Times to Remember: Castle River

This was one of our (Nathan, Janson, David, Mark, Mike) first big trips of the season. It was a blast. We learned alot from this trip! The entrance to the falls was closed so we put in at the bridge that crosses castle river and experienced the extra hour and a half of paddling time. Also that dropping off the ledge of castle falls on river right you need to have a lot of momentum to make sure you drop into the pool, because David dropped too soon and penciled in to nail the front of his boat on rocks then hit his helmet connecting with rocks as well. He was a bit soar from it, but at least now we know! By the time we got to the end of the trip we were all really worn out and ready to get out of our boats. And Mike ended up straining his back carrying his boat out to the take-out shuttle. We all had a good giggle at his pain, but Mike was not laughing.

Times to Remember: Belly River

Being able to get permission from the landowners by Belly River we were able to go a few kilometers south of the highway bridge and paddle for a while longer. The flows were at a good level for fun paddling. It had a good amount of rocking waves (for a class II river) that made the extended trip a little more exciting. I had my first experience with Jolene and Claudia in their White water canoe. I was impressed with what they could do it that big ol' boat. They were catching eddies that weren't much bigger than the canoe. They make a good team! At the end of our journey we scouted the class 5 shuttle and figured that all of us could make the run. A few of us got pretty cold, but Stew Rood was a trooper, holding on to boats and sacrificing the feeling in his hand for the safety of us all!

"KAN"- CELED

This morning, to our great dissapointment, when we were about to get ready to go kayaking up at the Kan Nathan looked at the Trans Alta site (below) at the flow schedule and found out that they had changed the Saturday flows from 2pm-7pm to 11am-4pm. By the time we would have left Lethbridge and gotten onto the river we would have had only a few short hours to paddle so we decided to NOT go. Hopefully we will be able to go again here very shortly and have a much longer chance to paddle for a much longer time. So keep updated on this site for future trips this fall/winter!

http://www.transalta.com/transalta/river.nsf/.vwriverweb/river+flowby+schedule?opendocument

OPEN KAYAKING starts this month!!!

We are now having the Public Open Kayaking hour at the University Pool! Starting this October we will be holding it on Wednesday nights from 8:30-9:30. It will begin this first Wednesday the 3rd. You will need to show Student Identification at the new front desk, or you will need to pay a fee for the use of the pool. Remember that if you are not a member of ORCKA you will need to bring $5 for boat rentals for the hour. The entrance to the pool is at the new recreational facility of the University. So come and join us and bomb-proof your roll for next season. ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME.

To see the Pool Schedule go to:
http://www.uleth.ca/sportrec/aquatics/schedules/schedule.htm

"High Level" are paddling in Waterton (Sorry No Demo Boats)

hi,
we are having a paddle for our customers who have boats in waterton this weekend. sunday semptember second. we are meeting at emerald bay at 12:00am and going for a paddle from there in groups. sorry no demo boats will be supplied.
thanks,

highlevel canoes and kayak
any questions call 327-4506

Provincials

Here is the schedule for the provincials. The novice clinic on Friday may interest a number of our paddlers, especially the ones I met at the High Level Kayak demo day.

September 7, 8, & 9, 2007
Provincials and Aquabatics Cup
Canoe Meadows, Kananaskis Country

Schedule:
Friday, September 7, 2007
Novice clinic will be offered if there is enough interest and water flow. (4:00 pm)
Any novice interested in participating please contact scad@telus.net
Course construction 4:00
Athletes meeting ?
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Demo Run – 10:30 or 1 hr after Barrier dam release
Whitewater Slalom Race – 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Novice Race following Race
Potluck- Spaghetti
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Classic Downriver Race – 10:30 a.m.
Aquabatics Freestyle Event – 1:00 p.m.

Novice Clinic TBD
Saturday Demo Run will be 1 hour after the Kananaskis river water is turned on

Registration Fees:
Slalom and Downriver Race Fee- $20.00
Aquabatics Freestyle Event- $10.00
Slalom and Freestyle Race fees combined -$25.00

Novice Race clinic TBD - please contact scads@telus.net for more information

Camping:
The fee is $25/unit, 1 unit = 1 RV, 1
large tent, 2 smaller tents, or 4 very small tents (one person each).

NOTE: Any athletes with trophies are requested to bring them along to this event.

For more information please reply to scads@telus.net .

For those still planning to go out... (Troopers)

Just thought I would place this small post for anyone that is wanting to put any information of paddle trips they are planning during this later season.

High Level is having a Long Boat Kayak demo in Waterton

High Level Canoes & Kayaks are having a Long boat Kayaking demo at waterton. They will be holding the demo at Emerald Bay this sunday, August 19, from 9am - 5pm. If you are interested in trying out new boats, or even trying out different styles or even trying out different makes, come and join High Level and have great time on the water. ENJOY !~!~!

My Kyaking Aventure in Vancouver

I went to Vancouver for about a week, towards the end of July, to see my favourite band Silverchair and visit my uncle. I have always wanted to Sea Kayak on the coast and since I was there I had to try it. I rented a boat from a local paddling shop and took off into the Harbour. It was very scenic. It didn't have the thrills like white water kayaking has, but for what it was it was exciting. I paddled from about 10am - 4pm MAN was I tired. I paddled along the shore line and cut across to another point of land. During my journey I was able to get about 100 feet away from the big crate ships. They are extremely massive. All in all it was quite the experience, but I really miss my WHITE WATER.

Tragic Loss...

Posting the comments from Stu & Di, "Linda Englehart, a Calgary kayaker who also paddled in our region and with ORCKAn's died yesterday following a mishap on the Kicking Horse on Saturday. There's some more info. on the CalPaddle blog and news reports should emerge."

This is a sad day, as always when someone so young dies. As from the Calpaddle forum

Traditional Buddhist Prayers will be held in the Chapel of Mountain View Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 and Wednesday, August 1, 2007 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. A Celebration of Linda's Life will be held in the Chapel of Mountain View Funeral Home on Friday, August 3, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. If so desired, memorial tributes in Linda's name, for her daughters' education fund, to be directed to the Royal Bank (#144, 250 Shawville Blvd. SE, Calgary, AB, T2Y 2Z7). Arrangements entrusted to MOUNTAIN VIEW FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETERY, 17 Avenue SE at Garden Road, (1.5 km east of 84th Street SE) Telephone (403) 272-5555.

I will talk to the executive about a donation to the education fund, as she was an active member of our paddling community. I'm sure many of you had a chance to paddle with her or read her postings on our blog.

Our thoughts go out to her family and the rest of the ORCKA members as they paddle this season. I know many of you will still be on the rivers this season so "Be Safe" and paddle smart.

High Level Paddle and Barbecue Sunday July 15th

High Level Canoes & Kayaks are holding a public paddle down the Oldman River to Pavan Park. Following the paddle they will be having a barbecue to finish off the days activities. If you are in the area please come and support some local paddling activities. If you have any further question contact High Level @ 327-4506, or go to their website link on the side of this blog (events), or click on the link below.

http://www.highlevelcanoesandkayaks.com/events.htm

ATTENTION!!! local kayak/canoe volunteers needed.

The Magrath Triathlon is asking the ORCKA club for volunteers to help with the morning swim on St. Mary's reservoir. The Triathlon will be held on Saturday, July 21st . They are holding two separate swim events, an Olympic swim, and a sprint swim. They are asking for a minimum of three paddlers per swimming event (minimum of 6 paddlers total). The reason they are asking for kayakers and canoers is because of the LOW water disturbance created by our smaller boats making it easier to stay close to the swimmers, without disturbing them, if they need help at any time. The Olympic swim starts at 8:45 a.m. and the Sprint swim starts at 9:15 a.m., but they have asked us to show up at the Boat Launch at 8:00 in the morning on Saturday, July 21st. At that point we can organize which paddlers go with which group of swimmers.

To anyone that is interested in helping in this annual event will receive a free T-Shirt from the Magrath Triathlon. So if you agree to volunteer for this event we will need to know your shirt size. We could sure use the help so please leave a comment with your name, contact information, shirt size, and any questions you might have, or call Scott Greer @ 315-0114.

The only favour that we ask of anyone agreeing to volunteer, is that you keep your commitment to volunteer on this date, but if you cannot make it for whatever reason, PLEASE find someone to take your place. Don't drop it on anyone to fill your spot at the last minute. It would be more convenient for us, and better for the Triathlon if we have our needed number of paddlers on the morning of the event.

HERE'S A MAP...