EBLADE December 2015 Page 2 Photo Courtesy of Bonnie Aldinger

The official electronic newsletter of the Sebago Canoe Club in Brooklyn, NY kayaking, canoeing, sailing, racing, rowing December 2015 Vol. 82, Issue 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS: FROSTBITE REGATTA Commodore’s Report By Walter Lewandowski - page 2 NEW YEARS DAY Sea Kayak Report By Tony Pignatello - page 3 Pool Sessions 2015 January 1, 2016 By Phil Giller- page 4 Rowing Report 10am - 4pm |General Meeting - 2pm By Joe Romano - page 4 Canoe Report & Event Pictures Spend New Year’s day at Sebago. Go paddling or By Dan Olson - pages 5-16 sailing in the morning. Bring a potluck dish to share and Sail Report & Event Pictures usher in 2016 catching up with friends at Sebago. By Jim Luton & Holly Sears - pages 17-27 Stay for our first general meeting 2015 Ft. Wadsworth Paddle By Laurie Bleich - page 28 of the new year at 2pm. Kayak Event Pictures pages 29-30 McGill Constellation Project By Denis Sivack - page 31 Carving and Finishing a Norsaq By Denis Sivack - pages 32-35 Canarsian: Sebago’s Big Boat Project Goes “Full Tilt Boogie” By Jim Luton - pages 36-50 Sebago Canoe Club Gardens 2015 & Sebago Grounds Pictures, 2003 By Mary Eyster & Mary Ann Hoag pages 52 -55 Board of Directors, Committee Chairs & Contact Information page 56 photo courtesy of Chris Bickford photo courtesy of Bonnie Aldinger Commodore’s Report By Walter Lewandowski What a great time to be a member of Sebago. In 2015 we had more ac- I must be brief as the fair weather sirens that have been luring me tivities for club members than ever before, including kayak camping away from normal pre-holiday duties are calling me back to address trips, wilderness canoe journeys, sailing regattas and the building of them. Aren’t we lucky to love the outdoors and have found a group of our very own safety boat. We will all be reading articles about these and like-minded souls at a quirky place called Sebago? Enjoy little adven- other adventures later in this issue. tures and a happy and wonderful holiday season for all. We have greater member participation in all activities, including one close to my heart, our volunteers. Thank you all. Our club facilities look better than I ever remember. Many of these volunteer efforts are behind the scenes and not as apparent as our brick and mortar or activity com- mittees. So a special thanks to all of them; you know who you are. EBLADE December 2015 page 2 photo courtesy of Bonnie Aldinger Sea Kayak Report By Tony Pignatello Ahoy Sebago, Tuesday Night at the Movies has been a favorite for the last few I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Some of you may think years. On certain Tuesdays during the winter we try to get together for a the paddling season is over and it is time light a fire and sit in front of the pot-luck dinner and a movie. Nowhere else in the country can you enjoy TV. I say to you: at Sebago the party never ends. a woolly pig (Mangalitza), five-star movie, and the best conversation in By the time you are reading this, the pool sessions in Flushing New York under one tin roof. Make sure you are on the Yahoo or Google Meadows Park will be underway. For a small fee you can get a two-hour email list to take advantage of movie night. private lesson in a heated pool. Just tell the instructors what you want to While I was out paddling on Thanksgiving weekend I heard fisher- work on and they will be happy to accommodate you. men on the radio talking about all the herring they were catching. That It’s time to dust off the hiking boots. Throughout the winter Frank means the seals can’t be far behind. We will do our annual Seal Watch Favia and I will lead some hikes. Some of them will be within the city Paddle and Hike in January out at Jones Beach. limits and others will be within an hour’s drive. Possible venues include Finally, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who take a leader- Green-Wood Cemetery, Long Island Pine Barrens, Rockefeller State ship role to make all of these activities possible. We are truly blessed. Park, Van Cortlandt Park, The Palisades, and Central Park. Happy Holidays EBLADE December 2015 page 3 Pool Sessions Winter 2015-2016 Rowing Report By Phil Giller By Joe Romano The club will once again hold kayaking skill sessions at the Flushing We’ve had a great summer and fall, with several members beginning to Meadows Pool Complex in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. row and some people joining the club to scull. Also our fleet of sculls has increased: some Alden sculls have been donated to the club, and we The sessions are every Sunday from 9 to 11 am starting December 6, have acquired a more advanced Alden scull from a long-term member, 2015 until April 2016. Dick Springer, who is moving out of the area and will be missed. Now we are faced with the task of reviewing our sculls and what Please check our website for dates and details. needs to be done to them to make them fully operational and available for safe use. We are also facing the challenge of determining the best way Boats and all equipment are provided. NO personal boats allowed with- to store our sculls so that our members can get them down to the water out first getting permission from Linda Peterson or Phil Giller. and back without making it more physically exerting than the sculling SPACE IS LIMITED AND WILL BE ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST- itself. But these are the challenges we welcome as we delight in a resur- SERVED BASIS. gence of rowing at Sebago. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you’d like to try out rowing yourself. You MUST register in advance with Linda Peterson. It can be a very pleasant workout gliding through the beautiful waters COST: $20 SEBAGO MEMBERS of Jamaica Bay. COST: $30 NON-SEBAGO MEMBERS (plus $5 if not an ACA member) ALL payments to be made by PayPal. Space is limited and Sebago members will be given first preference. If we get too crowded we will ask members to sign up every other week. This is a wonderful way to learn or brush up on your kayak skills in a safe environment under the eyes of your Sebago ACA coaches. Name Published for Learn wet exits Senior Membership: Learn basic and advanced rescues Learn bracing Mark Rendel Learn sculling strokes Learn how to roll Or any other Level 2 skill you are interested in learning EBLADE December 2015 page 4 photo courtesy of Chris Bickford photo courtesy of Chris Bickford Above: Delaware Family Adventure Trip Canoe Report By Dan Olson This season the Canoe Committee focused on three areas of activities as well as two open paddles with the Long Island City Community related to family, high adventure and public trips. The Canoe Committee Boathouse using standard and large canoes. We continue to cross-post exists in a virtual and inclusive world, drawing its participation from all certain events with other clubs and with the Appalachian Mountain areas of the club including members and their families. Canoeing pro- Club. And, of course, we are continuing our partnership with the vides a great way for beginners and non-paddlers to safely enjoy the wa- Concrete Canoe Team of CCNY. ter, learn a new skill, perfect an old one or go camping. Our fleet is now at its optimum size and quality thanks to the great We completed multi-day trips this summer to the lakes of the work of Steve Welch who made some tactical trades and organized a Adirondacks (where we are working our way around the Whitney successful work day. We have plans to put one of the war canoes in the Wilderness) and to the moving waters of the Delaware (where our work shed as soon as is practical because it needs some serious mainte- family-oriented crew camped on islands in the river and largely avoided nance. This will also give the club a chance to learn how to work with a the poison ivy). traditional wood-and-canvas boat. Also, a paddle carving workshop is Training this year focused on developing the skills of younger pad- planned for April 2016. dlers with a two-day workshop at Lake Sebago, and older paddlers who For the 2016 season, you can expect more of the same with a con- can stern and bow the large war canoes. The large canoes were put into tinued focus on training so that the club will have more skilled paddlers service several times for public events and they are clearly a conversa- and trip leaders. tion piece. The Canoe Committee also collaborated with other boat clubs and provided boats and volunteers to the Amazing Bronx River Flotilla EBLADE December 2015 page 5 photo courtesy of Patrick Daniels photo courtesy of Chris Bickford Above and Below: Delaware Family Adventure Trip photo courtesy of Jim Luton photo courtesy of Chris Bickford EBLADE December 2015 page 6 photo courtesy of Chris Bickford Above and Below: Delaware Family Adventure Trip photo courtesy of Chris Bickford photo courtesy of Chris Bickford EBLADE December 2015 page 7 photo courtesy of Chris Bickford Above and Below: Delaware Family Adventure Trip photo courtesy of Chris Bickford photo courtesy of Chris Bickford EBLADE December 2015 page 8 Adirondack High Adventure Trip (#3) photo courtesy of Jim Luton Above: Misty morning Little Tupper Lake.

Load more