Prairie Coast Paddlers

Thursday, January 27, 2011












Communique

From the President’s Desk

I am excited about being the President of the Prairie Coast Paddlers. I am returning to my sport of open water swimming and triathlons, so this will be my last year as an active member. I wanted to make a few modest improvements before I left.

Many thanks to Steve for the great job he has done as President. Another thank you to Steve for staying on as Vice President and being my Jiminy Cricket.

I have three goals for the year. My first is to have more social events and an event every month. Second to have more skill building events, both for safety and fun. Third to get more members involved to make this club even better.

New blood is crucial to improving any entity. The addition of Brooke Gabris, Michelle Messley, Bill Silva and Carol Severson to our roster of officers will greatly improve our club. I thank you in advance for your service.

Do not forget to look at our calendar for upcoming events.
Joe Carey

UPCOMING TRIP FROM STEVE MUNTZ

I'm heading down to Carlyle Lake May 13-15 to check out the biggest body of water in Illinois, outside of Lake Michigan. Carlyle Lake is a 26,000 acre manmade reservoir which was formed by damming the Kaskaskia River in 1958. It's a shallow lake with an average depth of 11', so I'm hoping this along with its location about five hours south of us will make for relatively warm water that time of year. The large size and shallow depth of the lake can create waves, possibly giving us an opportunity to work on and refresh the open water paddling skills we'll use on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior trips later in the year. And since we'll be car camping, it'll also be a good time to try out new equipment or food ideas without the commitment of loading up the boat for something like an Apostles trip.

Paddling.net has a fairly recent trip report, and I have reserved the same campsite they used which is Boulder Rec Area Site #1. A link to the article is below. This site will accommodate up to four tents, so let me know if you'd like to share it with me. The authors launched right from this site, which is why I decided to choose this one although there are other camping areas around the lake. There are towns nearby but all will involve a bit of a drive, so I'm planning to bring everything I need for the trip and staying at the site. Of course in case of bad weather we may choose to do something else for entertainment.

My plan is to arrive on Friday, and possibly head out for an evening or night paddle (bring lights!) after setting up camp. Saturday will be a long paddle around part of the lake and some of the small islands, having lunch while we're out. When we're back at the site we may have a good chance to work on rescue and safety skills if anyone's interested, and then we'll have another chance at a night paddle too. Sunday possibly a quick tour of another part of the lake, but then we'll end the trip and head back. Let me know if you can join me.
http://www.paddling.net/places/showReport.html?2624
Steve Muntz

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Communique


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President’s Message


We’ve had a great year so far! Although the Tuesday and Wednesday night paddles are now done for the season, there are still some great trips on the calendar for this fall. This includes several river trips, the annual Lake Geneva trip, the Illinois Paddling Council’s Pumpkin Paddle and GKC’s Kayakfest. This is still a great time to be out on the water – the air temperatures have cooled but in a lot of areas the water temperatures are still enjoyable for the properly-dressed paddler. In fact, this topic has already come up on the Yahoo Group – take a look and join the discussion.
Fall is also a good time of year to start thinking about next year’s activities, while this past year’s are still fresh in everyone’s memories. There are several area symposiums to choose from, and I’m looking forward to attending one or two myself. But also, we’ll lay out the club’s 2011 calendar in January at the annual meeting (date TBA). We’ve had a good, full calendar for 2010 and I’d like to see at least as much happen in 2011. Several of the club members have been busy volunteering as trip leaders, and I’d like to encourage others to join in as well. Try a Tuesday Night Paddle – which can be anywhere – or assist a trip leader with logistics for another event. This club runs completely on the efforts of volunteers, and it will be as good as we make it.
As I mentioned, the annual meeting is coming up. For new members of the club, this is usually a Friday evening in mid-January, and is the time that we will elect officers for the year and any business matters. I’d like to encourage any member of the club to present ideas they have for discussion. Although we’re always interested in hearing new ideas, this is the best time to discuss them since during warmer weather we’d all rather be out paddling!


Steve Muntz
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Secretaries Desk

The season is winding down. The turnouts this year have been inspiring. New members like Brooke and John leading great new paddles and Doug stepping up to lead this weeks paddle. To all our new members it has been a pleasure to meet you and see some of our paddles through your eyes.

I would like to see Prairie Coast Paddlers become more of a year round club and have more social events. To this end I would like some input from club members. We will definitely have a November paddle that is low tech wet suit friendly. I think a dinner sometime after Christmas and before our annual meeting might be nice. Some other events besides kayaking could be Cross Country Skiing, Poor Man’s Curling, Swim Stroke improvement and just going out to dinner. Have an idea let us know. I miss youse guys in the winter.

Joe Carey




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Upcoming Paddles



KISHWAUKEE
Date: Saturday October 16, 2010 Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location: Baumann Park in Cherry Valley, Illinois

Hi Everyone,
The annual Fall trip down the beautiful Kishwaukee River will be held October 16th. We'll meet at 9 am at Baumann park in Cherry Valley, Illinois to offload boats and gear. The car shuttle will be at 9:30. Drivers will drive their cars to Atwood Park and I'll bring them back to the put in with the pickup truck. We'll eat lunch at Kishwaukee forest preserve and likely arrive at Atwood Park by 2 or 3 pm. Hope you can join me. Let me know if you can.
Dan Leigh



Lake Geneva ( Linn Pier) October 24


Fall is a great time to paddle Lake Geneva; much of the boat traffic is gone, the leaves are changing and the water is still relatively warm. Meet me at Linn Pier on Sunday, October 24th at 9:30 a.m. This is a popular trip, and those who can make it will be in for a treat. Nice big parking lot, no launch fee and a short carry to the water. There usually is a port-a-potty at the launch but it may or may not be there by this date, so it's probably best to stop along the way. Water is not available at the launch site. We'll plan our route and distance based on wind strength, direction and the group's interest, but generally we'll paddle east into the town of Lake Geneva and past Big Foot State Park before returning.

This is a big, cold lake. I've spent a lot of time at it and have seen it change quickly, just like the Great Lakes. In fact, plan for this trip as you would a day on Lake Michigan. The water will be near it's warmest of the year, but that's still relatively cold. I'll most likely wear a long-sleeved wetsuit or even a drysuit if it's cold or rainy. We'll probably take a break and have a snack along the way, so bring something to eat or share with the group.

Linn Pier is at the north end of Linn Road on the south shore of the lake. It's near the East end of the lake, east of what used to be Majestic Ski Hill and just west of The Narrows. Please let me know if you're coming so I can contact you if there are any last minute changes (but I'll be there even if it rains!). I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on this trip.

Steve Muntz

Tuesday, July 6, 2010


The best turnout ever. We had 25 people on the water, with another 25 watching from land. The weather was perfect. Thanks to my Son and Daughter in Law for cooking. This left me free to socialize. Children played in the water while older children played in their kayaks. The food that people brought really turned my modest cookout in to a grand stone soup. Most people enjoyed a daytime paddle, feasting then another paddle in to a frivolous night sky.

Communique

Communique


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Apostle Islands – Labor Day Weekend, September 3rd – 6th, 2010
Steve Muntz and Joe Carey will be heading back to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior for this year's Labor Day Weekend camping trip. This year we're going to do something a little different – we're going to base camp at a group campsite on Oak Island. This gives us two advantages: First, we don't need to pack up and move each morning, so there's more time for exploring. Second, since we're at a group site we can take more people with than are allowed on individual camp sites.
The Apostle Islands of Lake Superior offer truly world-class sea kayaking right here in the Midwest. One of the ideas of this trip is to offer less strenuous day paddles, but at the same time we don't feel as though we can call this a beginner's trip. Many paddlers who have spent time on the lake have seen the weather change quickly, regardless of expected conditions. We are asking all paddlers interested in this trip to attend the club's upcoming rescue clinic on July 11th if at all possible, so we can have a chance to work on our skills together. Being that we will be paddling in open water and crossing to different islands, experience with paddling in wind and waves will be needed too. Most of the miles we've paddled in the Apostles have been in calm to moderate conditions, but paddling skills are an important part of keeping the group safe.


We plan to take up to a dozen adventurous paddlers with us and currently have room for about four more. On Friday we'll work out a meeting time to launch at Red Cliff and make the five mile paddle to Oak Island. As always, everything depends on the weather, but we're hoping to offer two different paddling options both days – one at more of a social pace to explore some of the close-by historic attractions and a different trip with more distance involved. Another option is hiking the many miles of trails right on Oak Island itself. Monday morning we'll be up early, break camp and paddle back to Red Cliff where we'll make the long trip home. Please feel free to contact Steve or Joe if you have questions or would like more information about this trip.
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Aurora Paddlesports Festival
From the Illinois Paddling Council website: “Our grateful thanks to all of the vendors, organizations, and volunteers who made APF a success in spite of the volatile weather. There were 27 organizations represented at the festival. We had a total of 56 test paddlers. Eleven Instructors taught 21 two hour courses to 45 people. They and the test paddlers were assisted by 15 safety Boaters. Given weather conditions, that is a remarkable testament to the dedication of our volunteers. Our deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you.”




Several members of Prairie Coast Paddlers were on hand for the second festival which was held June 12-13 in Phillips Park. Members were helping out in many ways including registration, instruction and safety boating, and all volunteers had the benefit of camping overnight at the festival which was a lot of fun. We may have had a rough start with a quick but intense storm, but it blew by and the rest of the day was great. It's always inspiring to meet people who are really interested in getting off on the right start with all forms of paddling, and we've already had at least one new friend join us out on the water since the festival.
Another highlight was the big variety of demo boats to try. Local paddling shops each had several boats to try out, and there was a pretty impressive variety. This is one of the highlights of symposiums, but having not attended one in a couple of years myself it was fun to do it again. Though I didn't come home with anything new, the stand up paddleboard was certainly a top contender.
We'll be back again for the third annual Aurora Paddlesports Festival in June 2011, and I'm hoping to see a lot of you there again!

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Weather or Not

People who do not kayak sometimes ask me in June “ have you gone out in your kayak yet.” I answer with a resounding YES, replying that the only two things stop me from kayaking are lightning and ice. Some of the prettiest pictures of kayaking were taken by Russ Johnson on one of his many winter paddles. With the proper equipment , and common sense there is no reason not to kayak, at least one day of every month.


I also hear from paddlers that they would have paddle more but the weather has been so lousy. The Rock River trip was a prime example. After driving for an hour, a torrential storm hit. The optimist in me said it well clear by 9:00 AM when we launch. The pessimist in me said we could always do breakfast and yak about yakking. The end result was a great paddle with a huge downpour at the end of the paddle. The downpour actually adding adventure to a sedate paddle. The Aurora Paddlesports festival was another example we had scattered thunderstorms with a likelihood of camaraderie. We still got in paddle time in between the raindrops. We also went camping together out to dinner and breakfast. Some of my best times on the water have been while it is raining. Mini waterfalls on the Wisconsin Dells that are only there during the rain. Wildlife that seem oblivious to you .

So to be blunt do not let weather forecasts stop you. Yes on occasion lightning will strike on a Wednesday night paddle. Oh well , then you go out for custard. Remember when the world hands you lemons make lemonade.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Aurora Paddlefest



I too had a great time out on the lake as safety boater both days. All the people out on the lake that I talked to had nothing but positive comments about this opportunity to get into a boat. I saw a family of 4 out there both days in various boats - they had a ball. I even had to get rid of a spider out of one child's boat so she could continue to enjoy her time on the lake. What fun it was to see kids out on the lake.

Our campground was a little muggy but well protected from the wind that took down a lot of the canopies during Saturday afternoon, but our tents (there were 4 of us staying overnight out there on the north part of the island) stayed put and didn't take on any water inside. Lots of lightning bugs shining their white lights - I'm used to seeing fireflies with yellow lights, but these gave off a white light - hundreds of them. A couple of bull frogs seranaded us all night long.

Thanks Tom L, Gary M and Tom E for all your work to put on this huge party for us boaters.
Dan


Thanks to all the voulenteers from our club. I was impressed by the sheer numbers.

Joe Carey

I&M Canal Trip Saturday, June 19


I just returned from a wonderful day paddling with Joe, Ginger, Dan, & Doug. Highlights of the trip include paddling OVER Aux Sable Creek in one of the remaining I&M Canal aqueducts and picnicking by lock 8.

Hey Dan, we did not need any saws to clear deadfall this trip!

C ya on the water!

Chuck Nilson

Wednsday Night Paddle

Another awesome night on the Fox!!!! The river had a surface of glass and the puffy clouds above had as many images as the mind could create. We started to paddle at 5 minutes before Pat, only to find out we were actually paddling 5 minutes past Jim. We paddled the Fox in style, as the flotilla of 11 hogged the river daring any boat to intrude on the armada. Most of the group paddled up to Hagar Pottery LLC Inc. Two stagglers took on the Stewardship of the river.aka..Went picking up trash. They were soon rewarded as one of them found a baseball that had been hit out of the Brewers Baseball Stadium and had been floating down the river ever since. It was signed by Robin Yount !!! As the R AND T inscription on the baseball was clearly unmistakeable..To make thing EVEN BETTER....They were treated to the sighting of ....8 Baltimore Orioles ...( The birds ) perching in a single tree....That was so cool... We paddled up Beatrice creek. Ducked under the bridge..no pun intended..picked up more river trash...Hey I'm not RIVER TRASH. but I do live on the river...and paddled to Voyageurs landing.

Thanks to a great group of people

Thanks to Dan for his Kayak Taxi

Thanks to Alecia Alex Bill Dan Keith Jim Michelle Pam . and.( Not Last ) Pat... Oh I could also insert the Nameless Person here.

Thanks for sharing the river with me

see you on the water