Kayaking for Kids!

Kayaking for Kids! Learn kayaking basics and more at this information-packed and fun workshop just for kids ages 8 and up at the MSU Sailing Center at the beautiful south end of Lake Lansing, including: • All about kayaks and kayaking equipment  How to maneuver a kayak on quiet lakes and rivers  Safety and rescue skills DATE: Saturday, July 11, 2:30 – 5:30 pm All equipment provided, including kayaks, paddles, and life jackets. Students should bring: water shoes, and a polypropylene or nylon long-underwear-type shirt for warmth. Plan on getting wet! Also recommended: sun hat and a water bottle. Cost: $50; ($40 if student supplies own equipment – must include kayak with flotation or sealed bulkheads, paddle, and life jacket) How to register: email lainst@capitalareakayaking.com, or call 333-9716 Class location: MSU Sailing Center, Lake Lansing – for directions call 339-8269 or see www.imsports.msu.edu/sailing Sponsored by: Instruction provided by Lansing Area Instructors (LAINST). All LAINST instructors are ACA-certified (www.americancanoe.org). Instruction also available for private groups and youth programs by arrangement; please inquire. Kayaking for Kids! Learn kayaking basics and more at this information-packed and fun workshop just for kids ages 8 and up at the MSU Sailing Center at the beautiful south end of Lake Lansing, including: • All about kayaks and kayaking equipment  How to maneuver a kayak on quiet lakes and rivers  Safety and rescue skills DATE: Saturday, July 11, 2:30 – 5:30 pm All equipment provided, including kayaks, paddles, and life jackets. Students should bring: water shoes, and a polypropylene or nylon long-underwear-type shirt for warmth. Plan on getting wet! Also recommended: sun hat and a water bottle. Cost: $50; ($40 if student supplies own equipment – must include kayak with flotation or sealed bulkheads, paddle, and life jacket) How to register: email lainst@capitalareakayaking.com, or call 333-9716 Class location: MSU Sailing Center, Lake Lansing – for directions call 339-8269 or see www.imsports.msu.edu/sailing Sponsored by: Instruction provided by Lansing Area Instructors (LAINST). All LAINST instructors are ACA-certified (www.americancanoe.org). Instruction also available for private groups and youth programs by arrangement; please inquire. 2650 E. Grand River Ave. East Lansing, MI 48823 517-332-4000. 2650 E. Grand River Ave. East Lansing, MI 48823 517-332-4000.

Kayaking incident on Red Cedar River offers lesson in water safety

Kevin Grasha and Brittany Smith • kgrasha@lsj.com, brittanysmith@lsj.com • June 23, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal

A cell phone stowed in a plastic bag may have saved the life of a man whose kayak flipped over Monday in the Red Cedar River.

The 61-year-old Saginaw man, who would not identify himself to reporters, called 911 from his cell phone as he held on to his overturned kayak and floated at least a mile down the river. Authorities were able to figure out where he was by talking to him on the cell phone.

The man and the kayak eventually became lodged in some branches in a section of the river near Aurelius and Mt. Hope roads, and rescuers quickly found him, said Lansing fire Public Information Officer Steve Mazurek. At about 11:30 a.m., Lansing firefighters, using rope and several motorized water rescue boats, pulled the man out of the water.

“The last thing I did before I got into the water was put my cell phone in a plastic bag,” the man said. He was not injured.

It was a success story. But according to the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents, boating deaths reached a six-year high in 2008 with 36 fatalities, up from 35 the previous year.

Boat accidents also increased from 193 to 201 in 2007.\uFEFF

A fast response by rescuers and the decision to bring a cell phone — and protect it in a plastic bag — helped save Monday’s kayaker, who planned to take the river from Michigan State University to Grand Rapids.

The recent tragedy of East Lansing resident Robert Smith, 61 — who drowned after rescuing his granddaughter from the East Grand Traverse Bay on June 13 — shows that jumping in the water to save someone can be
dangerous.

It should be a last resort, according to 1st Lt. Mike Krumm of the Michigan State Police Training
Academy.

“It’s very demanding, and a lot of times we don’t know our limitations,” said Krumm.

“People become too exhausted and can’t hold the other person up and often times, both people drown.”

Proposed dam safety rule could be end of canoe race

 

By PAUL DAILING For The Beacon News

This year could be the last for the popular Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race if the state passes a rule change regarding dams.

As currently proposed, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Dam Safety Rule 3703 would make people “portage” (get out of the water and carry their boats) starting 300 feet upstream of a dam. They wouldn’t be able to get back into the water until they’re 50 feet downstream.

This is to ensure the boaters steer clear of dams. It was proposed after the drownings last year of canoe paddlers near the Yorkville dam.

The trouble is this would turn the hundreds of Mid-American participants into hundreds of trespassers. The guidelines would make Mid-American racers get out of the water onto private property.

There are three dam portages along the race route.

“I don’t think it’s going to make anything safer,” race director Jeff Long said. “I think it’s going to penalize responsible paddlers.”

There have been no major injuries in the estimated 240,000 portages among all the racers since the Mid-American race started in 1961, Long said.

The Fox Valley Park District is going to take a “wait and see approach” with the rule change, Long said. They will decide on the race’s future depending on whether the rule change passes and whether it passes in its current form. The group wants exemptions for existing dams.

If the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules passes the measures, there would be few options for the Mid-American, said Prairie State Canoeist board member Kathy Landow.

“They would have to re-establish the portages or move it to a section of the river where there are no dams,” she said.

paddlinbrad wrote:River recreationists should be up in arms over this seriously flawed law! It will cost tens of thousands of dollars to municipalities and land owners with its unfunded mandate for signs and buoys. Not to mention lost revenue which will be lost as the Fox river will be virtually shutdown to paddlers and fishermen will lose many of their favorite spots. It will not save lives! It will make criminals of unfortunate paddlers because the ones most likely to drift within the restricted areas will be the ones with the least skills. Then those folks will have to decide whether to face a class A misdemeanor or chance running the dam to get away. This is a political knee-jerk reaction to one unfortunate incident. For safer paddling we need more education not more regulation and criminalization!   6/8/2009 9:07 PM CDT on suburbanchicagonews.com

Tom Brady flips kayak, is ‘rescued’ in Charles River

Zach Buchanan | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

2:40 PM EDT, June 9, 2009  

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had to be fished out of the Charles River after capsizing a rented kayak, according to a report on The Boston Herald’s website, although the report only says the incident happened “the other day.”

Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, rented a pair of kayaks, but then Brady tipped his and had trouble getting back in.

“He had to be rescued,” an onlooker told The Boston Herald. “The launch guy went out and got him and got him back in the kayak. He’s been bragging about it ever since. He’s telling everyone he rescued Tom Brady.”

Patriots spokesperson Stacey James had not heard about the incident when contacted by the newspaper, and Brady apparently showed no setbacks with his knee injury after he and his teammates teed off at the annual New England Patriots Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament on Monday.

Jay Hanks – “It just goes to show you that anyone can swim out of their boat, no matter who you are.  The river is indifferent to fame and fortune.  But I have to ask – Was he wearing a PFD???”

Shiawassee River Update

Grant money has Shiawassee River Trail set to become reality in Southern Genessee County; announcement expected Wednesday

 by Eric Fish| The Flint Journal Tuesday June 09, 2009, 5:00 AM

LINDEN, Michigan — The Shiawassee River is soon to become a recreation destination. A $16,000 grant to University Outreach at U-M Flint from the Fenton Community Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint is expected to put the finishing touches on the water trail’s start-up. The project, dubbed the “Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail,” is expected to run from Holly to Argentine Township, enhancing the area as a destination for paddling enthusiasts.

The grant is expected to pay for a canoe launch in Argentine Township, signage along the river in Linden and Fenton and the development of a marketing brochure for the trail. The announcement is expected to be made Wednesday at 10 a.m. in downtown Linden.

The idea was brainstormed by Headwater Trails, who received a grant from the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network in 2007 to develop and install mile markers and signage along the waterway. Docking points are also expected to be installed over time in the various communities for paddlers to enter town.

“Headwater Trails has worked tirelessly to make the river more visible and accessible in the community,” said Sue Julian, president of Headwater Trails. “We depend 100 percent on volunteers. This effort wouldn’t be possible without the help of our membership and community members who care for the river. Our vision is to see the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail developed and enjoyed from Holly all the way to Saginaw Bay.”

Presentation Tuesday June 16 on Big Bend National Park’s Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

“The Lower Canyons—three words that convey a certain mystique, a feeling of awe and wonder not linked to any other Big Bend experience. Mention that you’ve floated Big Bend’s shorter canyons, Santa Elena, Mariscal or Boquillas, and you’ll find something in common to talk about. Sheer walls, thick mud, low water levels, tricky river cane, frigid morning air, inner peace…all universal elements of a Rio Grande float trip. ”

from http://www.nps.gov/rigr/planyourvisit/river_wilderness.htm

Join us Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. to see and listen to Pat Harrington’s presentation on his experiences on the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River in Big Bend National Park.  The presentation will be at Reno’s East Sports Bar and grill, 1310 Abbott Rd East Lansing, MI 48823 (517) 337-2333.  Please plan on arriving by 6:30 p.m. so you may order food and beverages prior to the beginning of the show.  The meeting is being held in a semi-private non-smoking room.

Boardman River Trip May 30-31

We will be paddling the Boardman River on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31.  Meeting time is Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. at Brown Bridge Dam on the Boardman.  We will run shuttle upstream and launch from the Forks Campground.  Sunday we will meet at 9:00 a.m. at the parking area by the river on Beitner Road above Beitner Rapids.  We will run shuttle from there.

Shiawasse River Paddle and Race June 7

Headwaters Trails, Inc.

 

Shiawassee River

Holly to

Fenton Canoe Race

 

Sunday, June 7, 2009

 

Seven River Miles from

WaterWorks Park in Holly,MI to Strom Park in Fenton,MI  

For more info and photos, visit our website

 

Questions? Call Sue Julian,

248-634-3513. Rain or Shine!

 

 

 

 

 

www.headwaterstrailsinc.org

“Favorite Places to Paddle in Michigan” upcoming presentation Tuesday May 19

Ron Smith will be presenting “Favorite Places to Paddle in Michigan” at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 at Summit Sports in East Lansing.  The address is 2650 East Grand River at the corner of Park Lake Road.  Their phone is (517) 332-4000.

Co-founder of Black Parrot Paddling, LLC., Ron is an ACA Flatwater, Moving Water and Coastal Kayaking Instructor. He is also one of a half dozen ACA Coastal Kayaking Instructor Trainers in the Midwest Region of the ACA. A BCU Coach 3 (Senior Instructor), Ron started kayaking in 1992 in Alaska. Ron and his wife, Suzie, migrated from backpacking, to whitewater rafting, wilderness canoeing, and long distance cycling before adopting sea kayaking as a mutual passion.

Please join us for this interesting evening with your friends from the Lansing Oar and Paddle Club!

Brief Report on Ontonagon River

Dennis and Date’s “Canoeing Michigan Rivers” has some mixed up information on the final rapids on the West Branch flowing into Victoria Reservoir.

The book said the last rapids dumps directly into Victoria Reservoir and that part was true.  But it only mentions two sets of rapid instead of three, with the first being more difficult than the second.  We had experienced increasing levels of difficulty, with the last one rating a big water Class III+.  The truth is probably to describe the entire three sets of rapids as the Sandstone Falls Section with a II, III, and III rating.

Sandstone Falls is actually on Schatt Creek which enters the Ontonagon at the top of the second rapids.  Since we were at relatively high flow with close to 2,ooo cfs coming downriver it is possible that everything could look quite different at “normal” water levels.

Scouting on the left is almost impossible although the book says to do so.  It is much better to eddy out on the right at the top of the last two drops so you can see the whole run.  It does require an aggressive ferry upstream to get back out in the main flow for the move to the left, but for the experienced whitewater paddler it is the best setup.

 

Jay