NEWSLETTER
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| May 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 |
Hey all,
We have a lot going on this spring - and no shortage of water to play on! Join us this month for Sol Duc WW Weekend, or run downYakima River by Sea Kayak, or build your skills in one of the many Weekly Skills Nights/Skill Builders/River Play Clinics, or put your abilities to the test and earn your 3 Star BCU Rating!
Please make time for the NW Paddlefest this weekend. Lots of events, races, and new gear to test!
And sign-up early for the many training courses coming-up:
-Casey Garland will teach River Safety and Rescue Course - May 20 - 21
-Rhonda Schwab instructs the WKC BasicSea Kayaking - June 2 - 4
-Hamp All will lead Surf Kayak Clinics at Hobuck Beach - June 10 - 11
SAVE THE DATE! WKC Luau at Hobuck Beach: August 11 - 13. We are gearing-up for another weekend filled with clinics and a roasted pig! Details to come.
We need more SK TRIP LEADERS! As an incentive, we are offering a GearLab carbon fiber Greenland paddle to one lucky leader this August at the WKC Luau (Details Here)!
See you onthe water!
Mike
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Featured Trip
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7RC: Sol Duc Weekend (II / III / IV) - May 27 to 29
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Photo credit to Nate Wilson
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It's looking good for the annual Solduc Trip, after a few years of rerouting to the east side, due to lack of water.
The Solduc Hot Springs will be open for soaking, but bring a bathing suit or you will have to buy one at the gift shop.
Traditionally, there is feasting and libations in Forks after the Sunday Paddle.
Feel free to invite friends and family. There are many different non-boating options in the Olympic National Park. We should have plenty of vehicles for shuttling, if family members need to use your car.
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When: May 27 - 29
Where: Klahowya Camp Ground
Organizer: Joyce Stuart
Saturday: Launch from the Campground and paddle to Hillstrom Rd (II+)
Sunday: Two Choices!
Bear Creek Section (III) Hillstrom Rd. to the Fish Hatchery w/Dave M.
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Leader's Choice Class (II/II+) in the area w/Joyce
Monday: Leader's Choice depending on interest/ability
Register Here
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| See our Events Calendar for more upcoming trips! |
Training
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River Safety and Rescue with Casey Garland: May 20 - 21
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Casey Garland, swiftwater rescue technician master instructor, will again present a course on river safety, rope utilization, and rescue techniques. Team leadership and rescue planning will also be covered to achieve the best results in a rescue effort.
2-day class (Sat/Sun); Max 12 participants:
(Sa) 8am - 5pm
(Su) 8am - 5pm
Lectures will be held at Mike Grijalva's house Saturday morning before heading to the river. River work will likely be on the Cedar River, Landsburg site.
Register Here |
WKC Basic Sea Kayaking Class 2017: June 2 - 4
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Join us for a weekend of FUN and ADVENTURE as you develop your techniques and skills on the water!
This course will provide beginners with a safe and fun introduction to the sport of sea kayaking. You will develop, refresh, and improve basic skills which are essential to paddling:
- Effective Paddling Skills
- Safety and Hazard Awareness
- Capsize Recovery Techniques
- Navigation, Tides and Currents
- Gear, Equipment and Clothing
Register Here
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Level 2 / 3 / 4 Surf Kayak Clinic: June 10 - 11
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Photo credit to Gary Luhm
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This Level 2-4 Surf Kayak Clinic is designed for a new or advancing surf specific paddler seeking improvement in surfing skills and comfort in paddling out, taking off, surfing down the line and surf maneuvers.Surf specific Sit-On-Top, Surf Kayak or WW boat required, some loaners available. Clinic will be in conjunction with an ongoing Surf Instructor Update clinic and prospective students will be taught by experienced instructors as part of their continuing education process.
When: June 10 - 11
Where: Hobuck Beach, Neah Bay
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WKC Coastal Clinic: August 10 - 13
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Photo credit to Gary Luhm
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WKC is pleased to offer a very special Sea Kayaking Clinic being led by Rhonda Schwab, Chris Smith, and Mike Germani:
This is a 4-day Coastal Kayaking Clinic, Thursday through Sunday. It introduces the skills required to experience the beautiful, remote, and challenging waters of Washington State and Vancouver Island’s open coastline. The clinic is atNeah/Makah Bay and is designed to improve sea kayaking skills and confidence, which will lead to increased enjoyment of your sea kayaking experience.
When: August 10 - 13
Where: Neah Bay / Makah Bay
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News and Events
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Northwest Paddling Festival: May 12 - 13
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For expert paddlers or those looking to dip their oar in the water for the first time, NMTA’s seventh annual Northwest Paddling Festival is the largest event of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
During the course of this two-day celebration of paddle sports, attendees can shop the latest in gear and accessories from more than 60 paddle sport businesses, get introduced to paddling of all kinds, take kayak tours, attend seminars, and compete in the Northwest Paddling Challenge.
The event is free for the public to attend, but most of the on-water activities cost $10 for the day.
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Event Details |
SSTIKS is Open for Registration: June 2 - 4
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South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayaking Symposium (SSTIKS) is the Northwest’s premier event devoted to traditional kayaking skills and culture. SSTIKS is held in June every year in Twanoh State Park on the beautiful Hood Canal in Washington. It is a family-friendly event featuring some of the best mentors in Greenland-style kayaking. SSTIKS is a volunteer run event. This helps us keep ticket prices down and helps build the qajaq community.
SSTIKS is now open for registration. Tickets book quickly!
Register Here
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SAVE THE DATE: 2017 WKC Luau at Hobuck Beach August 11 - 13
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DON'T MISS the annual WKC Luau at Hobuck Beach - August 11 to 13 - and all this FUN:
- We will try to convince Tomas Tabisola to roast another pig (please Tomas!)
- A 4 Day Coastal Clinic with Rhonda Schwab will teach skills required to experience remote challenging waters of Washington State and Vancouver Island.
- Surf Zone Clinics with Hamp All for surf, whitewater, and SOT kayaks will teach techniques for edging, stroke proficiency, and techniques for reading moving water.
- Intro to Surf and Rock Gardens class will teach skills to maneuver a kayak through safety, play, transition, and hazard zones.
REGISTER EARLY for these clinics, as they fill every year!
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Come for the day or stay for the weekend. Hope to see you there! It could be the most fun weekend of your life... |
River Safety and Rescue Course Report w/Casey Garland
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By Shanna Gachen
In April, 12 WKC members donned drysuits & wetsuits and participated in a weekend swiftwater rescue course put on by instructor, Casey Garland. The WKC Safety Chair, Mike Grijalva organizes these events once or twice a year - what a valuable course this is. It doesn't matter if you've been paddling for years or months, this is highly recommended.
The course started off with learning some basic knots, types of ropes and webbing and then we put our knots to work, learning how to make anchors, tie a few prusiks and put some systems together to create mechanical advantage on dry land...
Read More
Register for May 20 - 21 Course
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Thanks for a Great Polo Season!
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By Chris Brubaker
The WKC had a good turnout at the Alder Cup, Portland’s annual outdoor kayak polo tournament. We had 6 enthusiastic people come down from Seattle to play! All had a wonderful time playing kayak polo with players from Oregon, Washington and BC on a full-size outdoor pitch. We even had some coaching from an international-level player who came down for the day. The weather was sunny and warm, and the already-excellent day ended getting dinner together before we drove back home.
We are planning kayak polo play for the summer, but dates and locations have not been finalized yet aside from a day of play on Lake Sammamish on July 14.
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Freya Hoffmeister Begins Her 10 Year Journey Around North America
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To date, Freya is about 500 miles into her trip - near Prince Rupert, BC.Not far from Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary - Yikes! Safe travels!
You can follow Freya's trip on Facebook, where she is journaling her progress as she paddles around North America.
Freya on Facebook |
Bon voyage, Freya! |
2017 NW Whitewater Slalom Cup Dates Now Available
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The NW Whitewater Slalom Cup continues with highly valuable points awarded at each race and the best 8 out of 10 race results are totaled for fabulous awards in each.Come out and compete or just learn some slalom moves and have some fun!
Upcoming Slalom Events:
June 3 - 4: Salmon la Sac
July 15 - 16: Chilliwack
Aug 19 - 20:Payette Slalom Races
Aug 26 - 27:Roaring River Slalom
Race Calendar
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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.
Upcoming WKC Trips:
May 12: Stuart Island
July: Orcas Island
October: Cypress Island
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WKC Seven Rivers Challenge
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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:
May 27:Sol Duc Weekend
September 23: Sauk River III
Contact new Whitewater Trip Chair
or 7RC Cheerleader
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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 for ACA 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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Vancouver Island Whitewater Road Trip
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By Kanako Iwata-Eng
Jennie, Bill, and I packed Jennie’s van “Morris” and left for the Vancouver Island on Thursday, April 13 to join the Vancouver Kayak Club’s annual trip to the island. Despite the holiday weekend (Easter Monday is a federal holiday in Canada), the 10:45 p.m. ferry was fairly empty. We checked in a hotel a little after 1 a.m., went to bed by 2 a.m. and got ready for the four-day weekend.
Read More |
Team Petty Adventure - Dungeness
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By Kanako Iwata-Eng
After heavy mid-week rain, the Dungeness was higher than we liked on Friday, February 17, 2017. Changing plans, Bill, Doug, Pete, John T from Canada, and I ran the Park to Riverside section of the Sol Duc. John had to leave, but the rest of us camped there and drove back to the Dungeness on Saturday, February 18. Claire, Lora, and Josh from Poulsbo joined us at the Dungeness Hatchery.
Read More |
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: Thanksgiving 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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Copyright 2014 Washington Kayak Club
President: Mike Germani president@washingtonkayakclub.org
Secretary: Bill Porter
Treasurer: Jackie Brown
Editor: Brenna McVety newsletter@washingtonkayakclub.org |