Middle Ocoee Guidebook and Training Manual
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THE PADDLER TATTLER VOLUME 47, ISSUE 10 ~ OCTOBER 2014 Newsletter of the Tennessee Valley Canoe Club LIFE’S A TRIP! BRING A PADDLE! The last month has a been full of end-of-summer fun for Inside this Issue many TVCCers, especially the newbies! The training trip Calendar 2 Restaurant Report 14 season culminated with Ocoee PFDs for many of those in the Paddle School Class of 2014. October Events 3 Throwback 15 2014-2015 Officers 4 Sea Kayaking 16 Here, Jessica Alexander boofs the slot on the left side of Flipper during the Ocoee Sampler Trip. Ocoee Race 6 Overnighters 17 (Photo: Larry Boothby) TN River Rescue 8 Boundary Waters 18 Trip Reports 10 OCTOBER 2014 SUN MON TUES WED THU FRI SAT Sept 28 29 30 October 1 2 3 4 IRONMAN TN River Triathlon Rescue Support GAF @ NOC 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Women, 6th Annual Whiskey & Ocoee Race Whitewater 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Board TN River Meeting Gorge Overnighter 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 TN River Nickajack Gorge Bluffs Overnighter 26 27 28 29 30 31 Nov 1 Boo Run 19th Annual Green River Race See Page 3 for Events in Detail THE PADDLER TATTLER 2 OCTOBER 2014 by World Kayak. Race for time from Grumpy’s to Oct. Events in Detail... below Powerhouse, or watch the competition. After party benefiting First Descents and Team ALL PADDLING TRIPS ARE WEATHER AND WATER River Runner to follow, 6pm at the OAR Pavilion. DEPENDENT. IT IS MANDATORY THAT TRIP LEADERS Volunteers are needed. See page 6 and contact BE NOTIFIED BY PHONE BY THE WEDNESDAY PRIOR Jen Maxwell: [email protected]. TO THE TRIP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND. THIS WILL October 14th—Board Meeting (C). 6pm, Outdoor ALLOW THE TRIP LEADER TO NOTIFY YOU OF ANY Chattanooga. CHANGES MADE. October 18th-19th—TN River Gorge Overnighter (S, Most events are detailed on the calendar section of ON). Paddle from the Suck Creek Ramp and camp the TVCC Website. on the bank at the Pot House. You must be able to Contact the trip leader for specific training trip carry all of your own gear in your boat. Contact meeting times. Ben Johnson: [email protected]. (WW = Whitewater; S = Sea Kayak; C = Club Event; October 25th—Nickajack Bluffs (S). 10am. Meet at ON = Overnight Canoe Camping) the Shellmound Ramp at Nickajack Lake for a 3 hour paddle. September 26th-28th—Guest Appreciate Festival @ NOC (WW). Enjoy the festivities at the Nantahala October 26th—Ocoee Boo Run (WW). Celebrate the Outdoor Center. http://noc.com/events/guest- last Ocoee release of the season in the Halloween appreciation-festival-gaf Spirit. Meeting time TBA. September 28th—Ironman Triathlon Support (C). November 1st—19th Annual Green Race. 12pm. 6am. The Ironman Triathlon is coming to Green River Narrows. Watch the best of the best Chattanooga, and they need volunteers to compete in the Ultimate Southeastern Steep support the swim portion. For more information, Creek Race Experience! Psst...I heard some contact Debby McRae: [email protected]. TVCCers might be competing this year! October 4th—TN River Rescue (C). 9am. This is an event that TVA sponsors annually, and Jim Ledbetter is leading a team of volunteers on the West Chick at Camp Jordan. You can help on the bank or in big canoes that Jim will bring. Contact: [email protected]. October 10th—Women, Whiskey, and Whitewater (C). 7pm, Rock Creek Ocoee. Women Only. A fun evening to discuss women and paddlesports, featuring several special guests. Contact Rebecca Hendrix or Ashley Teel: [email protected]. Past President Brandon Beaty and Pirate Rob Taylor show October 11th—6th Annual Ocoee Race (C, WW). their Halloween spirit at the 2013 Boo Run. 9am for registration, 10:30am for race. Sponsored THE PADDLER TATTLER 3 OCTOBER 2014 President’s Message By Don Fletcher, TVCC President First I would like to thank the outgoing president and board for an outstanding year. Paddle school was the best in my memory. We have more certified instructors than ever. The board's leadership on teaching, safety, and community support is a big reason we are the best club in the South. The new board will try to make the club even stronger. You can help by emailing any suggestions to [email protected]. Incoming President Don Fletcher with Terra McGill and incoming Vice President Ashley Teel. Welcome 2014-2015 TVCC Officers! Let’s all give a warm welcome to the new and returning officers for the 2014-2015 year. Thanks for your commitment to making TVCC an active and excellent club, and a fantastic resource for paddlers of the Tennessee Valley and beyond! President: Don Fletcher Vice President: Ashley Teel Assistant Vice President: LaDawn Wolfe Secretary: John Hubbard Treasurer: Debby McRae Safety Chair: Mike Shillinger River Conservation Chair: Jim Ledbetter Webmaster: Teri Zur Newsletter Editor: Meryl Stark PR Chair: Katie Larue Non-Paddling Cruisemasters: Jen Maxwell & Rebecca Hendrix Class II/III Cruisemaster: Spence Lycan Class III/IV Cruisemaster: Brandon Koch Overnight Cruisemaster: Ben Johnson & Carolyn Rand Sea Kayak Cruisemaster: Eric Fleming THE PADDLER TATTLER 4 OCTOBER 2014 Annual Member Meeting Campout: Sept. 6th marshmallows Debby McRae show knivesoff and Foster,Greg Anne Lautzenheiser, and — a winning combination. Families share food and conversation together. Jenny Jenny Leaderer and Past President Paul Paul Shoun are excited about the evening! Sandra Walker, Betsy Westerfield, and Lisa Lemza enjoy drinks. TVCC Members gathered at OAR on Saturday, September 6th for the annual fall meeting and campout. New officers were elected, beer and pizza were enjoyed, and John Kern and Jenny Leaderer recounted their wilderness adventures on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. (left) John Kern presents about the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. roaring bonfire! No celebration is complete without a Carin Burford has a new, spicy spin on the traditional booty beer. THE PADDLER TATTLER 5 OCTOBER 2014 6th Annual Ocoee Race: October 11th Sponsored by World Kayak; Benefiting First Descents & Team River Runner By Jen Maxwell & Meryl Stark Now that Ocoee season is winding down, it’s again time for the Ocoee Race. The race will be on Saturday, October 11th. Come to race, volunteer, or watch the competition! Volunteers are still needed on land and in the water. Contact Jen Maxwell ([email protected]). More information on the race and specifics about competing, including online registration, can be found at http://tvccpaddler.com/ocoee-race-2014/. Following the race, join everyone at the OAR Pavilion at 6pm for the after party with beer, paddle videos, live music, and a flip cup tournaments. $5 to party and all proceeds will benefit First Descents and Team River Runner! (Details on charities below.) Schedule of Events 9:00 - 10:30: Registration and number pickup at the parking lot at the Middle Put-In (Roger’s Branch). 10:30: Mandatory Safety Meeting. Updated race information will be provided. 11:00: Racing Begins! “First Descents offers young adult cancer fighters and survivors a free outdoor adventure experience designed to empower them to climb, paddle and surf beyond their diagnosis, defy their cancer, reclaim their lives and connect with others doing the same.” For more information, visit http://firstdescents.org. Team River Runner aims “to create an environment of healthy adventure for healing active duty and veteran service members through paddle sports.” TRR provides boats, gear, instruction, transportation, etc. for participants and volunteers through the generosity of donors and subsidies from providers. Team River Runner has local chapters in Chattanooga and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.teamriverrunner.org. THE PADDLER TATTLER 6 OCTOBER 2014 Women, Whiskey, and Whitewater! By Rebecca Hendrix October 10th, 7pm at Rock Creek Ocoee Ladies of the club, join us for a female bonding experience as we talk about our favorite thing (besides shoes): Whitewater! Adrienne Levknecht from Liquid Logic, Emily Shanblatt from Confluence Watersports, Kat Levitt from Jackson Kayak, and more have agreed to join us this evening where we can discuss Girl Power! TVCC Ladies pose at a cold-weather Nantahala what it's like to be a female involved in paddle sports. run. This is a LADIES ONLY EVENT (so no boys) as we will discuss things like our feelings, emotions, paddling obstacles (boobs), and maybe even our moon flow. If you are a lady paddler or you If you have questions about this even, feel free to contact Jen have a daughter or friend who is interested in paddling, feel free Maxwell, [email protected], or Rebecca Hendrix, to bring them. We also ask that you bring a CAMP CHAIR and [email protected]. maybe your tent, as the Ocoee Race is the next morning--feel free to stick around and race or help out! Kayak Polo at Warner Park By Meryl Stark During the month of September, Outdoor Chattanooga started a new program—Kayak Polo! For several Thursdays, the Warner Park Pool was converted into a playing field of fierce competition, as kayakers on the green and yellow teams battled for the ball and charged towards the goal posts to score. Thanks to everyone from TVCC who came out to play this fun and high-energy game! THE PADDLER TATTLER 7 OCTOBER 2014 Tennessee River Rescue: October 4th THE PADDLER TATTLER 8 OCTOBER 2014 Guidebook Re-Release Party By Meryl Stark On Thursday, August 28th, club members gathered at the Mellow Mushroom in Downtown Chattanooga to celebrate the re-release of Jeff West’s Middle Ocoee Guidebook and Training Manual. Joe Gudger from Ace Kayaking said a few powerful words about Jeff West and mentorship on the river.