NEWSLETTER
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| September 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,
Hope you are all had a wonderful summer of paddling and are still out enjoying a few more warm, yet smoky days on the water. As kayakers, we have a special appreciation for nature, and our thoughts and thanks go out to those brave souls fighting the many wildfires affecting our state. Stay safe.
In August, we had another fantastic WKC Beach Party at Hobuck Beach.The coastal clinic, surf zone, and rock gardening classes went well - and Tomas Tabisola roasted a delicious pig for the annual Luau. We even had a surprise visit from Freya Hoffmeister as she paddled past Cape Flattery on her circumnavigation of North America. Thank you to Rhonda Schwab, Chris Smith, Hamp All, Deb Volturno, and Tomas Tabisola for making this year's WKC Beach Party another success.
As fall begins, it's time to start working on that roll again.The pools open and the Annual WKC Roll Clinic begins Oct 1 - register today. Don't miss surf kayaking at Hobuck Hoedown - it's a great event to watch or participate in - and all profits go to Makah Tribal Youth - Sept 30 - Oct 1. If you prefer rivers, then don't miss a weekend on Humptulips/Wynoochee - Oct 7 - 8. And Kayak Polo is starting again - a Polo Play & BBQ is on Sept 16 and the Seattle/Portland Team is looking for participants to play in the U.S. Kayak Polo Nationals - check event calendar for details!
See you onthe water!
Mike
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Featured Trip
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Hobuck Hoedown Paddle & Surf Festival: Sept 30 - Oct 1
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Photo credit to Jason Learned
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Got a paddle? Join the annual paddle surf competition at beautiful Hobuck Beach, on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Surf Kayaks, Sea Kayaks, and SUP heats. All Levels welcome.
The Hobuck Hoedown was started in 2007 as the Pacific NW's first Surf and Sea Kayaking Competition. Over the years it has become a very successful event drawing participants as far away as Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, Texas, Sweden and Southern California, so the word is spreading and the stoke is building!
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All profits go to Makah Tribal Youth.
When: Sept 30 - Oct 1
Where: Hobuck Beach (Makah Bay)
Come out Friday afternoon/evening to claim your campsite as they are first come first serve. There will be informal get togethers and planning sessions.
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| See our Events Calendar for more upcoming trips! |
Training
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WKC Roll Clinic: Oct 1, 8, 15 & 22
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WKC’S annual Roll Clinic is now on the calendar and we will be at the EVERGREEN POOL again this year. There will be four morning classes. You can take just one or two classes if you like but will be limited due to signups for all four classes. There will be enough skilled instructors to accommodate both beginning students and those trying to improve their current rolling skills. This is a Bring-Your-Own- Boat (WW or SK) program and pre-registration is required.
When: October 1, 8, 15, 22
Where: Evergreen Pool
606 Sw 116th St, Seattle, WA
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WKC Pool Sessions: Tukwila, Shoreline, and Tacoma: Open Oct 1
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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.
The pool sessions are typically available on alternating mornings and weekdays. Be sure to check the schedule - and thank your pool coordinators for volunteering their time to make the pools available!
If you have any questions about pool sessions:
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News and Events
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4th Annual WKC Luau at Hobuck Beach was a GREAT Success!
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By Brenna McVety
We had another fantastic WKC Beach Party at Hobuck Beach - Aug 12 to 13! The coastal clinic, surf zone, and rock gardening classes went well - calm conditions one day allowed for a trip to Flattery - and great surf the next tested the skills of new coastal paddlers.
Tomas Tabisola roasted a delicious pig for the annual Luau - and we were treated to a visit from Freya Hoffmeister! She met-up with the coastal clinic class as she rounded Cape Flattery on the southern leg of her North American circumnavigation, and stayed to share a meal with the group. What a treat to get to visit and hear about her grand adventure!
Thank you to Rhonda Schwab, Chris Smith, Hamp All, Deb Volturno, and Tomas Tabisola for making this year's WKC Beach Party another success.
See More Pics
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 Freya Hoffmeister w/ WKC's Deb Volturno
& Rhonda Schwab
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Following Freya on Her 10 Year Journey Around North America
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For those of you following Freya Hoffmeister - she completed the first leg of her northern trip from Seattle to Kodiak, Alaska.Then paddled south from Seattle to the Columbia River in Oregon. She stopped to say a quick "hello" at the WCK Luau on Hobuck Beach on her way south!You can see more images from this leg of her trip on Freya's Facebook page.
She plans to return next spring to begin paddling south. After three months, she’ll fly up to Kodiak and resume her trip northward in summer 2018 - then repeat yearly, until she arrives in New York.
Freya on Facebook |
Bon Voyage, Freya!
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Aleksander Doba Does It Again!
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Aleksander Doba completed his THIRD Atlantic crossing by kayak - one week before his 71st birthday. His most difficult crossing yet, he faced delays and damage to his boat, then storms with winds over 55 knots and seas 35 feet high! Great story of courage and determination. Congratulations, Doba!
Read More |
Photo credit toPiotr Chmielinski |
Washington Water Trails Association September Social: Sept 16
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Join Washington Water Trails for a September Social - a Luau!
Hosted by the Kayak Academy at the Gateway to the Lakes to Locks Trail (Lake Sammamish State Park), and prepared by Tomas Javier Tabisola, it should be fun for all!
There will also be a silent auction (donations from Exped and Sealect Designs are already in), and a gear swap.
Register Here
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2nd Annual Women's Surf Kayak Camp - Sept 23 - 24
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Surf Sirens Alert!
2nd Annual Women's Surf Kayak Camp 2017 - Sept. 23 & 24, 2017 @ Hobuck Beach
- Saturday: Surf Training 0930-1600h
- Saturday Eve: POTLUCK!!
- Sunday: Free Surf or pre-arranged instruction,
- Friday Sept 22 - optional training Ocean Whitewater, Surf?
Instructors: Deb Volturno, Linda Beltz, Jameson Reiser, Melinda Moree, Alison Reinbold
Contact: Deb Volturno
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Lumpy Waters Kayak Symposium - Oct 6 - 8
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Lumpy is a three day celebration of sea kayaking! With coaching aimed at advanced beginners, early intermediates, and advanced level paddlers; Lumpy provides an unparalleled opportunity to improve your skills on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Top coaches come from all over the world, making Lumpy Waters the premiere instructional destination for dynamic ocean paddling.
Register Here
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Other fantastic regional Kayak Symposiums
Paddle Golden Gate
Bay of Fundy Sea Kayak Symposium
Baja Kayak Fest
Storm Gathering |
Cedar River is OPEN for Floating Again!
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By Mike Grijalva, Safety Co-chair with Steve Exe
Cedar River is open for floating again! After more than a year, the authorities that be: King Co., the Sheriff, the Tribe, and Fish and Wildlife got it together and got permits to move the dangerous logs that blocked the river in 8 locations, which was the reason for the closure.
There is still plenty of wood in the river, it just doesn't block the whole river. There are still many places you have to choose right or left, and one of the channels is blocked by wood.
In the first week of December the water released from the dam was at 134cfs, which makes for many shallow, scraping drops. This is still a good river for a pure novice in the lower three miles, and the middle section(below hwy 18 bridge to Ron Regis park) there is class1 water but intermediate skills are required to avoid wood.
The fish hopefully will be back this year, and in the past there has been many sockeye salmon to see, which is a real charge for most kids and the kids in all of us. Two bright red sockeye were seen at about the mile 5-6 region (measured from Lake Washington upstream) on Sept. 3. How they got there is amazing to me, but I sure hope more make it. When the water volume gets over 200cfs it would be a nice float to see the fall leaves and sockeye salmon.
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WKC Endurance Award to WW Kayaker Kanako Iwata-Eng
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By Mike Grijalva
Endurance Award for 2016: Kanako Iwata-Eng paddled 192 days in 2016, making her the paddler with the most days on the water! Can anybody beat that for 2017? I hear Andy Gross has 143 days already for this year. Kanako shown here at Sol Duc River, wearing her pink opal pendant award for her achievement.
Congratulations, Kanako! And thank you for all the wonderful trip reports. Keep paddling!
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2017 NW Whitewater Slalom Cup Dates
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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:
Nov 4-5: Cedar Whitewater Races #2
Nov 25 -26: Bull River Races #2
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:
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:
Sept 23: Sauk 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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Three Sport Loop: Lake Chelan
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By Rich Feffer
Rich and his wife recently completed a loop trip in the east and north Cascades -kayaking from Manson (near Chelan) to Stehekin, hiking through to Highway 20, and then cycling back to the start. Mileages were 46, 21, and 105 respectively, totaling 172 over 8 days. They enthusiastically recommend this trip if you like to combine multiple sports and get a good weather window (especially for the paddling portion).Beautiful scenery as you watch the landscape change from desert to mountains and back.
Read More |
Fall in the Wall for First Timers
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By Shanna Gachen
Shout-out to one of our lifetime members, Jon Almquist, who never stops volunteering his time to help others adventure and experience our beautiful rivers. Whether it's helping out with the whitewater class, heading up skill builder trips right after class, leading adventure trips to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula or pushing any level paddler to their next level - he's always game!
Thanks Jon for all your guidance!
Read More |
2017 Memorial Day Weekend at Solduc (Part 1)
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By Joyce Stuart
The 2017 Memorial Day Weekend Solduc paddle, was a complete success. Sunshine and enough water to paddle! From Friday to Monday, there were 51 people paddling various watercraft: tandem canoes, solo canoes, hard shell whitewater kayaks, a double IK, a Packraft, a small R2 raft, and two Fishing cats. The largest group, all paddling the same river reach, was 38 on Saturday, paddling from Klahowya Campground to Hillstrom Road.
Read More |
Shenanigans on the Solduc (Part 2)
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By Bob Menard
I was getting out of my boat after fetching someone's paddle following a swim at ledge drop [I will let that individual confess for them self]. As I was getting out, some nearby campers excitedly ran down to the river, and asked how far we were going. Not really understanding the nature of the question, I asked why. "We lost a cooler." I inquired further "how did you lose a cooler?" ..."our canoe flipped" ..."where is your canoe?" ..."it's also downstream" ...
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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 |
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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 |