Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club

Register for the Pirate Party this Saturday Oct 20.  

As our year is coming to an end, join us at our annual meeting on November 10.  We will be voting for club officers and board members, enjoying great food, and reminiscing on the past year of paddling.  We also have a wonderful guest speaker, Lonnie Bedwell, who is the fist-ever visually impaired kayaker to complete the entire 226 mile stretch of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Make sure and see the newsletter for all of the details.

See you on the water!    Duane

IMMINENT CONCERN FOR LOCAL BOATERS: the Emerichsville Dam near 16th Street on Indianapolis near West Side has failed over the weekend, dropping the water level at least 6 feet. Although the attached article states they expect "no affect for public safety' there have been kayakers spotted near the dam which certainly would identify an extreme danger! Please if you are planning a trip out on White River avoid being anywhere upstream or downstream of this area. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/10/09/white-river-indianapolis-disappears-hole-dam-drops-water-levels-nearly-6-feet/1579207002/

As the leaves start to turn we enter into my favorite season of the year.  There a plenty of paddling opportunities on the calendar which is filled with classic events for the HCKC.  These include the Grayson Lake Fall Overnight and Raccoon Creek Covered Bridge Festival the weekend of 10/13.  On the weekend of 10/27 we have the Russell Fork Rendezvous and Eagle Creek shore-line clean-up.

The big event for October is bi-annual Pirate Paddle and Party on 10/20.  This has been a popular event in the past.  This year’s party will feature HCKC’s very own one man band Bob Heckler.  Check out the newsletter for more details and follow this link to register.

https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/event-3046447?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=10/23/2018

See you on the water!    Duane

Although Summer officially ends on September 21^st, our paddling season does not!  Coming up we have our annual trip sea kayak trip to South Manitou Island and white water trip to Gauley Fest, along with flat water trips on the Wabash River and White River.  Check the calendar for details for these trips along with other events in September.  Looking ahead, watch out for information on our biannual Pirate Paddle and Party on October 20^th and our Annual Meeting on November 10^th.  And look for an email  seeking volunteers to help clean up Raccoon Creek on Sept 20 or 22.

See you on the water!      Duane          

Summer rains are bringing some refills to our streams just in time for the annual Indiana Paddlers Rendezvous the first weekend in August.  We also have two more Triathlon events we will need help with.  And the touring kayak group has a few big trips planned for the month.  Check out this newsletter for details on all of our planned trips and watch for announcements concerning a very special guest speaker for our annual club meeting and for more on the Pirate Paddle and Party coming in October.  Hope to see you on the water.   Duane

As the summer weather is in full swing, we have several paddling opportunities coming up.  We have also had some cancelations due to water levels and heat, so remember to keep a lookout for last minute changes.  The HCKC’s open house at Geist park was one of the cancelations.  Look for this event to be rescheduled.  In late June and July we have the annual trip to the Yough in PA for the whitewater group, 300 springs Green River trip for the flatwater paddlers, and Lake Champlain for the sea kayakers. The Indiana Paddler’s Rendezvous for all paddlers from around the state will be in early August. If you have never been on any of these trips, it’s definitely recommended you try at least one of them. Also, please remember we always need volunteers to provide safety boats at Eagle Creek during the Triathlons throughout the summer to help keep the athletes safe during their swim.  See you on the water!  Duane 

Summer officially arrives later this month, though it feels like it has already been here for some time.  We have enough events planned for June to get everyone out on the water.  There are several white water, flat water, and sea kayak trips on the calendar along with training opportunities.  Check out this newsletter and the calendar on our website at https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/events (remember to log in to see everything).  If you have questions about any trips, contact the trip sponsor.   See you on the water!   Duane 

Hopefully the snow is done by now, but some members did get out for a snow paddle.  We have a month full of paddling opportunities including Cagles Mill to start the month and our annual trip to Wisconsin for the Wolf and Peshtigo rivers over Memorial Day weekend.  Checkout this newsletter and the events calendar on the HCKC website for details of all our trips (remember all events are not visible if you do not login).  We are also offering our first session of introductory and intermediate skills classes at the end of May.

See you on the water!

Duane

Spring is here, and soon the weather will cooperate for getting on the water.  We end March with a whitewater trip to the Elkhorn and our annual Ice Falls trip.  The month of April starts with Gary Hill’s 41^st annual Big Pine paddle on April 7^th.  Check the calendar for upcoming events.  We have something scheduled almost every weekend till Fall.  Check out the events calendar for details on April Fools on Big Pine trip.

 See you on the water!

Duane

We had a well-attended planning meeting in January.  We have a wide selection of Canoe & Kayak (Flatwater), Whitewater, and Sea Kayaking tips planned for 2018.  This year we will have out Pirate Paddle in October!  The events have been entered into our calendar on the HCKC website (https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/events).  Note that all of the events will not be visible if you are not logged in.   If you have any questions about a particular trip, contact the trip sponsor and they will be happy to answer them.

 As the temperatures start to warm up, the water temperatures will still be cold.  We have some good information on cold weather (and cold water) paddling on the safety page of our website at https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/PaddlingSafety.  Be sure and check it out.

 If you have trip reports or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, send it to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com)  by the 17^th of the month.  See you on the water!

Thanks,  Duane