd love your help planning the paddling events calendar for 2017. Have a trip you would like to see offered next year? Start making your list and checking it twice...
Happy Holidays!
Mike
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Featured Trip
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Lake Union Argosy Lighted Boat Parade: Dec 23
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Come join us for the annual Lake Union Argosy Lighted Boat Parade!
Launch from Waterway 18 and paddle over into Portage Bay to visit the house boats and spread good holiday cheer. The bay quickly fills with decorated boats of all types waiting for the Argosy ships with the Dickens Carolers. They put on a great show in Portage Bay and then move over to Gasworks Park for the Grande Finale. If you have not experienced this yet it is a MUST! Dress warm with many layers and immersion protection and don't forget to decorate your boat!
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When: December 23 from 7pm to 11pm
Where: Waterway 18 on Lake Union, Seattle
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Training
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WKC Pool Sessions: Tukwila, Shoreline, and Tacoma
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Continue to build your skills at weekly pool sessions offered by WKC in Tukwila, Shoreline, and Tacoma.
The fee for weekly pool sessions is $10 for WKC members and $15 for non-members.
Check the Event Calendar for upcoming dates:
If you have any questions about pool sessions:
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News and Events
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Deception Pass Dash: December 10 - 11
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Registration is open! The challenging 6 mile race course takes paddlers through the swirling waters of Deception Pass! This annual Northwest paddling tradition is open to paddlers ages 16+. The race will be held on the morning of Sunday, December 11th, 2016. Check-in will begin at 9am, and the race will start at 12 noon.
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WKC Cedar River Race Results
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This was the last event in the NW Whitewater Cup Series! Thank you to all who participated.Here are some highlights, and alink to the race results:
Fastest boat of the day: Joel Martin
The "clean team": Jake Verhaegh, Joey Yeaple, Andrew Mylly and Joel Martin had no penalties at all!
The farthest traveled: Jeff Styles from Alberton, Montana.
Sneakiest paddler: Adam Horton
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Hydro Plans for the Skykomish River - Make Your Voice Heard!
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The Snohomish PUD commissioners are currently "revisiting" the Sunset Falls project's value.
They are undecided.This means they need to hear from YOU!
Learn more about the timing, budget, and environmental impact Snohomish PUD's proposed Hydropower Project will have on the area upstream of Sunset Falls on the South Fork of the Skykomish River near Gold Bar and Index, WA.
Then make your voice heard...
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MaST Center Science on the Sound Speaker Series: 1st Saturday Each Month
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The MaST Center is located near the Redondo Beach Park in Des Moines, WA and offers a unique waterfront laboratory and classroom in the lower Puget Sound. It provides a venue to educate and engage the community in issues impacting the Puget Sound including coastal development, storm water runoff, marine pollution and salmon recovery.
Monthly presentations are free, open to the public, and are scheduled at 12PM noon on the first Saturday each month.
December 3: The Whale Trail
January 7: Coral Reef Conservation
February 4: State of the Salish Sea
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Save the Date: Susan Conrad and Ben Wells Present to WKC - January 19
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Join Susan Conrad and her traveling troubadour, Ben Wells, as they tell tall tales and share pretty pictures from a compendium of paddling adventures up the Inside Passage. Highlights include tiptoeing amongst the swells of Dixon Entrance, sneaking around the infamous Cape Caution, and enjoying Alaska's finest brew pubs. Hear about their encounters with pea-soup fog, nautical ghost towns, minefields of boomers, stunning sandy beaches, wolves, bears, whales, spawning salmon, and amazing people.
Save the Date: January 19
Time: 7 - 9 p.m.
Location: Mercer Library
In the meantime, her book detailing the1,200 mile journey to Alaska through the Inside Passage is receiving wonderful reviews!If you haven't read it already, pick-up a copy here:
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WKC San Juan Seven Challenge
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| We love circumnavigating islands and want to encourage more paddlers to join the fun, so we have launched the San Juan Seven Challenge.
The seven islands selected for the San Juan Seven challenge are San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, Cypress, Guemes, Lummi, and Stuart.
You can circumnavigate the islands in any order that you like and can take as much time as you need or want to circumnavigate each island. To qualify for badges you need to circumnavigate the island during a WKC trip that has been announced on the WKC website.
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WKC Seven Rivers Challenge: New Stickers to be Distributed!
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WKC members who participate in club trips to the seven designated rivers will receive collective paddle/boat stickers designed by a whitewater kayaker and artist Zeus Rudner.
Challenge yourself to get all seven stickers! When a member completes all seven rivers, he/she will receive a finisher’s sticker. To make it easy to keep track, participants must register for the club trip online.
The designated rivers and in Seven Rivers challenge are: Nisqually, Nooksack, Sauk, Sol Duc, Stillaguamish,Wenatchee, and White Salmon
Upcoming WKC Trips:
Jan 22 - 7RC - Middle Stillaguamish III+
Check Events Calendar for more dates
Contact new Whitewater Trip Chair
or 7RC Cheerleader
Please come to the Trip Planning Party on Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 (the details will be coming)
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Looking to Buy/Sell Used Paddling Gear?
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Maybe kayaking isn't your sport.Need to sell some gently used gear? Looking to purchase some paddling treasure? Check out the WKC Classifieds Forum to list your items or to purchase kayaking gear from fellow paddlers.Easy to follow instructions for posting items included below:
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Schedule forACA and PNA (formerly BCU) Paddler Certifications
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| Thinking of taking your paddling skills to the next level?Become ACA or PNA (formerly BCU) certified this season. Special awards signify specific paddling, safety and leadership skills at different levels and in various craft. These awards provide a way to track your own progress as a paddler, and give others a reliable indication of your preparedness for trips and further trainings. Improve your skills or become a certified coach and lead others on the water: |
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ACA Certification
Founded in 1880, The American Canoe Association (ACA) is a national nonprofit organization serving the broader paddling public by providing education related to all aspects of paddling.River, coastal, and surf kayaking certifications offered.
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PNA Certification
Paddlesports North America (PNA) was formed in 2013 to provide access to British Canoeing (formerly known as the British Canoe Union or BCU) paddler awards and coaching certifications in North America, including canoe, kayak and stand up paddle board.
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Recent Trip Reports
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Check out the Trip Reports tab to see more WKC kayaking adventures.
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Team Petty Adventure: Thankgiving OP 2016
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By Kanako Iwata-Eng
When the Team finished the annual Thanksgiving Day Lower Green Gorge run, Captain Bill Petty decided to change the plan. We were originally supposed to meet at the Humptulips and run the Narrows section, but it had been raining and was forecasted to rain a lot more...
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Yampa and Green River, Utah
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By Mike Grijalva
In mid-July of 2016, at the very end of the runnable water level, a group of friends and family floated the Yampa River for 6 days in sunshine. The Yampa is on the eastern edge of Utah, is free flowing, and joins the Green River to become the Green through Dinosaur National Park.
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New WW Run: Middle Fork Snoqualmie
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By Mike Grijalva
The paving of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie road has added a new pleasure to our local outdoor access. The road that used to be ugly with potholes, is now a smooth paved slide glide upstream. A few different access points for put-ins are present, but there are few.
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Halloween Paddle and Poker Party
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By Shanna Gachen
The weather and the river level cooperated for the annual Halloween Paddle and Party. We had a great turn out for the paddle on the Lower Green River Gorge (class III) and the sun made an appearance from about noon on.
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Copyright 2014 Washington Kayak Club
President: Mike Germani president@washingtonkayakclub.org
Secretary: Bill Porter
Treasurer: Jackie Brown
Editor: Brenna McVety newsletter@washingtonkayakclub.org |