Oct. 14 Meeting
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Keelhauler’s Ka-news april, 2016 Next Club Meeting is on Tuesday, April 12th at the Middleburg Heights Community Center 16000 E. Bagley Rd. Doors open at 7:00p.m., Meeting is at 8:00p.m. Program: Freestyle Canoeing Presentation by Bob and Elaine Mravetz FreeStyle Canoeing is the "art and science" of quiet water paddling with emphasize on smooth, efficient flatwater paddling and precision boat control. There are several opportunities to observe freestyle canoeing locally. Map to Middleburg Hts Meeting All meetings are open to guests. Invite a prospective member! MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT By Karl M. Nelson Kayaking Is Dead! Long Live Kayaking! Those of us who have paddled on the Lower Yough for over a decade have commented on the decreasing number of boaters on the river. As Jack says: “Saturdays are like what Thursdays used to be.” The phenomena has been addressed by Doug Ammons in RAPID magazine. In Why Going Bigger Makes the Whitewater World Smaller1 he writes: “Whitewater kayaking can survive without class V daredevils, it can’t survive without beginners and intermediates.” He continues the discourse in Popularity Contested2. He concludes that “if we’re going to entice more people to kayak, we might start by showing them how fun, safe and accessible it can be, instead of how gnarly we are.” The decline in the popularity of kayaking is mirrored in the history of the Payette River Games. When the Payette River Games started in 2013, it quickly grew to be one of the largest river sporting events in the country, attracting hundreds of athletes—kayakers, stand up paddleboarders and river surfers alike—and offering some of the largest purses worldwide. In 2014, the games, which take over Kelly's Whitewater Park in Cascade, ID for three days each June, offered a $100,000 in prize money for kayakers and SUPers. In 2015, organizers decided to scale back, focusing on stand up paddleboarding only and nixing kayak events. The purse dropped to $50,000 and left the kayaking community feeling a mix of understanding and downright bitterness.3 1 https://www.rapidmedia.com/rapid/categories/departments/5380-why-going-bigger-makes-our-world- smaller.html 2 http://content.yudu.com/web/oufm/0At4qo/RP201602/flash/resources/6.htm 3 http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/payette-river-games-are-no-more/Content?oid=3596512 The Board has been concerned about this. In an attempt to recruit new paddlers, we have reached out to several Beginning and Intermediate Boater Paddling Programs (See the Instruction page). We may need to come up with a more intentional evangelism program. I hope to be able to attend several of the kayak/canoeing events hosted by Stark Parks to extole the fun, safety (no stories about my breaking a leg on the river) and accessibility of boating. Monthly Treasurer’s Report By Sam Reynolds Keelhaulers’ Canoe Club Treasurer’s Report – March 20, 2016 CD 0402 $2, 275.87 CD 1077 $2, 273.44 CD 4709 $2, 253.76 CD’S $6, 803.07 Checking $7 ,185.36 Total $13,988.43 KEELHAULER MEETING MINUTES From Marcia Karchmer, Secretary March 8, 2016 Minutes: March 8, 2016 Meeting Present: 14; Guests: 3: Dan/Mary, Scott: whitewater interest; Matt: sea kayaking interest west side. Old business: none. New Business: Budget: Sam Reynolds: approved and seconded. Vermilion River Race: March 26-River Cleanup; April 3-48th Annual Race, April 10-High Water Date. Help needed: contact Race Chairman: John Reising at [email protected], or 440-967-9507. 2016 Trip Organizers Needed: Call Dennis Dukeman: 330-858-6270. Dragon Boat Presentation: Cleveland Dragon Boat Association, Michael Ciccarello, Volunteer Program/Festival Coordinator, Located at Rivergate Park: Merwin’s Wharf put-in. CLEBA.org Meeting ended at 9 pm. Next Meeting: April 12, 2016; 7:30 pm. Middleburg Hts. Community Center. Vermilion River Race By Jon Reising Please come and participate in the race this year. If you can offer some help, please give me a call. Thank you, Jon Reising - Race Chairman .. [email protected] . 440-967-9507 April 3rd; 48th Annual Vermilion River Race, OH This is our club's 48th annual race, one of the oldest in the US. The rapids are an easy class I, and the race is appropriate for novice to expert racers as well as recreational and sea kayaks. We encourage families and small groups who want to race together. This race is a great opportunity to shake the cobs off your muscles and get ready for the paddling season. Water level is critical as the race will only be held on this section of the river if the USGS Gauge is between 2.8 to 6 feet. If it's too low, the race will be moved downstream to start and finish at the South Street Boat Launch Ramp on West River road in Vermilion. If it's too high it will be scheduled for April 10, 2016. On-Line Registration - Pay using Paypal or a credit card, Keel-Hauler club members get a $2 discount per person. Vermilion Race 2016 Rules and Map (PDF) Vermilion Race 2016 Application (PDF) Vermilion Race 2016 Waiver (PDF) Conservation Issues By Jim Hunt Gorge Dam removal on Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cuyahoga Fallis is moving forward with federal blessing By Bob Downing, Beacon Journal staff writer The Gorge Dam on the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls could be coming down in 2019. That surprising news came from Bill Zawiski of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, who announced Tuesday that the federal government has agreed to provide 65 percent of the $70 million cost to remove the 57-foot-high dam and deal with sediments behind it. The project, including sediment removal, will be funded by $45.5 million in federal Great Lakes cleanup funds, he said at a meeting of the Summit Metro Parks commissioners. The federal EPA recently gave its blessing to proceed at a meeting of parties involved in cleaning up 43 contaminated spots on the Great Lakes. The Cuyahoga River from Akron to Cleveland is on that national priority list. The balance of $24.5 million will be paid by the Ohio EPA and local partners and those contributions can include in-kind services, such as land donations or engineering work, he said. Zawiski said the long-discussed proposal to remove the dam inside the Gorge Metro Park is suddenly “a viable plan” for the first time and the plan is starting to move forward. Removing the dam, plus another in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, would create 60 miles of a free-flowing and healthier Cuyahoga River from Lake Erie to the Lake Rockwell dam north of Kent in Portage County. The dam removal would be a “tremendous improvement ecologically,” he said. The news that the dam might be coming down delighted Gary Whidden of Cuyahoga Falls. “I’m really excited by that happening,” he said. “It’s wonderful and I love it. People have been working on taking the dam down for a long, long time. … All of Northeast Ohio will benefit from such a project.” “That is really wonderful that the dam coming down is moving forward,” said Elaine Marsh of Bath Township, a spokeswoman for the Friends of the Crooked River, a grass-roots group devoted to the Cuyahoga River. She admitted that after years of discussion, it is strange to realize that the dam’s days may be numbered. “In the beginning, we weren’t sure it would ever happen. It’s almost surreal, but we are serenely happy. … I am just delighted,” she said. Removing the dam in 2019 would also be a way for the Ohio and U.S. EPAs to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire in Cleveland that triggered the modern environmental movement and led to the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, Zawiski said. Zawiski took Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan to the site on Tuesday morning. Additional meetings with local stakeholders are being arranged. A meeting will be held in April when federal EPA officials from Chicago come to Northeast Ohio, he said. Zawiski said he hopes that engineering plans to deal with slightly contaminated sediments behind the dam might be completed this year. The sediments — 830,000 cubic yards, enough to fill the old Akron Rubber Bowl from floor to top four times — must be removed before the dam can come down. Demolishing the dam would likely cost about $12.5 million, with an additional $57.5 million for sediment removal, according to estimates. State and local partners would likely have to pay for the dam removal and site restoration. Under the preliminary plan, a hydraulic dredge would likely be used to suck up the contaminated sediments behind the dam. They would then be piped 1½ miles downstream to near the Chuckery Area of Cascade Valley Metro Park off Cuyahoga Street in North Akron. Sediments would be placed in giant, sock-like tubes and the water would drain off. The liquids would have to be collected and treated because of low-level contamination. The plan calls for using 11 to 13 acres that are next to the park and owned by the city of Akron. It is a long-closed landfill. The sediments would cover 38 football fields to a height of 10 feet. The federal EPA spent about $1 million to determine the sediment volume and the contamination level. That preliminary plan was unveiled last September by Zawiski at a public meeting in Cuyahoga Falls. It is unclear if the 429-foot-wide dam is owned by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.