NEWSLETTER
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| January 2017 |
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| 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 need your help! Join us this month at our annual sea kayak and whitewater trip planning parties! Sea kayaking is scheduled for Jan 14 at Dave Ortland's house, and whitewater planning will take place on January 28, at the end of a run on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie. Have a trip you would like to see offered next year? Add it to the list and h elp create the paddling events calendar for 2017. Or even better, become a trip leader and lead it yourself!
And 2016 WW class graduates, this is your chance to teach new paddlers what you learned last year! Come hone your skills at WW Class Helper Training Day on January 22, then lend a hand at the Beginner Whitewater Kayaking Course in March! Register now, as both courses fill quickly!
SAVE THE DATE - Jan 19. Susan Conrad with her traveling companion Ben Wells are coming to speak at a WKC event at Mercer Library. They will share stories and images from a grand adventure up the Inside Passage.
If you've thought about trying kayak polo - now is the time! Chris Brubaker has arranged Kayak Polo Pool Play every other Sunday at Tukwila pool - beginning January 15. It's a great way to try a new sport. Hope to see you there!
Happy New Year!
Mike
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Featured Trip
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2017 WKC Trip Planning Parties - Jan 14 & 28
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Come join us for the 2017 WKC Trip Planning Parties!
Pick your date and help us plan WKCkayaking trips for 2017. Have a favorite you would like to see on the calendar? We'd be happy to add it. We are considering challengingovernight, as well as easy day trips. We will discuss San Juan Seven and Seven Rivers Challenge plans for next season, as well.
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Sea Kayaking Party
When: January 14
Where: Dave Ortland's House in Bellevue
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Whitewater Party
When: January 28
Where: Joshua Wiseman's House in North Bend
Organizer: Joshua Wiseman
Register Here
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Training
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WW Class Helper Training Day: Jan 22
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We need WW Class Helpers!Come on out and get hands-on practice.
Although all can attend, this day is specifically designed for the 2016 whitewater class graduates. It is also geared towards those who want to volunteer to help with the 2017 beginner whitewater course on the river, as well as in the pool. If you do plan on helping with the 2017 class, this training day is required.
Register Here
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Beginner Whitewater Kayaking Course: Mar 4 - 25
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If you have been wanting to learn how to Whitewater Kayak, this course is for you!
The course is designed for the person with no prior boating experience. You will learn basic paddle and bracing strokes, how to roll a kayak, river hydrology, and safety, all in a relaxed and friendly environment from certified kayak instructors.
We teach this course only annually in March, before the spring rains and the snow melts.
This class fills up every year, don't wait till the last minute to register!
Register Here
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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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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.
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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Tukwila Kayak Pool Play Begins in January!
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Kayak polo is starting again at the Tukwila pool!
We haven't had a regular kayak polo scene in Seattle for a few years, WKC's NEW kayak polo chair, Chris Brubaker, has been kind enough to organize dates and invite people to come down and try it out! We will be playing every other Sunday starting in January!
Where and when?
Tukwila Pool
4414 S 144th St
Tukwila, WA 98168
8:45-10:45 am
Jan 15, 29
Feb 12, 26
Mar 12, 26
Apr 9, 23
Cost: $10 for WKC members, $15 for non-members.
Event Details
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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.
February 4: State of the Salish Sea
March 5: Climate Change - Local Examples
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Freya's Latest Adventure: Circumnavigating North America
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Freya Hoffmeister announced plans for her next kayaking adventure - circumnavigating North America!
This expedition will be Freya’s third trip around a continent and she expects it will take 8-10 years to complete the 30.000 mile journey - a feat tougher and longer than Freya’s first (Australia) and second (South America) continent trips combined.
Freya will paddle in two half loops, starting twice in Seattle and finishing twice in New York City. She’ll paddle northwards half of the year’s trip time and southwards the other half.It will be an unsupported expedition mostly paddled solo.
Good luck, Freya!
Follow her expedition Here
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Attend WWTA General Meeting & Open House: Jan 18
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Mingle with other water trail enthusiasts and public access advocates. Refreshments at 6pm; program at 7pm. Karen Borell will speak about Cascadia Marine Trail site history; Tom O'Keefe, American Whitewater, will speak about public access in Washington State.
Good Shepherd Center, East Hall, 5th floor. Door prizes. Everyone welcome.
Please RSVP
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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+
Feb 12 - 7RC - Middle Sauk 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 (See Event Calendar)
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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 paddleboard.
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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: New Year's OP 2017
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By Kanako Iwata-Eng
This fall/winter season, the Olympic Peninsula hasn’t been very cooperative. Jon Almquist’s Humptulips and SF Calawah trips had to relocate, as well as Team Petty’s Thanksgiving Humptulips trip. This trip wasn’t an exception.
Read More |
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 |