This is the start of a section on kayak safety. It will include information on hypothermia, rescues, gear and other safety related topics. Please feel free to send suggestions on what you thing should be here.

Hypothermia

"When you teach it, you own it."

7/10/07

We recently received this update from Tom Barrett one of the people working on the Lummi launch site.

The Annual WAKE Lake Padden Symposium is finally here. This is a special June event on Saturday, June 23rd, is a potluck/paddling seminar. It is free to WAKE members and convenes in the swimming area of Lake Padden. Non-members may join WAKE on the day of the event. The symposium is set up as two two-hour sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Participants may choose from a selection of classes and are asked to remain in the same class for the duration of each session. They must also supply their own equipment and kayaks, ready to paddle at 9 AM.

The February meeting opened with Wake president Dawn Groves briefly discussing some newly scheduled trainings: an evening physical conditioning class, two boat control courses with Wayne Horodowich, an evening introduction to Tides and Currents and a second evening class in Kayak Navigation. After a few questions and comments from the floor, Dawn turned the evening over to Chris Duff who regaled us with tales from his four-month solo kayaking adventure around New Zealand. The audience was riveted as Chris relived his often harrowing experiences kayaking the stunning, treacherous seas of New Zealand’s west coast. He brought copies of his two books and sold almost all of them. It was a dramatic, remarkable presentation; one that won’t be forgotten for quite some time.

Planning is steadily progressing on the launch site on Lummi. We recently spoke with Mike McFarlane (County Parks Director) and can report continued strong support by the Parks Department and Ferry Operations (Ken Richardson, Ferry Manager).

After researching property lines for placement of the launch site on the left side of the ferry landing (as you are arriving on Lummi), it was determined that the County did not own sufficient property to place the launch site there. The proposed launch site will be on the right side of the ferry landing (as you are arriving on Lummi). A Parks Department staff person is in the process of applying for a permit to move or modify rip rap for the proposed launch site, so we are moving forward. Shoreline permitting is a lengthy process, and there is work to be done on planning access from the ferry landing dock or from the road (possibly coordinated with the proposed new ferry parking site).

For those of you who don’t know, our own Reg Lake is spending four weeks in an unexplored, ten mile long, iced-in fjord in the Andes Mountains. Together with Outside Magazine Editor, Grayson Schaffer, the two men are attempting to find a water route through the ice. The expedition is sponsored by Outside Magazine and several vendors including Necky, Kokatat, and Werner. Here is part of Reg’s latest email about the trip:

Andy Wallis, long time manager of Ferndale’s Johnson Outdoors, is leaving the kayak biz and moving into optical engineering. Well, sort of. He’s becoming a market project manager at SPIE (The International Society for Optical Engineering). Say it with me folks -- WHOA. His last day at Johnson is February 9th after which he will spend a week of gainful unemployment at Whistler. Johnson has already begun advertising for a new store manager.

“I’ve really enjoyed working here at Johnson Outdoors for the last six and a half years,” he says, “but it’s time for a new challenge. It will be nice having my weekends free to join WAKE on more paddling trips.” Congrats, Andy. We’ll miss you at the shop but we’ll be glad to see you on the water.

Island Outfitters in Anacortes, is closing their doors. WAKE learned about the closure on the same day as the Island Outfitters staff. Details are not clear, but apparently Island was originally relocating to a different building and the plans fell through. Matthew Ross, Programs Director says, “Basically we are going to continue offering instruction, tours, and rentals keeping the same website, emails, and phone through the transition.” So even though the business is closing, Matthew is keeping the program section alive until decisions are made as to its future. It remains to be seen if someone will step forward to open a much-needed kayak shop in Bellingham. The field is wide open. Any takers?

The January meeting was another standing-room-only event, thanks to our featured speakers Bob Kandiko and Karen Neubauer. Dawn Groves breezed through a very short business presentation with a quick introduction of the 2007 board members and herself as president. Special mention was made of Norm Nielson, retiring from the board after five years of service. Before introducing Bob and Karen, Dawn reminded folks about February’s special guest speaker, author/adventurer Chris Duff. She also asked for volunteers to step up and become trip leaders and WAKE board members. She specifically mentioned needing a board secretary.