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):
Executive Meeting Minutes April 13th 2021
Log in to see minutes from the virtual meeting of the executive on April 13th, 2021.
Irish Creek Trip 2021
On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, three club members set out in ideal conditions to explore Irish Creek; the air temperature was a pleasant 15 degrees, ice gone, water deep enough to paddle the marsh area and a generally undemanding current. Keeping in mind the cold water, we all wore a combination of wet and dry suits in case of inadvertent immersion.
From the put in at Roses Bridge Boat Launch situated between Kilmarnock and Merrickville, we meandered through shallow, open water marsh festooned with masses of waterlily rhizomes. We continued about 4 km south to the town of Jasper where the creek narrows, and we ducked under two road bridges and a train bridge. In the creek, water flowed over several submerged beaver dams, only one of which required getting out of our canoes for a lift over. We stopped for lunch just short of Wolford Chapel (10.5 km from put in) and then headed back down stream.
Pakenham to Blakeney Rapids Trip Report - March 23 2021
Let the paddling begin!
On Tuesday, March 23rd four of us met at Pakenham Beach to initiate the RACCC 2021 flatwater paddling season. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with a high of 20°C in the air. Given that there was still ice floating in the river, I'll assume the water temperature was still close to 0°C; however, since we were all dressed to keep safe in frigid water (two of us wore drysuits, the other two wore wetsuits), we had nothing to fear from the river. Starting at Pakenham Beach, we paddled a little over 8 km upstream to Blakeney Rapids, passing through a riparian zone just starting to green up, and seeing loads of ducks and geese back for the summer. We stopped at Blakeney Rapids to eat lunch and work on our sunburns, while Mark filled a garbage bag with litter to take away. The paddle back to town took only half the time, with the current helping us along.
As I write, we're back to seasonal chilly temperatures and Vancouver-style rain, which makes us all the more grateful for that short gift of warm sun. Thanks Karen for organizing a fun trip.
Submitted by Maria L.
WILDERNESS CANOEING
by Louis P. Bonnenfant
ASSOCIATION FORUM of the A.O.S. November- December 1952
This article was written by Dot Bonnenfant's father. He founded the Canoe Club in 1952.
This is a magazine prepared by a committee of the Canadian Chapter of the Association of Secretaries
Mr Louis P. Bonnenfant is Physical Director of the Y.M.C.A. at Ottawa, Ontario and a graduate of George
Williams College, Chicago.
It is still not long since much of the travel through Canada was done on foot, on horseback, in horsedrawn vehicles, or by boat.The coming of the railroad, the automobile, and the aeroplane has almost eliminated these means of travel and much of the adventure and pioneering spirit that went with them.
Now it is simple to board a plane in Montreal in the morning and to eat supper in Vancouver that day, or
to get into a car and travel 200 to 500 miles in one day. It is all so easy, but not nearly so challenging nor
so rewarding as the 20 to 30 miles that a canoeist travels in a day through wilderness lakes and rivers,
where self-reliance is needed to reach the journey's end.
Executive Meeting Minutes March 25th 2021
Log in to see minutes from the virtual executive meeting on March 25th, 2021.
Holmes & Watson-Newsletter Nov 1998
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. As they lay down for the night, Holmes said "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see".
Watson said "I see millions and millions of stars."
Holmes: "And what does that tell you?"
Watson: "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"
Holmes: "Somebody stole our tent"
Winter Seminars Summaries
Below are links to the various winter seminar summaries.
Search and Rescue Seminar Summary - January 27 2021
Outdoor Education Seminar Summary - February 3, 2021
Missinaibi: Hell's Gate AND High Water Seminar Summary - February 10, 2021
Indigenous Trails in Ottawa-Gatineau Seminar Summary - February 17, 2021
Lightweight Tripping Seminar Summary - February 24, 2021
Hike the Dumoine – Why? Summary - March 10, 2021
Being Your Own Weatherperson…Forecasting Weather from Nature Summary - March 17, 2021
Executive Meeting Minutes Feb 18th 2021
Log in to see minutes from the virtual executive meeting on February 18th, 2021.
Cows and Canoeing
Mark S. has been digitizing the club archives including newsletters starting in 1978. Thank you Mark!
Below is an amusing example of an article from 1986.
More Food For Thought
A couple of years ago I published a warning in this journal on the subject of the herd of plastic-eating cows which hang around on the Petite Nation at the put-in at the bottomof the first canyon. On that particular occasion they had removed and eaten the foam padding from a yoke. Those were the pre-Liberal days in Ontario and unfortunately it did not occur tome to print my warning in both official languages. Consequently one of our francophone members has now run afoul of this same herd. Dominique tells me that on one occasion in the spring this year she had her front flotation nibbled. She can show you the teeth marks if you ask her. So in an attempt to extend my previous warning to include all club members I would like to say "PRENEZ GARDE LES VACHES: ELLES MANGENT PLASTIQUE".
Missinaibi Adjunct regarding Fred Neegan
Read more: Reflections on the Missinaibi River Trip around 2002-3
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.
EXECUTIVE MEETING MINUTES JAN 13 2021
Log in to see minutes from the virtual executive meeting on January 13th, 2021.