annual meeting and dinner 2003 - kccny

Page The Newsletter of the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York December 2003

With the chairman’s call to order the annual meeting of KCCNY 2003 com-menced. The Holiday Inn, Saddle Brook, NJ was the setting, as we assembled in the penthouse meeting/dining facility. The expansive rooftop views permitted unobstructed panoramas of cityscape and moonscape; as this evening a total lunar eclipse graced the sky.

The yearly meeting is an important gath-ering of our club, it is a time to reflect on our founding traditions, conduct a regular executive board meeting - which for some members is the only opportu-nity to see how club business is run, elect club officials, and reunite with long and new river friends.

The slate of elected 2004 club officers and committee chairs is listed on p 5.

Diversity in Paddling: People, Places, Rivers and Boats by Deb O’Keefe

Annual Meeting and Dinner 2003

Greeting Friends! As colder weather approaches, it’s a perfect time to reflect back on the season’s paddling fun. I ran into many KCCNY members at rivers this year: Moose and Salmon in NY, Yough in PA, Gauley in WV, and Deerfield in MA. I’d like to share my paddling skills, experiences, philosophies and addictions. Here are a few quick facts to help set the scene:

I paddle over 200 days a year; I paddle rivers of all various difficulties (class II-V); I paddle over 50% of the time in NY, To keep paddling real, I have a job, I aim to have fun every time I get in the water, I had one particularly nasty swim in 2003 (see Striding 101 article for details).

People: One of the greatest benefits of paddling is meeting and enjoying the river with all sorts of peo-ple. One of the main reasons Steve and I travel for a spring Southern trip, summer festivals and fall Gauley season is to see our old friends and meet new friends. That may sound a bit hokey, but it is really quite true. We often travel by ourselves, which creates great opportunities to run into local paddlers, local residents on hitch-hiking shuttles and other paddlers traveling through the area. Chances are down the road, our paths will cross and one of us will comment, “remember when we met you at the take out for the _____ River.”

River running with diverse people also keeps paddling fun and new. Sometimes it maybe your first run on a particular river, or someone else’s first time running a river or rapid. The feeling is contagious. You see the whites of the eyes and the nervous anticipation of the upcoming rapid. After the crux of the run, a huge wave of relief and the feeling of accomplishment is appreciated by all in the paddling group. There are times I prefer the company of just a few close friends, or simply Steve and I on our local fa-vorite river after work. Other times, especially when I train for squirt boating, I like to paddle alone.

(Continued on page 4)

Points of Interest:

• Annual Meeting 2003

• Goldstein Award Winner

• Give to KCCNY

• Members pictures—year in review & Annual Meet-ing

• Winter Activity Sched-ule: check pgs. 8 & 9

• Pool Sessions starting!

Volume 43, Issue 4

Winter 2003

Annual Meeting & Dinner 2003

Diversity in Paddling

1 –2 1 &4

Passing the Paddle 2

Goldstein Award

Winner

3

Member News & Other

Meeting Minutes

5 5&8

Member Faces & Places

6-7

Activity Schedule 8-9

Striding 101 10-11

Going Slow 11

Back 2

Inside this issue:

Dave K, Rhonda O, Frank W. arriving with smiles

View of rising moon

Buffet line

Club cookie & program

The Newsletter of the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York December 2003

I’ve been paddling for over ten years and have noticed that many paddlers are middle aged or older. Why are there not more young people involved in the sport? With the popularity of kayaking, I thought it would attract more young people. As that seems not to be happening, I feel its our responsibility to “pass the paddle” to the next generation of paddlers. I wonder what we need to do to make our sport grow?

I have been trying to involve my two sons in the sport. At a swap-meet I found a small child's canoe for sale. Took it home and tried to get the boys involved, but it didn’t work out well. A few years later I picked up a recreational kayak for Aaron, my younger son. That worked well and the following year he upgraded to a tour-ing kayak. However as all things change, so do young children. It came to pass, around his 13th birthday, that it wasn’t cool to hang out with dad, (even if dad was having a lot more fun than he was having.) The 13 to 16 year era was a no-paddling time for us. During that time I was leaning more to whitewater kayaking and coming home with the new shorter boats — I was seeing interest in his eyes.

I asked Aaron to join the kayak rolling class that I help teach at the County College of Morris, NJ. He said he would, but first wanted to come to a few pool sessions that KCCNY offers. The first session that he came to he tried to roll the kayak; with the help of Jack Moskowitz, we had him rolling on his own in about a half hour. For reference it took me about 6 hours of classes to learn. Once he learned to roll, he started to look at kay-aking in a totally different light.

He took the KCCNY weekend whitewater class this past spring and is now coming of age. Paddled the Upper Delaware (I-II), the Deerfield in Massachusetts (I-II with Zoar Gap (III) and in August he took on the Mon-gaup (II+). Aaron ran Zoar Gap twice because the first time he tried he flipped at the top of the rapid and didn’t roll up till he was at the very bottom of the run. The next day he ran it again, without any problems to prove to himself he could do it.

We’ll have to see if he stays with it, Aaron sure has the talent. This season is almost over for him. He’s back in school and like most kids he doesn’t like getting up early. I’ll think we’ll see him at the remaining Mongaup releases; they’re not that far away so he doesn’t have to get up early. Aaron joined the Navy and has been accepted into the SEAL program, he has to finish high school first and will report for basic training on July 1, 2004. I’m sure the kayak training will help him in the Navy, and with the SEAL’s

Passing the Paddle by Kurt Navratil

The Goldstein Award recipient for 2003 is Pete Skinner (see article p. 3), Ed Hanrahan (pictured at right) eloquently shared his personal thoughts on the man behind the award – Jack Goldstein and the man receiving it this year – Pete. Ed presented the award to Pete as Cheryl Shiber was unable to stay for the duration of the evening.

The night was filled with year-end reports by the club activity chairs, choice buffet food, collections of donations for conservation; particularly the Challenge Grant sponsored by Jane Bernstein and Jane Majeski, a LiquidLogic kayak raffle—won by Ray Bragar , enlight-ening presentations by Deb O’Keefe in setting kayaking goals and Roger Gocking’s vivid pic-torial and verbal wrestling match with the winds of Mt. Everest; plus dancing, laughing , hula-hooping and hug-ging as we ventured home. See you next year!

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Pete Skinner: the Goldstein Award 2003 by Cheryl Shiber The Goldstein Award is made in the memory of Jack Goldstein, an organizer, founder and past Chair-man of the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York. Jack was a devoted paddler, camper and conserva-tionist, whose inspirational leadership and excellence of character contributed greatly to the inter-ested in white-water boating everywhere. Above all he was a distinguished humanitarian, who loved life and his fellow man. This award is given to an individual who by their personal influence, charac-ter and achievement have made a distinguished contribution to the welfare of the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York.

Pete N. Skinner is the 2003 recipient of the Goldstein Award. Unfortunately, Pete is unable to be here tonight due to a family obligation. As the recipient of the award last year, it was my job to Chair the awards committee for this year, which is made up of all of the past award recipients. When I took a look at the list of past recipients, I was immediately amazed that Pete was not on the list. Pete Skinner has been a member of KCCNY since 1974 and has done an amazing amount of work for river conservation and access. I see Pete Skin-ner as an unsung hero in the paddling world. For three decades, his ef- forts have been central to an amazing amount of achievements in terms of protecting rivers, gaining releases and gaining access to new runs. Many of you may know of his work via the key organizations he has been affiliated with-- New York Rivers United and American Whitewater. Pete was a founding member of both organizations and remains very active today even as these organizations have taken on a life of their own. Another organi-zation that he has re- cently gotten involved with is Futa-Friends, which is devoted to working with the local residents on an anti-dam campaign for the Futalafeu River in Chile. When I polled the past recipients to find out what they thought of Pete as the nominee, they responded with an overwhelming "Hell yeah!!". As an example, here is the text of an email I received from Ken Fishman, who received the Goldstein Award in 1995. Ken was active in the club until 1995 when he moved to Colorado. As a side note, Ken Fishman was responsible (with Pete) in gaining releases on the Mongaup River, which we all enjoy to this day.

“Dear Cheryl: Yes, as a former Goldstein award winner, I support you in awarding it to Pete Skinner this year. No one in the club has done more for boating, & river conservation than Pete. If I were to list all his accomplishments, you would think I was rewriting "War & Peace". I think 2 examples will suffice. Back in the late eighties Pete realized that hundreds of hy-dros were coming up for re-licensing & practically by just his fierce devotion to the idea, turned the paddling community to reviving these long-dead rivers, mitigating some of the damage done by their construction, & getting so many recreational releases that kayaking was able to transform itself from just a Spring , to an all year-round sport. We owe this change mostly to Skinner. In the early nineties Pete came to me with a wacko idea of forming a statewide river conservation or-ganization. We had no personnel or money - just an idea. I was privileged to serve as its Vice President until I left NY in "95. Mostly by force of Pete's personality, NYRU became the powerful organization it is today. Other than that, Pete has not done much. Please give my regards to the rest of the members at the annual meeting. Sincerely, Ken Fischman”

Pete and son Will having fun in the Duo


Diversity in Paddling: People, Places, Rivers and Boats by Deb O’Keefe

That way I can focus totally on the task at hand. In reality, if you cannot enjoy your own company, who else will want to paddle with you? At the end of a run, it is really the people you paddle with that can make an ordinary day on the water, an exceptional day.

Places: Paddling is a great sport, activity and hobby because you can do it almost anywhere there is water: lake, pond, small creek or big river. The possibilities are only limited by rainfall, access issues and sometimes pollution. The first is a job of nature, the second two are addressed actively by American Whitewater, so be sure your membership is active. Enjoy paddling the local resources before branching out to neighboring areas, and many of us get our paddling fix within a 1-hour radius of home.

I knew paddling was taking a bigger hold over my lifestyle when Steve and I started planning long weekends and vacation time around kay-aking adventures instead of climbing trips. People ask me why, and my answer is simple, “First of all, you are always active when your pad-dling, and secondly, the rivers handle the people better then the cliffs.” I live about 20 minutes from the Gunks, a world class climbing area in the North East, but I mentally can’t get past the crowds in the parking lot. Yes, I choose to be paddling on the water!

Rivers: I spend 95% of my paddling time on rivers and creeks. Including very large rivers, slow and fast moving rivers, moderate sized rivers, steep or narrow creeks, and remote gorges. A misconception could be that “Deb O’Keefe only paddles difficult whitewater.” That is simply not true. My favorite rivers often fall into the class IV and V range, but I also paddle many rivers which are of lesser difficulty. I try to aim for quality in terms of scenery and interesting rapids. There is a very secluded three mile section of the Rochester Creek (See Dennis Squire’ New York State guide book #2) which is only a few miles from our house., this is a special class II-III, Steve and I earned a lot of paddling skills (or lack of in the early days) on this run.

Varying the rivers you paddle can also keep paddling more interesting. River characteristics vary according to geography. I prefer runs with more consistent gradient such as creeks in Catskill NY area or Cheat tributaries in West Virginia. Other times, I might be inter-ested in boulder constricted rapids or shallow slides. Unfortunately, it is hard to be choosey because of restrictions such as time, travel and water availability. In that case, I consider the options: do I want to paddle a short play section of class III today or hike into a gorge and paddle a continuous class IV with scouting and/or portaging. We are also faced with the often overlooked but concrete choice: do I want to paddle today or do I want to pass. Some days electing not to paddle is the best choice.

Boats: I am a very fortunate in having choices regarding the boat I use to paddle. Many of my friends use one boat for all purposes, oth-ers have invested in a play boat and creek boat to optimize the situation. About four years ago, Steve wanted to try squirt boating, so we ventured into a third realm of boat options. This past September, I decided to start Striding, a fourth option for paddling. If there is an easier river, I’ll use my Strider since it will make the run more challenging then in a K1 boat. If the river is deep and full of eddylines, I might choose the squirt boat. I enjoy all of my boats for their various strengths and weaknesses, and it does keep nice variety in my paddling lifestyle.

I paddle rivers of all difficulties, mostly in New York State. I am a self-employed Speech-Language Pathologist, which allows for schedul-ing flexibility in order to paddle so many days. It’s important to have fun, whenever I’m paddling. That was a bit harder to keep in mind while I was swimming for over a quarter mile in 3,000 CFS in a flooded creek… in West Virginia one cold September day this fall. Not every moment on the river has to be fun, but you should be enjoying your river experiences, otherwise why would you be paddling. I hope you enjoyed this article, because for me the key elements are the people, places, rivers and boats, enabling me to be the paddler and per-son I am today.

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During this joyful and giving holiday season please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to KCCNY. Any amount you choose to give will be used for our educational and community ser-

vice programs.

The club’s new 501 (c)3 status allows donations to be fully tax-deductible from your federal income taxes, for the year in which they are made.

Send checks payable to KCCNY to our Treasurer - Gloria Silva, 21 Hoffman St., South Hacken-sack, NJ 07606


Member News and other... 2003 KCCNY Executive Board

• Chairperson Ken Voytac

• Vice Chairperson Roger Gocking

• Treasurer Gloria Silva

• Conservation Lauren Cook

• Cruising Ken Voytac

• Publicity Dang Huynh

• Editor Constance Farley

• Training Jack Moskowitz & Dave King

• Membership Pierre de Rham

• Annual Race Paul Epstein

• Competition Deb O’Keefe

• Safety Frank Wyczynski

Delegates at Large:

Joe Federici, Wayne Gulmantovicz, Dan Gold,

Dan Kirsch, Kurt Navratil, Robin Robertson,

Robin Schulz, , Sandy Lovell, Mimi Zucker,

Non-elected but essential positions:

Union pool sessions: Gordon Trinkler

Garfield pools sessions: Frank Wyczynski

Web site: Jack Moskowitz

Editors Comments:

Paddling seems so far away this cold December morning, yet compiling the Winter Wrap-up Newsletter reminds me of the fun we had! I’ve attempted to include people photos this issue, because our club isn’t anything without you!

My way of celebrating us and saying thank you to the year’s contributors, plus a small attempt to recognize the work and time our members have volunteered, whether coordinating trips, writing articles, helping each other, and most of all enjoying the wonderful white-water.

It has been my privilege to serve as editor for 2003 at our November Annual Meeting I was re-elected to continue in 2004. (Yes, I did run unopposed :). Thank you.

If there is something you would like to see/read/have omitted from the Newsletter please contact me. And don’t forget to send your photos! Best to you and your family, during the winter season; see you at the pool sessions and on the river come Spring.

2004 KCCNY Executive Board

• Chairperson Ken Voytac

• Vice Chairperson Roger Gocking

• Treasurer Gloria Silva

• Conservation Lauren Cook

• Cruising Ken Voytac

• Editor Constance Farley

• Training Jack Moskowitz

• Membership Pierre de Rham

• Annual Race Paul Epstein

• Competition Deb O’Keefe

• Safety Frank Wyczynski

Delegates at Large:

Dan Gold, Dan Kirsch, Kurt Navratil, Robin Schulz, Wayne Gulman-tovicz, Sandy Lovell, Joe Federici, Kim Garner, Dave King, Rey Ordiales, Ellen Moskowitz

Non-elected but essential positions:

Union pool sessions: Gordon Trinkler

Garfield & Morristown pools sessions: Frank Wyczynski

Web site: Jack Moskowitz

• Sandy Lovell successfully completed the NY& NJ law boards — congratulations!

Minutes of the KCCNY Annual Meeting, 8 November 2003. Holiday Inn, Saddle Brook NJ 07663. Attendance: Over 40 members.

Full text of minutes on yahoo group site

Reports: Safety: Frank Wyczynski: No accidents during the year. Classes were offered in safety instruction and thirty members attended.

Newsletter: Connie Farley: deadline for the newsletter 6 December, to be mailed the week of December 8th. Additional photos always welcome.

Vice Chair: Roger Gocking: refurbished the club’s slalom gates for the Esopus Race; helped organize the dinner, obtained a kayak from Liquidlogic, at cost, to raffle at the dinner to raise money for conservation. Also involved in the challenge grant that Jane Majeski and Jane Bernstein had put up to also raise money for conservation.

Training: Jack Moskowitz: the beginner weekend was the wettest in history, but that everyone had a good time. At pool sessions at least one instructor was present.

Chair: Ken Voytac: With the club’s new 501(c) 3 status we could now accept tax deductible donations. money going toward the general and conservations fund.

Conservation: Lauren Cook’s report: Mirant was unofficially giving two barrel releases on the Mongaup. Kayakers had to be careful to avoid river accidents and drive slowly on the approach road. The Mongaup is closed to winter paddling. FERC intervention; regards to the relicensing of the Housatonic. working with HACKS and followed their position that the river should have regular releases in opposition to the recommendation of the Connecticut Department of Environ-mental Protection which wanted “run of river.” It had been difficult to follow the issue as fishermen, who want run of river, had clogged FERC’s web site with their messages. Action on the West River, KCCNY lobbied the local chamber of commerce. The chamber was contacting the governor and the state legislature. The Army Corp of Engineers had been trying to mimic natural increase in water flow by “ramping” up and down the flow of the river.


Minutes from Annual Meeting by Roger Gocking


Members Faces & Places: Moose, Tohickon & Nescopeck 2003

Chuck and Dan at the lunch spot—Tohickon Fall Release

Snow on boats at the Moose

Nelson’s Falls on the Middle Moose

Paul S, taking a break

Smiling in the cold one Moose morning

Roger, Gloria, Rey, Ken, Lauren

Joe & Bob surfing and in one of the many queues - Fall release of the Tohickon

Robin, Tracey, Gloria, Debbie, Connie at the Moose Fest

Deb & Steve O’Keefe at the Moose Fest

Nescopeck late November

Group shot (left top), Woody (left below), James (center), Eagle Hole—Andrew, Wayne, Roger (right)

Under the bridge—put-in Tohickon


Members Faces & Places: 2003 in Review

KCCNY

Smiles!


KCCNY 2003– 2004 Activity Schedule Compiled by Ken Voytac

Union Pool Sessions – Sundays

Sunday 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Union, NJ

December 14 & 21

January 4, 18, 25

February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

March 7, 14, 21

April 4, 11

Morristown Pool – Saturdays

Saturday 10:30-12:30 p.m. Morris-town, NJ

Frank Wizzi [email protected] 973-809-9940. Please note time, differs some weeks (1/24/2004)!

January 10, 17, 31

January 24 (time 10:00-11:45 a.m.)

February 7, 14

Garfield Pool - Saturdays

Saturday 4 to 6 p.m., Garfield, NJ

Frank Wizzi [email protected] 973-809-9940

February 21, 28

March 6, 13, 20, 27

NJ Rock Gym – Tuesdays

Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fairfield, NJ. All welcome for indoor rock climbing than food afterwards. Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138

January 6, 13, 20, 27

February 3, 10 (Contact Kurt Navratil [email protected]), 17, 24

March 2, 9, 16

Mountain Creek Ski trips - Wednesdays (Thursday 2/5)

Wednesday Vernon, NJ SNOW Int Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138. Join us for after work, night skiing/riding. Meet anytime after 6:00 p.m., ski till closing around 9 p.m.

January 7, 14, 21, 28

February 5 (Thursday), 18, 25 (Be sure to call before you drive, late season for Mtn Creek!)

Recurring activities: pool sessions, indoor rock climbing and skiing. Mark you calendars and participate in all!

See our web site for further information: http://www.kccny.org (click trip schedule)

The club’s conservation donation for 2003: 70 percent for New York Rivers United, 20 percent for New England FLOW and 10 percent for American Whitewa-ter. Roger Gocking suggested that the club should also join other conservation organizations.

Treasurer: Gloria Silva: our 501(c) 3 status was retroactive to 1964. We are owed payment from the IRS of $2,300. Balance was $9,264. $4,400 was income from membership and $549 miscellaneous income. Income from camping fees was $822. Conservation contributions were $784. Beginner Weekend raised $980. The Garfield pool sessions: credit of $220 which included the $300 the club put up . The Union Pool sessions lost $130, but she felt this could be seen as a service contribution to the membership. Computer expenses had been $520. Newsletter mailing: $376, printing $700. The roster $483 and mailing $259. Total net income: $5,321.

Group Camping Motion: Robin Robertson. Questions were raised whether the system developed this year for group camp sites should be changed. There was a vote to table the motion for further study.

Morristown Pool Motion: Ken Voytac’s motion to have pool sessions at St. Elizabeth College in Morristown. Three pool venues would help the club fulfill its educational responsibilities as 501(c) 3 organizations. The pool session cost $1,020 and no overlap with either the Union or Garfield pool sessions.

Questions about the cost of the different pool sessions: varied between $75-85 an hour. Questions about the distance between Union and Morristown: about half an hour driving time. Gloria, Frank and Ken agreed to pick up any costs to the club that may be incurred from the Morristown pool sessions. The motion was put to a vote and carried unanimously.

Conservation Donation: Ken Voytac: donation of $4,000 would allow the club to have a balance of $5,000 as a safety net. Discussion of whether this money should also be used for joining other conservation organizations as Roger had suggested. Cheryl Shiber suggested that the club could always give more since the IRS owes us $2,300 in back taxes. Any additional conservation donations should come out of this source. Gloria noted that the IRS always wants to know whether the organizations we donate to are 501 (c) 3, and this should determine how we give to conservation organizations. Motion unanimously approved.

Elections: Dang Huynh did not want to continue as publicity chair. In addition to the slate there were nominations from the floor for Rhonda Olson, Mimi Zucker and David King to positions as members-at-large. Club members voted for 11 of the delegates on the ballot. Meeting adjourned.

(Continued from page 5) Annual Meeting Minutes


KCCNY 2004 Activity Schedule Compiled by Ken Voytac

Activities throughout the winter into spring… and more to come!

12/14/2003 Sunday Vermont or NY State Ski/Ride SNOW All Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 Hunter, Mt Snow, Killington or Okemo depending on condi-tions

12/25/2003-1/1/2004 Costa Rica White Water Paddle, Costa Rica II+-V Nov Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 or 201-401-1138

See Mtn Creek Ski trips p.8—Wednesdays

1/4/2004-1/5/2003 Vermont Mountain Ski/Ride SNOW All Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 Possible Mt Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Stowe or Killington location de-pending on conditions

1/10-11/2004 Sat-Sun Killington Mtn, Vermont ALL Ken Voy-tac. [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138. Slope side condo with lift tickets included. Arrive Friday night depart Sunday. Est. Cost $275 per person.

1/17-19/2004 Sat-Mon White Face Mountain, Lake Placid, NY SNOW All Ken Voytac. [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138. Good terrain for all levels, holiday weekend lift lines are manageable. Arrive Friday night, depart Sunday after skiing.

2/4/2004 Wednesday KCCNY Board Meeting All Ken Voy-tac. [email protected] 973- 586-9025

2/7/2004 Lehigh Valley Canoe Club Film Fest. http://www.enter.net/~lvcc/RiverFilmFest04.htm

2/21-22/2004 Sat-Sun Ragged Mountain Ski Area, Danbury, New Hampshire SNOW All Ken Voytac. (see phone & email above). Two day ski and stay package. Condos located in Danbury Village 5 minutes from slopes. Cost is $169.00 per person, max 4 people. Best place to find powder as the sea-son wanes.

3/6-7/2004 Sat-Sun Stowe Mountain, Mt Mansfield, Vt Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138. Cost $229 per person includes lodging and lift tickets.

3/10-11/2004 Wed-Thu Vermont/New Hampshire Ski/Ride Weekend SNOW All Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 or cell 201-401-1138. Destination based on conditions. Appropriate for all skill levels, ski or snow board.

3/26-28/2004 Fri-Sun Paddle Sport, Somerset, NJ ALL Jersey Paddler. 732-458-5777 Largest kayak and canoe

show in the area ! Wel l worth a tr ip . http://www.jerseypaddler.com

4/4/2004 Sunday Day Light Savings Begins

4/28/2004 Wednesday Black River, Chester, New Jersey FLATWATER Beg Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025. Instructional for beginners. After work paddle, meet late afternoon for a short paddle then food and drink afterwards. This river has no whitewater on it at all!

5/12/2004 Wednesday Black River, Chester, New Jersey FLATWATER Beg Jack Moskowitz [email protected] 973-724-2316. Instructional for beginners. After work paddle, meet late afternoon for a short paddle then food and drink afterwards. This river has no whitewater at all! Taught by ACA Certified Instructors, Jack Moskowitz & Ken Voytac

5/16/2004 Sunday Intro to Hang Gliding, Ellenville, NY FLY-ING Beg Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9025 Approx cost per person $125

5/31/2004 Monday Delaware River, Port Jervis, NY II Nov Ken Voytac [email protected] 973-586-9692. In-structional, forward strokes, leans, braces, eddy turns, peel outs, ferries, etc.

Wing Dam Wednesdays—starts June 2nd, 2004

Wednesday Wing Dam, Delaware River, Lambertville NJ II-II+ Beg . Instructional, Forward stroke, leans/edge control, side & front wave surfing, existing roll reinforcement taught by ACA Certified Instructors Jack Moskowitz (phone) 973-724-2316 and Ken Voytac (phone) 973-586-9025

6/2/2004 Ken Voytac [email protected]

6/16/2004 Connie Farley [email protected]

6/30/2004 Ed Wood [email protected]


7/21/2004 Jack Moskowitz [email protected]






Striding is a form of kayaking that involves standing up in a modified, inflatable kayak. A long, two bladed paddle is used to maneuver and paddle through rapids. The paddler braces their feet into the kayak and relies on balance, not bracing to remain upright through rolling waves, negotiating rocks and turbulence found on whitewater. Striding was invented and developed over a ten year period by Jeff Snyder. Jeff strides rivers with the finesse and skill of a master paddler. He originally worked with the Thrillseeker boats, but currently is a representative of Aire. The Aire company specializes in inflatable kayaks and rafts, and has used Jeff’s input to modify their in-flatable designs for striding. Why Stride? I knew about Striding from pictures and a few friends who tried it. I knew you stood up in the kayak, and I knew you needed a long paddle. I knew Jeff Snyder was the person to talk to. Last year I told Steve (my husband) that I would like to try striding to make the easier rivers more challenging. This summer, a used Strider paddle was posted for sale on the internet. That was my cue to get in gear - literally! I had met Jeff through squirt boating, but I literally knew nothing about Strid-ing. Steve and I agreed to spend Labor Day weekend in Jeff’s Maryland area so I could learn the basics about striding. In the meantime, the order was put in for my Strider with Aire. I became a beginner again, discovering how hard it was to paddle class I and II rapids. Steve accompanied me in his kayak as we enjoyed the Cassleman River and Middle Yough for the first time. After two solid runs on the Lower Yough Loop, I had my heart set on the Cheat Canyon at 3 feet. This was the perfect ending to my first weekend of striding, I was com-pletely addicted to the art of “stand+ride”. I learned some of the basic skills needed for striding that first weekend. I had a general idea about bracing my feet, pad-dle strokes and rolling. Yes, rolling the Strider. I had a few successful roll attempts, but mostly odd, strange, limbo con-tortions. I had a limited understanding about boat maintenance and proper inflation, but hey it was only the first weekend. With borrowed paddle in hand, a cheap air pump and shin guards fresh from Wal-Mart, and a gung-ho attitude, I was ready when my new Strider arrived. I spent the next few weeks learning to roll and paddling on the local moderate runs: Roches-ter, Esopus, and Rondout Creeks. I even had two clean runs on the Dryway in MA. In three short weeks, I was ready for Gauley Festival, West Virginia. A few details about the art of striding. It is glorious to see the whitewater from a standing position. It is hard to maneu-ver a kayak from a standing position. It is hard to remain standing upright in a rapid. It is strange to have a wave train splash your knees instead of your face. It is strange to hold a paddle of 11 feet. It is wonderful to have class II rapids feel challenging again. It is unpleasant to fall off the Strider and swim through a rapid.

Yes, you do sometimes fall over in the Strider. If you fall back, you simply land in the back of the boat and stand up. If you fall off to the side, well, you can roll the Strider upright. If you do not roll successfully, you get out of the boat, flip it and climb back on top. No big deal, unless it is in the middle of a rapid, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I paddled the lower Gauley at three different water levels compliments of Hurricane Isadora. Before the rains, Steve and I had a surprise release of 2,500. Then, I had the experience of paddling this section with Jeff Sny-der at 4,500 and 4,000 CFS. These 30 miles I shared with Jeff helped me learn how to effectively paddle rapids, and read the Strider-friendly lines. I was also able to absorb other inflatable kayak information which was too overloading the first weekend. As valuable as paddling with Jeff was, I

learned the most from two unique, yet intense experiences. First was a solo paddle down a section of river which was at my uppermost limit in the Strider. I realized partway through the run that this was not an ideal choice, yet with a lot of men-tal and physical effort, I completed the run successfully. The second intense experience involved a long and unpleasant swim. I had kayaked down this class II-III river years ago. That day, the water was murky brown, flood stage and well into the trees. Even the occasional tree floating down river did not deter our thinking. I also hadn’t noticed that there were no eddies at this water level, the river was one long continu-ous rapid. The waves were sizable, but the holes could be avoided with effort. Well it was only a matter of time before a breaking wave exploded onto my Strider and over the side I flipped. Plan A was 2-3 roll attempts, but in a class III roller coaster ride, this was not very successful. Plan B was to free my feet from the boat and climb back on top. I never considered that my Strider would not be floating along next to me. As I was swept downstream, the boat was get-ting cartwheeled in a hole upstream. Here I was, floating quickly down the middle of a flooded creek, nowhere near my beloved Strider. I held on tightly to that 11-foot paddle since not only was it borrowed, but I wouldn’t be able to paddle if I lost it. This was not looking good. I tried swimming to shore, but I couldn’t pass the great opportunity for a long mystery


Striding 101 By Deb O’Keefe


I’ve been running class IV rapids on the Dryway and the Beaver Rivers for four years but what happened last sum-mer was a revelation. I finally learned to slow down; almost not paddle at all. Try doing that when the adrenalin is flowing. It’s not easy. That’s why it took me so long to figure it out. On the Dryway in the Dragon’s Tooth rapid there are several hard to catch eddies. The two I wanted to catch were on river left just above the tooth and on river right just below the tooth. Instead, most times I had run the tooth I was lucky if I even saw them. They were there but whizzing by so fast I couldn’t see them until it was too late; like it’s too late when you see the cops pulling out from behind the billboard just as your car flies by. Landmarks I had scouted looked so unfamiliar and I sometimes had a hard time seeing my line. This is not considered a healthy habit to be in. So on the last run of the year I let the boat just drift down the entrance to the rapid. I was just a little further right than usual but I kept the boat angled left so I could move into position when I wanted to. I actually wasn’t paddling, just keeping my left (upstream) blade in the water so I could brace if I had to. Drifting down only at the speed that the wa-ter was flowing, with none of my own added to it, there loomed this great big beautiful eddy, right were it was all along but, I had never seen it. Two strong strokes later I’m sitting pretty in nice easy water with the main current ham-mering by a few feet away. I threw in a draw to re-enter the current and angled to cross the tongue from left to right and slid into the second eddy on river right slicker than jelly on fresh hot toast. This year I had several opportunities to apply my new love of going slow. On the entrance to the first slide on the Taylorville section of the Beaver it’s a little blind with one small drop as you round a corner to the right then you start the slide with a more significant drop that features a hole on the left and a ledge on the right. One would prefer not to go in the hole or over the ledge. This had always been a little hit or miss for me as I just couldn’t see where to go as I approached. That is until I applied my new love of slow. Guess what, every time I ran the slide I hit my mark like Wil-liam Tell. The same went for pencil sharpener on the Housatonic. Last year I managed to get window-shaded and cork-screwed by the same hole before I came out of the boat and took one of the most uncomfortable swims I have ever taken. It all happened because I couldn’t see where I was going because, you guessed it, I was going too fast. This year, as I was taking the rapid nice and slow angled right, I passed my old nemesis and got a chance to give it a good look. Damn, no wonder I took such a beating. This is not to say I had a perfect year. Sometimes adrenalin does get the better of me. Like hurtling down Coliseum Rapid on the Ottawa headed for the Big Kahuna wave, the names alone are enough to scare you out of your game plan. So sure enough, I went too fast, I couldn’t see my line and I got flipped faster than the bird by a New York cabby. Moral is, even when the adrenalin is flowing and you want to go fast, you will probably wind up being grateful you went slow. Hmmmm, I wonder if that could apply elsewhere in life.

submersion in a juicy hole. After deciding that this just wasn’t much fun right now, I felt myself becoming agitated, and struggling for air. I decided to relax and float along a bit. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping an eye on the me, avoiding any big nasty holes himself and keeping up with the Strider. I could distinctly hear him yelling above the mayhem to “swim left”. Swimming was such hard work by this time, then an opportunity arose in the guise of a curve in the river and a micro eddy about 15 feet away. I dove towards it, belly first and swam like there was no tomorrow. I managed to grab a twiggish thing and then a small sapling, not a great hold, but it allowed me to reposition the paddle, grab a bit more shrubbery and slump myself onto a rock. I watched Steve chase my Strider downstream about another ½ mile before he could get it to shore. He did comment on a long and violent rodeo ride the boat did along the way. I completed the run, except for the ½ mile walk back to the boat, and I learned some important things: striding - can be very humbling, swimming without your boat is not a pleasant experience and all rivers need to be evaluated regardless of their difficulty grade. I knew all of these things beforehand, suddenly they became fresh again. In the fall, I added more Strider runs, New River Gorge in WV and Top Yough in MD. I was not so much surprised about how addicted I became to striding, but how it made me look at rivers in a completely new light. I’m excited about returning to rivers I haven’t paddled lately and I’m enjoying the pace that striding promotes. I relish the challenge it gives me to balance through the turbulence of the rapids, hopefully with style, but accepting the consequences of a line miscalculated. This is a great metaphor for living on a daily basis. I composed a quote which envelops my approach to all my paddling styles:. “May you find the balance between the power of nature and the strength within yourself. Paddle safe and have fun.”

(Continued from page 10) Striding 101

The virtue of going slow by David King


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Deadlines:

2004

March 6th—Early Spring Dust-off

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Ken V*

Ed H, Ann C

Jack M*, Ellen M*, Kurt N*

Ed J, Connie Marisa & Ralph

Members at the Meeting Robin R

Dan G*, Rey O*

Dan K*, Frank W*

Dave K*, Robin S*, Lauren C* Butch F

Chuck J

Chris V, Connie F*

Names with asterisks are 2004 elected board members. No photo of: Kim G. Joe F, Paul E, (see p 7) (Pierre dR is on cover), Deb O’K (p.6)

Gloria S*

Woody

& Maria

Mimi Z,

Eric K

Ray B, (winner of kayak raffle)

Laura

& Dan K*



Jamy, John C, Sandy L* Jim, Clare T, Rhonda O

Susanne, Francesca P, Robin H

Tracey, Debbie

Tom M, Juliet C

Wayne G*

Picking the raffle winner.

Robin R, Paul H

Kathy & Ron

Roger G*, Ed H presenting the Goldstein Award & Bliss Award

Bliss Award

Andrew D, Jennifer K

Joan M

annual meeting and dinner 2003 - kccny

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