Crotch Lake Day Trip June 2020
On June 14th seven paddlers headed to Crotch Lake, North Frontenac for a day trip. It was a “private together apart” trip because the club is still closed. No club equipment was used. We are eagerly expecting the club to open soon! Stay tuned for details.
Most of us had not been to Crotch Lake before and we wanted to explore the lake and locate some good campsites for possible future trips. We left Ottawa at 7:40 am and drove an hour and 45 minutes southwest along highway 7. We took a peek at Silver Lake en route. We had all obtained our road access permits online from www.northfrontenacparklands.com before heading out. We parked at the public boat launch near the south end of the lake. The lot was nearly full! We were paddling east and north by 10 am. Our group consisted of three tandem canoes and one solo kayak. It was a beautiful cool day with low wind. We followed the eastern shoreline along the southern half of the lake exploring potential campsites as we went. The campsites looked excellent and many were occupied. We saw a great blue heron and two loons. We stopped for lunch at a rocky island near campsite 35.
BRAVO! KUDOS! THANKS MARK!
The Flatwater Instructor Team presented this special solo paddle to Mark today, June 3 2020. All to say..... a GREAT BIG THANKS to Mark for his many years of volunteering with the RACCC!
Since joining the club in 1990, Mark has been generous with his time, governance and leadership wisdom, canoeing instruction and trip leading expertise for both flatwater and whitewater programs.
He's been organizer extraordinaire for club events like the annual OPEN HOUSE, AGMs, our winter seminar series as well as his annual Petawawa River trip for our newly minted Whitewater Padders!
Mark has been generously teaching canoeing with the club for a long time (so long... we don't remember when he started...) : flatwater solo and tandem for beginners to advanced for our courses and evening skills coaching sessions and past family and solo camping weekends! He is always there to help happily!
Always a fine job done with paddlers leaving with more skills and knowledge.
Barron Canyon Day Trip June 2020
On June 1st some Ontario Provincial Parks opened backcountry camping. To celebrate, three club members headed to Algonquin Park for a "private together apart" day trip where no club equipment was used (we do not yet have access to the club boat house). Algonquin Park staff were still figuring out how to register people during COVID_19 so the Sand Lake Gate building remained officially closed, with a "self-serve" kiosk functioning. Staff present were able to tell us that the gate into Grand Lake at Achray, our original destination, had been opened and that the area is now accessible. Due to expected high westerly winds we changed our trip to see the Barron Canyon instead.
Club Policy on Intoxicants
As the paddling season is under way and the club is getting ready to open up, it is a good idea to review the club policy on intoxicants (drugs and alcohol).
In short, people are not allowed to consume intoxicants within 8 hours of driving a car or engaging in paddling activities.
The full policy as well as the club’s governance documents are available on our website at https://www.raccc.ca/resources/club-administration/constitutionregulations
Radiant Lake Trip Report 2019
September 7-12
The Route
We had a 3 hour drive from Ottawa to the Brent put in at Cedar Lake. Our first night was on an easterly, island beach campsite on Cedar Lake. Then, a 12 km paddle on Cedar Lake, the Petawawa River and Radiant Lake, including 3 portages: 960m., 690m. and 860m. The trick, we discovered on the last portage, was to use the decommissioned rail bed, found to the left of the marked portage. Our gorgeous campsite was the most northerly, on the west shore of Radiant. We remained there for 4 nights before our return.
The Team
Heather S., Trip Leader; Gerard R., mentoring Heather; Joanna D., Anatoly C.
The Physical World & It’s Splendors
Howard Gardner suggests that there are 8 dimensions of intellegence. They are: 1) word smart, 2) number/ reasoning smart,3) picture smart, 4) body smart, 5) music smart, 6) people smart, 7) self smart and 8) nature smart. The photo captions will refer to most of those 8 variables. I suggest that we explored them all during our Radiant Experience, though this report does not contain a music clip.
While base camped, we explored historical sites, found a tribute to deceased lumbermen, enjoyed the beaches and shallows, fished & caught Brook Trout, Bass and Fall fish,( large minnows). Poems were made and a water colour completed.
Executive Meeting Minutes 2020-03-28
Log on to see the minutes of the virtual executive meeting held March 28,2020.
Exec Meeting March 10 , 2020
Log in to see the minutes for the March 10 , 2020 executive meeting.
RA Closure March 15 Because of COVID-19
Out of concern for the health of members of our community, the RA has suspended many of its operations until April 5, 2020. The canoe club shares this concern so we have postponed our seminars and meetings until then as well.
The RA will continue to monitor the situation and will decide whether or not to resume activities close to April 5. The club will post updates on this site as we have them.
More information on the situation is available on the Ottawa Public Health Agency website, click here.
The RA policy on COVID-19 is available on their website at https://www.racentre.com/
Exec Meeting Jan 21st , 2020
Log in to see the minutes for the Jan 21st , 2020 executive meeting.
Winter Paddling in Florida
Can't wait for spring? Then head to Florida for some very nice paddling! One centre of paddling is Ocala Florida. It takes about 21 hours to drive there nonstop from Ottawa. Or you can take a direct flight from Ottawa to Orlando, about an hour south of Ocala. In Ocala, you can paddle the Silver River in Silver Springs State Park and perhaps see a manatee. Or you can drive east to paddle the somewhat challenging Juniper Creek. Alternatively, you can go further west into the panhandle to paddle Holmes Creek or the Blackwater River. At all four destinations, you can rent a canoe.
Ted Blake Award Winner
The winner of this year’s Ted Blake award is someone who has worked in the background of the club for many years.
The club is lucky enough to have a website that has an amazing number of different features that allow for the sharing of information, communicating with club members and even signing up for trips and events. It is hard to imagine our club functioning as well as it does without our website.
FW Introduction Solo Canoe Certification Weekend- Aug 23-25 2019
A report by Nathalie M
During this weekend course, participants of all ages and backgrounds from aspiring summer camp counsellors to RACCC instructors-in-training gathered at Gracefield Camp in Quebec to obtain ORCKA or Paddle Canada flatwater intro solo canoe certifications. Seventeen participants, instructors and assistants were divided into three groups with excellent instructor to student ratios. The camping weekend allowed us to paddle in calmer waters each morning and evening. In between paddling sessions, we learned course theory and joined in extracurricular activities like archery, napping in hammocks, hiking, kayaking, swimming, stargazing and singing by the campfire. Everyone participated in a synchronized solo canoe dance and some even discovered how to roll swamped canoes in the warm, shallow waters of Lac Castor.
Thank you to the ever flexible and resourceful instructors Karen H., Jennifer H., Mark S., Suze C. and Dot B. who volunteer their time and go above and beyond to ensure all participants are well fed, sheltered and have the resources and support required to get the most out of every course.
Click on Read more for a 2nd report on the weekend plus some photos and a video.