Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

The Arkansas Canoe Club’s School of Recreational Paddling will be held June 3-5 at Riverside Resort on the Spring River, near Hardy, AR. This school is designed to introduce basic paddling techniques on Class I+ rivers. This is a fun weekend for both the students and the volunteers. Student registration will open up in April. If you would like to volunteer to help at the school, please contact (PM) either Liz Caldwell or Michael Strobel. Watch for updates.

Thanks for this notice Mike and Liz! Every year has been so much fun for all involved, I know this one will be as well!

Best Regards
Jim

Not sure what I could help with but just give me a job around the river time as I plan to be a student again this year. Ann D

I was out of state last year when registration opened and it filled up quickly so I didn't get to go. Would very much like to go this year. Thanks, Mikki

Looking forward to it again this year. Clan Crawford got new and 'new to us' boats all around so we need more schoolin'.

Question about equipment needed for Rec School.

Will I need to buy a helmet? I do not have a spray skirt on my kayak. It is a wilderness pungo 10'. Will we be doing a wet exit?

Do you need wood for campfires. I can bring a trailer load of firewood if needed and I also have an additional 12' pungo, life jacket and paddles that I can bring with me if any extra boats might be needed.

Would like to tent camp. Which areas are best(read quietest) for sleeping?
Looking forward to seeing friends and learning new skills. Mikki

Hi Mikki,

If your boat does NOT have thigh braces or a skirt that keeps you in the boat, then no helmet is required. No skirt required either. Wet exits also depend on the type of boat you have. If you can just fall out, you might not have to do one. However, it's at the discretion of the instructor. If she/he thinks you need to, then be prepared to get wet! But hey, it's June, so a lot of people welcome the chance to get cooled off!

We tent campers usually all camp close together and we're not too noisy, at least not after the blow log is finished. We'll have ACC signs marking our territory, as they don't take reservations for tent camping.

Firewood is good, and we might could use your extra boat for an instructor. Let's visit after registration opens.

Hey MikkiW
I've never been to rec school, and I had a ton of questions.
I am always harassing jim with questions...

This link helped me learn a lot of what to expect at rec school.
http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/Defaul ... eId=572692" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i'm going to do my best to go this year.

thanks
Daniel

Danial,
Thanks for the link. Hope to see you there. Mikki

How do I register?

Registration will open on or about April 15, 2011. Watch the board for an announcement.

You can register by going to the ACC home page and click on: Events > School of Recreational Paddling > Ready to Register.
Or, this link should also take you there: http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/Defaul ... eId=581100" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look forward to seeing you there.

l am going to try and make this event. Actually I am really looking forward to it. The part about airbags for the kayak, how strict a rule is it? As I am sure you have guessed I do not have any. Also while I can swim I am not a strong swimmer any more, I am however great at floating (no I'm not going to say I am a floater for you SA's ). Will this be a major problem?
Other than this I am looking forward to April 15th when the registration starts.

I'm looking forward to it! I'm even beginning to pack a few things I might need...

John,

Regarding airbags for your kayak (or canoe) it depends on what kind of boat you have. If you have a whitewater boat, we strongly recommend them. This is for your safety and the safety of your fellow paddlers who may have to recover your boat. It's much harder to rescue a boat full of water than one that displaces much of that water with airbags.

If you need to discuss further, call me at 501-350-4364 (I'll be in and out of cell phone range this weekend, so it may take me a day or so to return your call.)


Also, as for your swimming ability, you need to be comfortable being under water should you flip. You need to be able to swim, but don't have to be a competitive swimmer, just able to assist in your own rescue.

Thanks Liz, I have an old rec kayak, about 12 foot. The bags might be a problem for me to come up with. As for swimming I am comfortable in the water and have been a swimmer since I was a lad, I just don't do much of it anymore. That was one of the reasons I got the boat. Here in South Arkansas it is mostly flat water until the ski boats whizz by so I haven't bothered to get the air bags.
Thanks again for the advice, and I will see what I can do about getting some air bags.