Winter Seminar - Sea Kayak Expeditions on the Great Lakes and Coastal Waters
Wednesday 03 March 2021, 07:00pm - 09:00pm
Rick Wise has been paddling the North Shore of Lake Huron for over 20 years and Lake Superior for over 10 years. He is a Level 4 paddler and Level 3 Sea Kayak Instructor Trainer for Paddle Canada . He has a University of Waterloo degree in Recreation and Environmental Studies. Rick now leads expeditions for Horizons Adventures and teaches many of the courses. He has been involved with a number of Northern Ontario programs including instruction at Laurentian University and Cambrian College. Rick is a Senior Instructor for Sirius Wilderness Medicine and is a First Aid and CPR instructor for the Canadian Red Cross.
Because of the COVID restrictions all this year's seminars will be held on Zoom.
Details for joining the meeting are provided here for logged in club members. For security reasons and to help ensure that we do not exceed the capacity of our Zoom account, please do not share the login details with people who are not members of the RA Canoe Camping Club.
Non-club members can get the joining instructions by contacting Mark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Basic level guidelines on Zoom are on the club website here. A 1-2 minute review of the guidelines will be held at the beginning of the seminar.
RACCC 2021 Winter Seminar Series
The RA Canoe Camping Club (RACCC) will not be stopped by COVID! Once again, the club will have a diverse and interesting winter seminar series. The difference is that this year, the series will be held online using Zoom. They will be held on Wednesdays starting at 7:00 PM.
Except for the seminar on January 20, 2021 all seminars will be open to both RACCC club members and to non‑club members.
All seminars will be posted on the club calendar and on the club Facebook site as events.
RACCC club members will be able to get the ZOOM joining information from the logged in part of the club calendar or by sending an email message to Mark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. As a security measure, and to help ensure that the number of participants does not exceed the limit of our Zoom account, please ask non-club members to get the joining information directly from Mark.
Non-club members can get the Zoom joining instructions by sending an email message to Mark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The details will be provided 3 – 4 weeks before the seminar.
The RACCC is preparing documents and information sessions about the club. If non-club members would like to receive more information about the club, they can send a message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will add them to our email list. They can be removed from the email list whenever they like.
General Zoom guidelines for the seminars can be found on the club website here. A 1-to-2-minute review of the guidelines will be held at the beginning of the seminar.
Lightweight Tripping Seminar Summary
On Wednesday February 24, 2021 Nigel Ward gave a very informative seminar on Zoom dealing with lightweight packing.
This was a virtual version of the in-person session he gave last year.
He provided an insight into why canoeists tend to over-pack, and many guidelines and suggestions on how to avoid over-packing. Following these guidelines makes it possible take some of the burden out of portaging, and to facilitate single-pass portaging, something that is essential when going on trips with multiple long-distance portages.
RACCC Training 2021 Update
Hi Everyone,
Normally around this time of year you would be hearing about all the exciting training and trips
we are preparing for the upcoming season BUT as we all know COVID-19 has placed much of
what we love doing on hold, on pause, or undecided. We did, however, want to reach out to all
of you to provide a snapshot of this past summer’s training program, while also providing an
early heads-up of possible options we are considering for the coming 2021 open water season.
Training during summer 2020 was understandably limited with only two whitewater courses and
one sea kayaking course taking place. In addition, some individual coaching was offered by
select experienced members and instructors.
Looking forward to the 2021 open water season, the club is in the initial stages of planning a
training program, but, similar to last year, the scope and timing of that program will be
dependent on local and provincial public health advisories, as well the club’s COVID-19
protocols, which will be updated during March and April.
It is the club’s hope that a 2021 training program will be possible and, as such, reflecting on last
year’s experience, we are considering the following possible options (Note: more details will be
available before the ‘on-line open house’ that is tentatively scheduled for late April):
The Missinaibi River Connection with the RACCC
The club’s presentation on the Missinaibi River trips held on February 10th made me reflect on my 1975 trip and reminded me that the Missinaibi has quite a history with the club: the Missinaibi played a role in the introduction of whitewater canoeing to the club.
Whitewater canoeing was started in the club, the OYCCC at the time, in 1975 by Christa Renken. She had taken whitewater training and a trip (most likely down the Missinaibi) with an outfitter called Headwaters1. There she met a guide named Fred Neegan who she convinced to come to Ottawa from Mattice on the Missinaibi to teach whitewater canoeing to the club, which he did at Palmer’s Rapids in the spring of 1975 and for a year or two after. He was a superb canoeist. There was a fair bit of concern in the club at the time as the club’s aluminum Grumman canoes were used for whitewater and some of them sustained considerable damage. (ABS canoes were only just starting to become available.) However there was great interest in the whitewater training program and the running of rivers with rapids such as the Madawaska, the Petawawa, the Dumoine and the Rouge and whitewater canoeing became firmly established in the club. The introduction of whitewater skills was due to the efforts of Fred Neegan, a guide from Mattice who learned and practiced his lifework on the Missinaibi.
Indigenous Trails in Ottawa-Gatineau Seminar Summary
On Wednesday February 17, 2021 Dr. Peter Stockdale and Max Finkelstein gave a highly informative seminar about indigenous trails in the Ottawa-Gatineau and surrounding areas.
Read more: Indigenous Trails in Ottawa-Gatineau Seminar Summary
Missinaibi: Hell's Gate AND High Water Seminar Summary
On Wednesday February 10, 2021 Scott, Jennifer, Jeff, Bruce, Don and Max gave a wonderful virtual presentation to over 70 people about their trips on the Lower Missinaibi River. The Missinaibi is a Canadian heritage river and the longest undammed river in northeast Ontario.
Read more: Missinaibi: Hell's Gate AND High Water Seminar Summary
Outdoor Education Seminar Summary
On Wednesday February 3, 2021 Riverlee Hunt gave a wonderful virtual presentation to over 40 people about outdoor education.
She started with an inspirational story about how she got into outdoor education and the challenges that she overcame to do so.
Search and Rescue Seminar Summary
On Wednesday (January 27, 2021) Gerry Godsoe gave a virtual presentation on Search and Rescue (SAR) in Canada. Over 60 RACCC members and non-members participated. Highlights of the seminar included:
- The way SAR works in Canada and the importance of SAR volunteers.
- How searches are organized.
- The “Three Ts” of the AdventureSmart Program (Trip Planning; Training; Take the Essentials)
- A general list of the “Essentials” that people should have even on short trips (see below).
- The Four Rules of the Hug-A-Tree Program for children (Tell an adult where you are going; Hug a tree and stay put; Stay warm and dry; Help searchers find you)
- Some survival information and tips (e.g., STOP = Stop; think; observe; plan and layering to prevent hypothermia the great northern woodland killer)
Here is a list of the books and Internet links mentioned in the presentation:
EXECUTIVE MEETING MINUTES JAN 13 2021
Log in to see minutes from the virtual executive meeting on January 13th, 2021.
Executive Meeting Minutes Nov 25 2020
Log on to see the minutes from the virtual executive meeting held November 25th, 2020.
Petrie Island to Lower Duck Island
November 29, 2020
When we met at 10 am it was 2 degrees Celsius and cloudy. We were hoping the sun would appear but were dressed for cold-water immersion. There was plenty of snow on the ground and our intended launch spot at Petrie Island was frozen over with ice! We launched into a bay at the end of the causeway to the island. The bay headed east but we wanted to go west so we paddled upstream through a culvert going under the causeway. We had a strong westerly headwind in addition to a current on the Ottawa River. We were paddling hard but going slowly. The winds were stronger than we expected. Our leader had checked out the area ahead of us, so we avoided channels without exits. Within an hour the wind had dropped. The shoreline had a few spots with houses but mostly there were trees, long grass and a few bulrushes growing. It looked quite wild for a city paddle. There were walking trails along much of the way and people were using them.
We stopped at a park area across from Lower Duck Island for lunch after about 9 km. We could see Upper Duck Island and the Blair Road launch ahead but we didn’t quite get to them. Now it was sunny and about 6 degrees Celsius. After eating, we turned around and headed back along the shore the way we had come. The current and lack of a head wind helped us go much faster. The water reflected everything. When we were approaching Petrie Island, we decided to paddle around the island and return to our launch. There were many natural sandy beaches on the island, far from the main parking lot and the developed area. Many people were exploring. The sun was getting ready to set as we finished the day. We were warm enough to be comfortable and had paddled 19.5 km. We loaded our canoes and gear, watched the sunset and took pictures of the solid ice around the causeway as we left just after 4 pm. Another wonderful paddle!
2020 AGM Minutes and Reports
The club held its Annual General Meeting on November 18th, 2020. Meeting minutes, financials, and reports are now available (Login to see attachments).