Come test out kayaks and surfskis from the P&H, Venture or Stellar lines and get expert advice from professional paddlers.
Paddle-a-thon 2018 includes a variety of activities for families, kids and other adventurers. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the river experience and to celebrate at the Party from 12-4. There will be food, music by the Orville Giddings Trio, refreshments from Ipswich Ale, and a variety of local groups including NK&C and Coast to Coast Paddle. Party admission for non-paddlers is $25 per person (lunch, ice cream and 1 drink ticket).
EVENTS:
Social Paddle - 4 mile group paddle from the party and back
Grand Wenham Canal Race - A fun, 2-mile competition for all types of watercraft
Paddle to the Party - Put in anywhere on the 40 mile long river and meet in Topsfield
Registration opens March 16
More information and to register: https://www.ipswichriver.org/paddle-thon-2018/
Find out more about MCS
Information: 207-650-2669
Registration: 207-647-3721
info@mainecanoesymposium.org
MaineCanoeSymposium.org
The first draft workshops descriptions for MCS 2018 is now available on the MCS website. This list includes both on-water workshops, on-land workshops, children's programming, and evening speakers. Check it out on our home page: MaineCanoeSymposium.org
There are so many different ways to move a canoe, come learn a new one.
A Sampling of this Year's On-Water Workshops
These are just a few workshops at MCS 2018 to whet your appetite-many more listed on our website.
Register today and join us for lots of great workshops!
Poling for Women
Instructor: Lisa DeHart
In a small class of five, learn the basics of choosing a boat and pole, where to stand, and very basic maneuvering: how to turn right and left, push off nice and straight, how to stop, and sideslip. Women teaching women, having fun on the water-come and play.
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Introduction to Solo Paddling for Solo or Tandem Canoes
Instructor: Keith Attenborough
Learn the specifics of paddling solo, where it's all up to you. We'll spend a few minutes talking about differences between paddling a solo canoe and soloing a tandem boat, and how soloing impacts things like launching and landing, paddling position, and maintaining boat stability. On the water we'll learn basic strokes and how to adjust to not having another paddler in the boat. Back on land, and depending on time, we'll go over some basics of rigging for solo paddling, including ballast, seat height/angle, and other aspects.
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Northwoods Paddling
Instructor: Jane Barron
A variation on the "slicing J" (or "Canadian" stroke in Bill Mason's lexicon), true Northwoods paddling uses a narrow-bladed beavertail paddle at a fast stroke rate, a slight bob to the torso to engage the abdominal muscles, and a slicing underwater recovery to cover a lot of miles with less effort. And if all that sounds like mumbo jumbo, take the class to learn a traditional paddling stroke used by Maine Guides to paddle all day and not get tired.
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Family Voyageur Canoe Paddle
Instructors: Jeff, Finn, and Carly McCabe
All ages welcome to join us as we take out one or two newly restored voyageur canoes for a paddle down Moose Pond. We will take a short coffee/tea/hot chocolate break before heading back to Camp Winona. So take this opportunity to experience the easy flow and comradeship of voyageur canoe travel.
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Women in the Stern
Instructor: Polly Mahoney
Women make great stern paddlers! And men great bow paddlers! Sit and switch paddling is ideally suited to put the strongest member of the canoe pair in the bow, where (his) muscles can motor you through the water, and the woman in the stern can finesse and fine-tune the course direction. Come learn more about bow and stern responsibilities, tandem teamwork, and why, for many couples, this arrangement makes the most efficient and pleasant paddling.
NEW DATE!
North Shore Paddle Network, Newbury Kayak and Canoe and Suzanne Hutchinson from Kokatat will hold a dry suit maintenance and repair workshop.
During the workshop, Suz will explain how to take care of this important and expensive piece of equipment. She’ll answer your questions about maintenance and repairs for the Kokatat dry suits most of us wear.
But wait, there’s more!
During the class, Suz will demonstrate how to replace a wrist and neck gasket and then we’ll break up into groups and 3 lucky NSPN members will get to repair their neck or wrist gaskets during the workshop – just for the cost of buying the gaskets from Newbury (more on this below).
The class is open to everyone, but you must be a member of NSPN to enter to get your gasket replaced in the demo. Not a member? This is the perfect time to join! And it only costs $15 a year. Sign up by March 10th to enter the gasket 'raffle' (see below). NSPN: ww.nspn.org.
What if you aren’t interested in buying the repair forms and getting your fingers sticky with Aquaseal? That’s where Newbury Kayak and Canoe comes in! They can quickly repair those gaskets for you! Just drop off your suit, they’ll replace the gaskets and you can pick it up when done! They will repair both Kokatat and Stohlquist. For those that love the do-it-yourself process, they stock Kokatat as well as Stohlquist gaskets.
So, come join us to learn about dry suit repair, maybe get a gasket fixed, shop at Newbury, or just socialize with fellow kayakers.
Space is limited. To attend the event – email info@nspn.org and let us know you’d like to attend the Dry Suit Maintenance workshop.
The 4 (one by Suz, 3 hands on) onsite gasket repairs will be chosen by lottery. You must be an NSPN member to participate. If you’re interested in participating, let us know that when you RSVP. When you RSVP, we need the following information: Neck or Wrist (one or both) and size of gaskets to be replaced (if you’re not sure, we’ll help you figure it out).
On March 10th, we will randomly choose 4 people to have either a neck or one/two wrists repaired in the workshop. We will notify the ‘winners’ by email that day and post here on the message forum. You will need to bring your dry suit and pay for the gasket(s) when you arrive. Gasket repairs must stay on the forms and cure overnight, so you will leave your suit there and be able to pick it up during their business hours the following week.
Any questions, please email info@nspn.org. We look forward to seeing you there!
Wilderness First Aid (WFA) is an introductory course designed to develop both decision making and management skills that address common backcountry injuries. The WFA course focuses on ‘hands on’ learning, where students are engaged in managing authentic scenarios; scenario based learning is supported by brief classroom discussions and reinforced with intensive practical work.
The WFA is the perfect course for the outdoor enthusiast or trip leader who wants a basic level of first aid training for short trips with family, friends, students, and outdoor groups. It also meets American Canoe Association, British Canoeing and International Mountain Bicycling Associations first aid requirements.
The WFA is 16 hours long (two days), and focuses on the basic skills of: Response and Assessment, Musculoskeletal Injuries, Environmental Emergencies, Survival Skills, Soft Tissue Injuries, and Medical Emergencies.
Course fee is $180 per person, plus $40 if you also want CPR Certification.
Learn to roll a kayak in the comfort of a pool! Or if you've already got it, make it bomb-proof!
