Friday, October 30, 2015

Important Changes to PFD Type Classifications



The ACA recently represented paddlesports in Chicago, IL for two days of meetings pertaining to the upcoming changes to labels for lifejackets.

As the traditional lifejacket Type codes are phased out over the next several years and new devices are brought to market, we will keep the paddlesports community informed and will update all ACA course curriculum accordingly.

For more information, please visit: www.americancanoe.org/?PFD_Types

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Going Paddling? Be Prepared For Anything...



By Rachel Johnson, Executive Director, National Safe Boating Council

You’ve checked everything off your list – life jackets, sunscreen, food and snacks – you’re ready to enjoy the perfect day on the water with friends. Despite being fully prepared, the weather shifts unexpectedly, and pretty soon you find yourself in a lot of trouble, fast. You grab your cellphone from your pocket to call for help, but there’s no signal. Fortunately, your vessel has a registered Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) with GPS capabilities, and Search and Rescue forces are alerted and arrive within minutes to help.

Each year, more than 500 lives are lost in recreational boating accidents. While it is very important for boaters to understand the importance of boating safety, such as always wearing a life jacket, staying sober and following navigation rules – having an emergency locator 406 MHz beacon on board their boat or on their life jacket can mean the difference between life and death when it’s critical for Search and Rescue forces to arrive as soon as possible.

The Saved by the Beacon National Safe Boating Campaign, led by the National Safe Boating Council (safeboatingcouncil.org), shares the importance of boaters owning an emergency locator (406 MHz) beacon and understanding how to use them correctly in the case of an emergency. An emergency locator beacon is used to alert Search and Rescue forces by transmitting a coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency via satellite and earth stations to the nearest Rescue Coordination Center.

Boaters often prefer an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) over a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), because it is registered to the vessel, not the person. An EPIRB should be mounted in an area on the vessel free of overhead obstructions, yet easily accessible (Category I). It may also be carried in a ditch bag, which is a compact floating bag designed to hold items a boater may need in an emergency (Category II). An EPIRB is waterproof and may be manually or automatically activated. They are specifically designed for a worse case scenario of just you and the beacon in the water. If your EPIRB has GPS coordinates, it can alert Search and Rescue of your position in as little as 2-3 minutes. Owning a properly installed EPIRB is a sound investment for boaters, as it may save your life and the lives of loved ones during an emergency.

A PLB works in the same way as an EPIRB, but is registered to the person, not a vessel, and may be used on land as well as the water. However, PLBs require a little more effort to operate, as they must be manually activated and held out of the water to function properly. A PLB is small enough for boaters to attach to one’s life jacket, however, if it is not attached to your life jacket, you may not have it when you need it the most. The National Safe Boating Council believes wearing a life jacket is a simple life-saving strategy for recreational boaters. Learn more at safeboatingcampaign.com.

Both EPIRBs and PLBs must be registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at beaconregistration.noaa.gov – it is very easy and takes just a few minutes that might become a lifetime of survival. If any of your information changes, you must update your registration (phone, address, marital status, sell your boat).

There are hundreds of stories of peoples’ lives saved by the use of emergency locator beacons. To learn more, please visit savedbythebeacon.com. Before you go boating next, make sure to purchase, register, and have on board your vessel an emergency locator 406 MHz beacon. You never know when it may save your life and the lives of others.

Rachel Johnson is executive director of the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC), a nationally trusted resource for the advancement and promotion of safer boating through education, outreach and training. Saved by the Beacon is a national campaign led by the NSBC to help recreational boaters understand the importance of emergency locator (406 MHz) beacons and how to use them correctly in the case of a boating emergency. The campaign is produced under a grant from the Sports Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information, please visit savedbythebeacon.com. Follow NSBC at twitter.com/safeboatcouncil and facebook.com/nationalsafeboatingcouncil.


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Do You Know an Instructor Who Deserves Recognition?



The ACA is proud to partner with Kokatat for the Instructor of the Month recognition program. Winners receive a free Kokatat life jacket as well as recognition in the ACA's eMagazine, Paddle

Submit your nomination today

To view previous winners of the Instructor of the Month award, click here.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Why Download the Paddle Ready App?



In a recent Richmond Times Dispatch article, writer Tee Clarkson reviews the ACA's Paddle Ready app. He touts the float plan feature as his favorite. "With the cold water time of year approaching, these features could certainly be helpful in keeping paddlers safe and those at home without worry," says Clarkson. 

We've recently added some awesome new features to Paddle Ready to make it even better. Download it for your iPhone or Android device, and see for yourself.



We would love to know what you think of the latest updates. Please send us an email at clloyd@americancanoe.org with your feedback, or consider leaving a review in the app store!

Monday, October 26, 2015

Legendary Olympic Coach Bill Endicott Presents ACA Legends of Paddling Award to Kent Ford



At the ACA Instructor Trainer Conference Legendary Olympic Coach Bill Endicott had the opportunity to present the Legends of Paddling Award to an amazing paddler and educator, Kent Ford. We salute you, Kent - for being such an incredible influence and positive force for the sport of paddling that we all love. 

Kent Ford's unique background includes over thirty years of teaching paddling, international whitewater slalom racing, winning world titles, coaching for the U.S. Kayak Team, and working as public address announcer at the last five Olympic Games. Now Kent focuses on teaching recreational boating to a worldwide audience through his company Performance Video. His twenty videos and books have influenced the education of half a million paddlers and have made him one of the most recognized paddlers in whitewater sport worldwide. Best of all, Kent's teaching style is enthusiastic, supportive, and open-minded. 


As an ACA Instructor Trainer, Kent has led programs at most major U.S. paddle schools, as well as in Switzerland, Canada, and Japan. A veteran of over 340 rivers in 28 countries, Kent has been a member of expeditions to the Soviet Union, Costa Rica, Turkey, and Mexico. Kent holds a BS. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and resides in Durango, Colorado. 

A volunteer member of the City of Durango's water commission, Kent advocates for sustainable water policy. His pro-bono video productions on threats to the Dolores and Animas Rivers helped excite advocacy and protection on their behalf. Other recent projects include organizing the Whitewater Symposium, an industry roundtable supporting the health of paddlesports. Kent was recently inducted to the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. One of his more recent projects was "The Call of the River," a documentary film on the vibrant history of whitewater paddling.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Photo Contest Winners!


We couldn't pick just one winner of our photo contest, so we chose three! 

First place will be featured in the upcoming issue of our Paddle eMagazine, and all three winners will receive prizes. Thanks for all of your submissions! 


First Place: Greg Spencer




Second Place: Chad Blotner




Third Place: Maria Schultz



Thursday, October 22, 2015

A Year in the Wilderness to Protect the Boundary Waters


By Dave Freeman. Dave and his wife Amy have traveled over 30,000 miles by kayak, canoe and dogsled through some of the world’s wildest places. The Freemans run the Wilderness Classroom, an educational nonprofit organization that introduces kids to wild places.
This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of the ACA's Paddle eMagazine.


As September fades into October, the paddling season in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness typically comes to an end. The leaves fall to the ground, and winter usually reminds us of its fast approach with a sprinkling of snow and frosty nights. In reality, the late fall is one of my favorite times to paddle in the Wilderness because the bugs are gone, there is plenty of solitude, and watching the early morning fog slowing dissipate with your hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee is simply magical.

On September 23rd, my wife, Amy Freeman, and I paddled into the Boundary Waters like we have countless times before for a fall canoe trip in our nation’s most popular wilderness area. Unlike previous trips into the Boundary Waters, we plan to stay for a very long time, a full year to be exact. We will explore this million-acre maze of lakes and rivers by canoe until freeze up, which usually happens in late November. Once the wilderness is covered in snow and ice, friends will bring in our toboggans and sled dogs, and haul our canoe out of the BWCAW for the winter. In April, as the lakes begin to melt we will switch back to canoe for the rest of the year-long odyssey.


Last year, Amy and I paddled and sailed 101 days and 2,000 miles from Ely, Minnesota to Washington, D.C. to help protect the Boundary Waters from a series of copper mines in a sulfide ore body that are being proposed along the southern border of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We are wilderness guides and educators and this is our way of working to keep this wilderness wild. We care deeply about this place and we will do everything within our power to ensure that it remains intact for the next generation. We made a commitment to protecting the Boundary Waters when we paddled to D.C., but we know we still have a lot of work to do to protect the Boundary Waters watershed from sulfide-ore copper mining and we want to do what we can to finish the job. A Year in the Wilderness is a continuation of our work with the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, which is working to permanently protect the Boundary Waters Watershed from sulfide ore mining. 

We will camp at approximately 120 different sites during this Year in the Wilderness and travel more than 3,000 miles by canoe, foot, ski, and snowshoe. This journey is about bearing witness to the very land and water we are fighting to protect. We hope you will join us through regular updates we will post on social media (@freemandexplore and @savethebwca) and Savetheboundrywaters.org. Plus, elementary and middle school students will be able to learn along with us through www.wildernessclassroom.org.


Earlier this month the Animas River in Durango, Colorado, turned an eerie shade of mustard-yellow a few days after the one-year anniversary of Mount Polley copper mine’s tailings dam failure, which news reports called “Canada’s worst mine disaster.” Instead of the week being dominated by Mount Polley retrospectives, headlines are recounting a homegrown mining disaster a hundred years in the making. Though these mines are not in Minnesota, they are shocking displays of what can--and often does--go wrong in the hardrock mining industry, and should serve as a warning as we consider the impacts of placing sulfide-ore copper mines in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. 


As paddlers and wilderness enthusiasts we need to be a strong voices for our waterways and the environments they course through. We hope you will join us in our efforts to protect our Nations most popular wilderness, and get involved in this important issue. Now is the time for us all to take action and help protect the Boundary Waters. 


To learn more, please visit: www.savetheboundarywaters.org.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Wear It, Wear It Right

Click image to enlarge

Friends don't let friends paddle without a life jacket!

At the ACA, your safety is of utmost importance to us. For more tips on how to take care of yourself (and others) out on the water, check out our YouTube playlist.

Would you rather read than watch? Visit www.americancanoe.org/Top10 for our top 10 tips on how to paddle smart!


Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Getting More Kids in Kayaks

At the ACA, we partner with organizations all over the country, working together to give more kids the opportunity to experience paddlesports. 

Virginia Outside is one of those organizations. Check out the video below to see how they are making a difference in kids' lives!



Do you want to team up with the ACA, or just need some support? Get in touch with us today, we're here to help!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Paddle Green Spotlight: Boating in DC



Written by Colleen Devlin, the Environmental Coordinator for Boating in DC. Colleen fell in love with rivers as a rower, but plans to grow old with them as a kayaker and stand up paddle boarder. Anyone interested in learning more about Boating in DC’s stewardship initiatives can reach her at c.devlin@boatingindc.com. This article originally appeared in the September issue of the ACA's Paddle eMagazine. 

The Potomac and Anacostia Rivers in the heart of our nation’s capital have traditionally been accessible only by motorboats and private rowing communities. Fortunately, Boating in DC’s Key Bridge, Ballpark, and National Harbor boathouses have opened the locals’ eyes to not only the world of recreational paddling, but also to the poor treatment of our urban waterways. 

Addressing and promoting the cleanliness of the Potomac and Anacostia has been important to me since my pre-teen years, when I would watch helplessly as the current carried garbage downriver and out of sight everyday at rowing practice. Now, 10 years later, Boating in DC has provided the perfect outlet for me to finally take action! 


Though each Boating in DC location provides interactions with flora, fauna, and the great outdoors that are often hard to come by in our bustling city, paddlers also return to shore lamenting about garbage sightings in the river. 

It did not take long for Washingtonians new to paddling to realize that our historic rivers need far more attention than what they receive. Do-gooders will often return from paddling with garbage they have collected, ranging from plastic bottles, to two garbage bags full of Styrofoam, plastic, and glass. This inspired us to begin our first of two river stewardship programs. 

Our first initiative gives a 5% discount off rentals to “friends of the river,” those paddlers who bring back trash. For some, the initiative has morphed into a challenging scavenger hunt, with 30-year-old men unloading assorted treasures, beaming with satisfaction over their booty. It’s less about the discount and much more about the action taken. 


DC area paddlers interested in making an immediate improvement to the cleanliness of our rivers can take part in our second initiative, which is a weekly community cleanup on the Anacostia River every Sunday morning from 9:30 to 11:00 AM at Boating in DC’s Ballpark Boathouse location. 

The Anacostia has a bad reputation. With jokes of mutation upon contact, it is no wonder it carries the denomination, “The Forgotten River.” The Anacostia needs as much attention as it can get, and we are proud to be one of the local organizations doing its part to help. In partnership with the ACA, our nocharge paddle equips volunteers with gloves, a grabber, and, of course, ACA Paddle Green Bags. 

Our first session was comprised of 5 people, who in only 60 minutes, managed to collect 145 pounds of garbage. The following week, our volunteer team tripled in size and amassed 264 pounds of trash, including a cooler, a dishwasher door, a 3-foot Styrofoam cube, and a weather balloon. I have noticed a challenge developing to get volunteers to stop on time. 

They say it is addictive. I say, “Tell your friends.”

Thursday, October 15, 2015

5 Tips for Kayak Anglers



Looking to improve your catch? Our friends at Rapid Media have rounded up their top 5 most popular tactics for helping improve your kayak fishing skills. Head over to Kayak Angler to educate yourself on common mistakes, redfish tactics, handling trash fish, and more!

ACA membership comes with many benefits, one of which is a free subscription to the Rapid Media publication of your choice. If you love Kayak Angler, be sure to let our membership team know.


Wednesday, October 14, 2015

New Video!



We have some exciting news. In partnership with the talented folks at Anzovin Studio and the US Coast Guard, the ACA has created an animated memoir-style film that confronts some of the challenging situations that even experienced paddlers face. We are excited to announce the release of Stories of Survival.

Click here to watch the new video on our YouTube channel, and please share it with your network. 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Photo Contest!


Photo by Matt Ellison
We are looking for entries for the "Photo of the Month" feature in the next issue of Paddle! This is a great chance to get your photo out in front of a wide audience and win some prizes while you're at it.

Please email all entries by Thursday, October 22nd to Catharine Lloyd, ACA Communications Coordinator, at clloyd@americancanoe.org. Type "Photo Contest -November" in the email subject line. 

Thanks! 

Monday, October 12, 2015

ACA Office Closed Today


Photo Credit: Tom Rothenberg for the Free Lance-Star

The ACA Office is closed today, and will reopen on Tuesday, October 13th. We hope everyone is enjoying the Columbus Day long weekend! 

Friday, October 9, 2015

ACA Membership: What's in it for you!



As a nonprofit, member-based organization, the ACA relies on support from members like you to fulfill our mission

When you join the nation's oldest paddlesports organization, you are supporting:

- safe paddling programs
- stewardship initiatives to clean up our nation's waterways  
- top notch paddlesports education
- and so much more. 

You also get to become a part of a community that loves what you love!

Here are some other awesome benefits to ACA membership:

Subaru VIP Program

Public Policy Representation

Gold Standard in Educational Resources

Choice of one of 4 magazine titles from Rapid Media:
-Canoeroots, Adventure Kayak,
Rapid, Kayak Angler

Additional Rapid Media Subscriptions at a Discount

Exclusive Access to:
-Sugar Island on the St. Lawrence River
-Camp Sebago in New York

Support of Amateur Paddlesports Competition

Member Rewards Program
-Discounts on car rentals, hotels, restaurants, phone plans, even Disney World

Reduced admission to thousands of ACA sanctioned events and races each year

Discount on ACA merchandise

ACA Paddle eMagazine delivered to your inbox every other month, covering local, regional and national paddlesport issues

Pro Deals for certified Instructors

Members Only Discounts



Thanks for your support! If you have any questions about any of the membership benefits above, please contact the ACA Membership Department at 540-907-4460 ext 109 and we will be glad to help you. 
Paddle safe, paddle often. 

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Long Before Columbus, Polynesian Navigators Achieved Feats of Exploration and Discovery


By Sam Low, Author of Hawaiki Rising - Hokule’a, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance


On October 12, we celebrate the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus who we regard as perhaps the world’s greatest explorer. But was he? Compared to Polynesian sailors and navigators who set out to explore and settle the vast Pacific Ocean a thousand years earlier, his discovery of the New World seems easy.

“Columbus sailed in large ships held together with metal fastenings and powered by sails stitched from canvas,” says Sam Low, anthropologist and author of Hawaiki Rising. “He used a magnetic compass to find direction and recorded his route on charts and in written logbooks. To locate his position, he observed the stars with instruments and knowledge provided by the combined research of Greeks, Arabs and hundreds of years of European science.”

But long before Columbus set out, the Polynesians - a “stone age people” without metal, writing, instruments or charts - had already explored and settled the entire Pacific Ocean, one third of Earth’s surface.

“Using only their intimate knowledge of the natural world and its resources, they created rope from coconut fiber, wove pandanus leaves into sails and used stone tools to carve planks to build ocean-going craft that could journey 2,500 miles to distant islands and back again,” says Doug Herman, Senior Geographer at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. “They also developed a complex indigenous science of star and sea knowledge that enabled them to track their journeys, find tiny islands beyond the horizon and voyage home again across great distances. Columbus sailed across a relatively narrow Atlantic Ocean. His target was, by comparison, easy; he could have hardly missed the Americas, with 10,000 miles of coastline stretching nearly from pole to pole.”

Today, a replica of the kind of vessels the Polynesians used on their great voyages of antiquity is sailing around the world from her homeport in Honolulu. Hōkūleʻa is her name, Hawaiian for “star of joy.”
 


In 1976, Hōkūleʻa first sailed from Hawai‘i to the ancestral homeland of Tahiti, navigated by a traditional master navigator from Micronesia, Pius Mau Piailug, one of a handful who still practiced the ancient art of finding his way without charts or instruments. Piailug employed a star compass to find direction at night and used signs in the patterns of ocean swells to steer by day. The flight of birds and reflections from distant lagoons on clouds allowed him to pinpoint land. During the 2400 mile journey from Hawaii to Tahiti, he stayed alert, sleeping in half hour “catnaps” in order to discern the course and speed of his canoe and plot his position on a mental map. He predicted landfall with an accuracy of about thirty nautical miles. Since that first voyage, Hokule’a has sailed more than 140,000 miles throughout the Pacific to demonstrate that these Oceanic peoples were perhaps the world’s greatest navigators and sailors.

Pius Mau Piailug was honored by the Smithsonian Institution in 2000. He passed away on July 10, 2010, but not before he passed on his knowledge to Hokule’a’s navigators who, as you read this, are approaching the coast of South Africa on a voyage around the world.

After a winter stop in Cape Town, Hōkūleʻa will cross the Atlantic and arrive in Miami in March of 2016. She will continue up the coast to visit Cape Canaveral, Savannah, Charleston, Beaufort, Newport News, Washington DC, Annapolis, New York City, Mystic, Newport, Martha’s Vineyard and Boston – before setting out across the Atlantic to Lisbon and ports in the Mediterranean.

To see the kind of vessel that was used to explore and settle ten million square miles of ocean long before Columbus set out on his voyage, and to learn more about her voyage and her schedule of port visits see Hokule’a’s web page at www.Hokulea.com 




For Additional information please contact:

Douglas Herman
Senior Geographer, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC 20013, 410-537-0699, hermand@si.edu.

Sam Low
Author of Hawaiki Rising - Hokule’a, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance, 508 693 0509, samfilm2@gmail.com.

More 2015 ACA National Awards Recipients Announced



The Penobscot River Whitewater Nationals Regatta of Old Town, ME has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Sanctioned Event of the Year Award. The Sanctioned Event of the Year Award is presented to the top ACA sanctioned event as nominated by the paddling public.


Sherri Johnson of Jacksonville, FL has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Joe Pena Volunteer of the Year Award. The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to one or more volunteers each year for extraordinary service at the local or Divisional level.


Each year, the ACA presents a series of prestigious national awards to individuals and organizations who have illustrated exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to various aspects of paddlesport. To learn more, please visit www.americancanoe.org/awards 


Winners will also be recognized at the ACA Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony at the upcoming Instructor Trainer Conference in Charleston, SC.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2015 ACA National Awards Winners

Each year, the ACA presents a series of prestigious national awards to individuals and organizations who have illustrated exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to various aspects of paddlesport.


The Nebraska Game & Parks Commission has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA J. Henry Rushton Award.


Noah Hussein of Brooklyn, NY has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Joe Pena Volunteer of the Year Award.

Over the next several days, we will be announcing the rest of the 2015 award winners here on the Water Blog and on our Facebook page, so stay tuned! Winners will also be recognized at the ACA Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony at the upcoming Instructor Trainer Conference in Charleston, SC. 

Monday, October 5, 2015

2015 ACA National Awards - Maine Island Trail Association



The Maine Island Trail Association, based out of Portland, ME has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Green Paddle for Waterway Conservation Award. This award is presented annually to an individual or a group that has made an outstanding contribution to paddlesport by protecting America's waterways.

Each year, the ACA presents a series of prestigious national awards to individuals and organizations who have illustrated exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to various aspects of paddlesport.

Over the next several days, we will be announcing the 2015 award winners one by one! Winners will also be recognized at the ACA Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony at the upcoming Instructor Trainer Conference in Charleston, SC. 

Nominate the Next ACA Instructor of the Month




The ACA is proud to partner with Kokatat for the Instructor of the Month recognition program. Winners receive a free Kokatat life jacket as well as recognition in the ACA's eMagazine, Paddle

Submit your nomination today


Friday, October 2, 2015

2015 ACA National Awards - Foothills Paddling Club

The Foothills Paddling Club based in Greenville, SC has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Stroke of Achievement Award. The Stroke of Achievement Award is presented to one or more ACA Affiliated Clubs each year for superior performance and program development.


Each year, the ACA presents a series of prestigious national awards to individuals and organizations who have illustrated exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to various aspects of paddlesport.

Over the next several days, we will be announcing the 2015 award winners one by one! Winners will also be recognized at the ACA Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony at the upcoming Instructor Trainer Conference in Charleston, SC. 

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Announcing the 2015 ACA Award Winners

Cross Currents Sea Kayaking of Baltimore, MD has just been announced as a 2015 recipient of the prestigious ACA Stroke of Achievement Award. The Stroke of Achievement Award is presented to one or more ACA Affiliated Clubs each year for superior performance and program development.



Each year, the ACA presents a series of prestigious national awards to individuals and organizations who have illustrated exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to various aspects of paddlesport.

Over the next several days, we will be announcing the 2015 award winners one by one! Winners will also be recognized at the ACA Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony at the upcoming Instructor Trainer Conference in Charleston, SC.