Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club

Well, Hello and Happy Holidays!  If you weren’t at the club’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, you missed a wonderful gathering - representative of the personalities, skillsets, boating interests that make up the cornucopia of what is all things Hoosier Canoe and Kayak Club!  I was honored to have been accepted by those present to be your Skipper for the upcoming year.  Thank you to all that worked so hard to make the meeting a great success and I look forward to serving all of you.

A few highlights from what was discussed at the meeting: 

Membership – we are growing!  As of the Annual meeting our numbers have exceeded 350 memberships, four of which are new lifetime members who were honored at the meeting:  congrats and THANK YOU for being a formative part of the group to Tom Siddall, Patricia Bledsoe, Jack Mitenbuler, and Richard Coughenour.

Your HCKC Board consists of seventeen members whom meet monthly through the year to discuss topics related to club outreach, education, current relevant projects going on in the Hoosier state, and exchange ideas on how the club can better serve its membership.  I am thankful to have been a part of the board for four years now and am proud of the work that’s come out of the group.  I want to give a heartfelt thank you to Duane Garloch whom has served us well these past two years and I hope to build upon the good work that’s been done under his leadership.  Duane has been a member of the club for over fifteen years and has been an integral part of our Intro to Paddling classes as well as a beloved part of the Sea Kayaking fleet!  I also want to give a shout out to our newest board member Tim Owens. 

Always a fun time, there were several awards given out during the meeting…the most notable (and long time coming in my opinion) was to honor our Newsletter Editor Dwayne James for the tremendous work he has done month after month of putting the newsletter together in addition to all the other volunteer work he has done for the club over the years.  Thank you Dwayne for everything you do!

These are the things I am most excited about for 2020:

• ·         We have some INCREDIBLE Instructors!!  Over the past few years the number of ACA and Voyageur Certified Instructors has grown significantly – currently we have thirteen certified instructors in the club, most of which hold multiple certifications in more than one discipline.  Last year the club provided not only the always popular Intro to Paddling classes and weekly pool practice sessions, but added an ACA Swiftwater Rescue class with plans to add more opportunities in upcoming years.  The club now has a Safety and Education Committee that is working on Trip Leader education and more consistent instruction across all of our fleets.
• ·         Outreach opportunities and Amazing Volunteers – the Hoosier Canoe and Kayak Club has always been incredibly connected to the community.  Whether it be supporting the Triathalons at Eagle Creek Reservoir or taking kids out on their first canoe ride and talking to them about being safe on the water, we have had some amazing club members come forward throughout the year to represent the club and spread the word about our favorite pastime. This year we have opportunities to work with Veterans through the Team River Runner program and have several members involved in the Voyageur Canoe program.  I am thankful for the time and effort you’ve all put forward for us and look forward to hopefully working alongside each and every one of you again this year!

THANKFUL for a SUPER 2019 and EXCITED for 2020!! 

Your (Newest) Skipper

Toni Harris

I have been honored to serve as you Skipper, and look forward to the upcoming leadership of Toni Harris and the new board.  Next year will bring new trips and more training opportunities for members.  Be sure to come to the annual meeting on November 16^th to meet the new leadership, meet other members in person, check out some fun presentations and some great food.

As Fall get going in October, we still have several padding trips scheduled.  The sea kayak group is having a paddle on the Ohio River on the 5^th and traveling to Land Between the Lakes on the 18^th.  The canoe kayak group has trips scheduled to Grayson Lake and also Raccoon Creek during the Covered Bridge Festival. The whitewater group is heading to the Ocoee last release.  Looking ahead, our Annual Meeting is on November 16^th.  Checkout the newsletter and the events calendar online for more information.

As always, Please send your trip announcements and trip reports, or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com) by the 17th of the month. 

See you on the water!  Duane

As Summer comes to a close in September, our paddling season does not! Coming up we have our annual trip sea kayak trip to South Manitou Island and white water trips to the Gauley, along with a flat water trip on the Wabash River. Remember that September 24^th is your last chance to use the Eagle Creek pass this year.  Check the calendar for details for these trips along with other events in September. Looking ahead, lookout for information on our Annual Meeting on November 16^th.  Checkout the newsletter and the events calendar online.

As always, Please send your trip announcements and trip reports, or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, to Dwayne James by the 17th of the month. 

See you on the water!  Duane

With the heat of summer, what better way to cool off than paddling!  August starts with the 34th annual Indiana Paddlers Rendezvous.  The touring kayak group will be heading to Pictured Rocks National Seashore and Monroe reservoir.  The canoe and kayak group will be paddling the Mad River and the Lower Tippecanoe River.  Beginners trips on the Pigeon River and the East Race are one 5he schedule for whitewater paddlers.  There are two more triathlon events in August that are always in need of volunteers.  Checkout the newsletter and the events calendar online.

As always, Please send your trip announcements and trip reports, or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com) by the 17th of the month.  

See you on the water!  Duane

Once again, July brings multiple paddling options every weekend.  Whitewater starts the month by the New River and ends the month at Rock the Yough.  Sea Kayak will be going to Warren Dunes.  Canoe and Kayak will be paddling the East Fork of the White River and joining the Sea Kayaks at Cataract Falls for a full moon paddle.  Check out the calendar on our website for more.  If you have questions, contact the trip sponsor.

We are always looking for help at the Eagle Creek Triathlons.  We are offering kayaking skills clinic on the 20^th of August.

As always, Please send your trip announcements and trip reports, or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com) by the 17th of the month.

See you on the water!

As summer gets into full swing, we have paddling opportunities every weekend in June.  Starting the month with our annual open water rescue clinic, Fall Creek paddle, NOC Women’s Paddling Fest, and a whitewater trip to the Pigeon and Nolichucky rivers.  Check out the calendar on our website for more.  If you have questions, contact the trip sponsor.

Please remember we are looking for volunteers for two events on June 8^th: Outdoor Explore in Lafayette and Dino Adventure Day Camp, a kayak event working with children on the same date.  See the newsletter for details.

As always, Please send your trip announcements and trip reports, or something else you’d like to share in the newsletter, to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com) by the 17th of the month.

See you on the water!

Duane

We had a successful booth at the Indianapolis Boat, Sport, and Travel show.  A big thank you to everyone who organized our booth and to those who staffed the booth during to show.  All of your hard work helped promote HCKC.  If you missed it, make sure and check out our very own John Gates Facebook live interview at the show (https://www.facebook.com/indysportshow/videos/268404624054997/)!

We have a solid Month of paddling and training options coming up in April.  The month kicks off with Muskrat’s (Garry Hill) 42nd Annual Aprils Fool’s Paddle on the 6th.  Some of the other trips planned for April are a Sand Creek trip in the canoe and kayak group, a Monroe overnight trip in the sea kayak group, and the annual Webster Springs in the whitewater group.  This is only a small portion of the events we have to offer in April.  Check the events calendar on the website for even more trips! Make sure you login to see all events.

Towards the end of the month we have our first training and beginner options (outside of the pool sessions) for the year.  The last weekend of the month we have a Swiftwater Rescue Clinic and a beginners whitewater trip to the Smoky Mounts (see the events calendar on the website details).

As always, 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 17th of the month.  See you on the water!

Duane

As things start to thaw out, we have a few of our classic trips March.  We have the annual (weather permitting) Ice Falls trip, trip to the Elkhorn river, and also a Summit Lake.  All of this year’s trips 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 (hopefully soon), 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 17th of the month.

See you on the water! - Duane

We had a successful planning meeting on 1/26 and have a wide variety of trips planned for 2019.  The trip details will be posted in the next few weeks on the Events page of the HCKC website.  Remember that will need to login to see all trips we are offering.  Also, we will have a booth at the Boat, Sport, and Travel show February 15 thru 24.  We still need volunteers for four hour shifts at our booth.  Let Dwayne James know if you are interested.  If you have something you’d like to share in the newsletter, send it to Dwayne James (dwaynesjamesa1@hotmail.com)  by the 17^th of the month.