Kayak winner

Congratulations to John Ramia of Queeenstown, Md., for winning the first kayak raffle drawing.  John won a Pyranha Varun playboat when his ticket was drawn at our annual swap and pizza meeting June 4.

Keep an eye on this page for news on our fall raffle, which will include another Pyranha playboat and will also include a farmer john wetsuit.

Sundays on the Lehigh Series Starts

  Our Sundays on the Lehigh starts Sunday May 19. The schedule is posted here on our forum. Please contact trip leaders for details.

Paddle and Potluck  Thursday, May 2, 2013

Come and paddle the “ledges”. This is one of our favorite practice trips on the Lehigh River. What you will need:

If you just want to come to the meeting and not paddle show up at 7:00 PM with a dish to share with everyone else. Last name begins with A through M bring a covered dish/ N through Z dessert or salad.

If you want to paddle show up at 5:30 PM at the Nature Center to set up shuttle. Bring your white water boat, PFD, paddle, spray skirt, whistle, helmet, wet suit or dry suit and your dish for the meeting. All paddlers must be dues paying members of the Lehigh Valley Kayak & Canoe Club. 

General Membership Meeting

The next meeting of the LVKCC will be Thursday, May 2nd, with a paddle and potluck meeting at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Come paddle the ledges before the meeting, too. Paddle at 5:30 p.m.

***************************

Minutes from February 2013 meeting now posted on Forum.

***************************

Minutes from the Executive Board Meeting are now on the Forum. Click here to read.

************************************************************************

November 2012 club minutes now on Forum. View here.

At the next meeting of the LVKCC , November 1, 2012, we will vote on new club officers for the 2012-2013 paddling season. Submit nominations to Bob Rock as soon as possible. Please check with your nominee to see if he/she will accept the nomination.Positions are open for president, vice president, secretary, treasure, one member at large. Bob can be reached at paheart@comcast.net.

November is membership renewal month. Help support your club! Send in your dues!

Update: October 23, 2012:

October Minutes now on Forum.

Program for November meeting: down the Colorado, Al Zagofsky presenter.

2012 Penn Cup Scores here.

Penn Cup 2012 race Sunday 9/16 at Little Lehigh Parkway. Race starts at 8 AM. Come out and cheer the racers. Food and drinks for sale.

Next meeting of the LVKCC is Thursday September 6 at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Meet at 5:30 PM, paddle “Ledges” . Pot Luck dinner  and general membership meeting 7:00 PM. Bring stuff to eat!

*******************************************************************************

Our post office box is now functional. Please send your applications to the address on the form. If your application was returned to you as  ”undeliverable” please resend it. Thanks for your patience.

*******************************************

2012 PENN CUP REGISTRATION FORMS NOW ON LINE! Click on 2012 Penn Cup!

*******************************************************************

Lehigh Classic! Check out details here!

Make a Splash!

Hi Folks

It won’t be long until I begin my kayak trip to the ocean. As most of you know, I had a kidney transplant in December of 2010 and am doing this trip to encourage more people to register as organ donors. The website for the trip is www.make-a-splash.org

I am asking your help in finding experienced kayakers who want to do a day or more of the trip with me. The itinerary is on the website. I hope a lot of you are able to find time to do a day. Take a look… its pretty impresssive. But there’s a lot more going on than what I’ve posted on the website. Lots of surprises to come.

From a safety perspective, I obviously won’t paddle alone. Please take a few minutes to reach out to your paddling friends. Don’t be surprised how many of them know someone who’s been affected by donation or transplant.

Call me if you have any questions.

Thanks

Larry Rafes
484 951 8299

 Update 8/22/2012:

After months of planning and training, on August 17, Larry Rafes set out on a 10-day, 200-mile paddle from Allentown Canal Park to Cape May. To celebrate the launch of his Odyssey, 55 well wishers from the organ donor community followed him as a flotilla from Allentown Canal Park to Sand Island in Bethlehem.

A Great Idea: 

June 5, 2012

The next meeting of the LVKCC will be Tuesday, June  5. We will meet at the Little Lehigh Practice area at 5:30 PM to practice and then we will have pizza and a general membership meeting. This is our last general membership meeting until  September. Please bring your white water boat and join in the fun! There will also be a swap meet and gear sale. If you have anything  you want to trade or sell bring it along.

Update on next meeting: We will also be having a swap meet at this meeting. If you have any equipment  you want to trade or sell, bring it. Club member Chris Burhman is bringing  some of the Larry’s paddling and camping gear to sell. There will be 10 paddles selling for $2 to $10. Air mattresses, 2 back packs , air bags, kayaking clothing and equipment, books, videos, local and Wm Neely posters; ALL ITEMS MUST GO AT GIVE AWAY PRICES.  2 CARS FILLED WITH  EQUIPMENT.   Will be ready to sell at 6pm rain or shine.

Update Update: We would like to thank everyone who was at the swap meet on Tuesday June 5th.  The articles sold in the white canopy were from Larry March’s estate and a total of $525 will be donated to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in his memory.   His wife Betty, Greg and I would like to thank you for your support.

Thanks,
Chris Buhrman

June 3, 2012

Kayak and Canoe Games at Lake NocKamixon! 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM.  Be prepared to get wet! Meet at the Haycock launch area. Bring the following: boat, paddle, pfd,whistle,throw rope, bilge pump, sponge or bailer, beverage (no-alcoholic), boat shoes, change of clothes, towel, strap for glasses if you wear them. Your boat should have launch permit.

May 3, 2012

The next meeting of the Lehigh Valley Kayak & Canoe Club will be held Thursday, May 3. This is our Paddle & Potluck at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. We will meet at the Nature Center at 5:30 PM. We will set up the shuttle to Walnutport and paddle the Ledges. Looks like we will have water! Potluck dinner will follow the paddle session. Paddlers with last names beginning with A to M bring a main dish to share, N to Z appetizer or dessert.

Business meeting is set for 7PM.

Sunday April 29 pool session at Lafayette 5:30PM until 9 PM . Last one for the year!

April 14, 2012

Larry March passed away today while helping on the Schuykill river clean up. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends. Larry was a long time member of the Lehigh Valley Kayak and Canoe Club as well a very active member of the Keystone Canoe Club in Reading PA. He was a great friend, teacher, coach and paddling partner to many of us. We will miss him very much. This is a very sad day in the life of our paddling community.

Photo of Larry March taken at Paddlefest 2012. Courtesy of Lisa Aderhold.

Paddle Fest 2012 Boat Raffle Winner are Larry March and Nicole Boger!

Next meeting of the LVKCC  will be Thursday, April 5 at 7PM at the Red Cross building. We will have trip reports from the Chesapeake Bay, and Alaska.

March 2012 meeting minutes now posted on Forum.

General membership Meeting: March 1, 7 PM at LL Bean Promenade Shops  Saucon Valley PA. Our guest speaker will be from Dagger Canoe. Click here for directions.

February 2012 Minutes now posted on Forum

Paddler of the Year and Young Paddler of the Year Awards

We are still looking for your nominations for Paddler of the Year and Young Paddler of the Year. As of  the February 2 general membership meeting we had no nominations. We need your nominations by February 12.  Nominees must be members of the LVKCC and your nomination must be submitted in writing via email to Bob Rock at paheart@comcast.net or  Bill Smith at mutter7@verizon.net. Please read the following criteria before submitting your nominee.

New LVKCC Awards Announced at February 2012 Meeting!

Starting this year (January 2012 to December 2012) the LVKCC is sponsoring two new paddling awards: Most White-water Miles Paddled by a LVKCC Member and Most Flat-water Miles Paddled by a LVKCC Member. Start logging you miles as of January 1 2012. The awards for 2012 will be awarded at the Ice breaker Dinner in 2013. LL Bean is pro ported to offering prizes to the winner. But details are still being worked out. contact persons for the prizes are Bob Rock and Bill Smith.

The next general membership meeting will be February 2 at 7 PM at the Red Cross Building.

Program topic:

Gas and Water in the Lehigh River and Delaware River Watersheds: Will Our Water be Affected?

A presentation by Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, will review the issues and open up a discussion of what the controversial development of natural gas in the Lehigh and Delaware Watersheds means for our region.

Beginner kayak and canoe classes and practice pool sessions start  January 8. Click the Kayak and Canoe Classes tab for more information.

January 5 Executive Board meeting. Contact club president Jim Schulte for more details.

2012 Executive Meeting Minutes now posted on Forum.

November club election results and November meeting minutes are on the Forum.

Walnutport Canal Festival  Sunday October 16th

LVKCC at the Canal Festival!

Support your club and the community! Volunteer at the Walnutport Canal Festival! The club needs volunteers to help put people on the water from 12 noon until 6 P.M. The Wildlands Conservancy supplies the canoes and we supply the manpower. The Canal festival is also a lot of fun just to visit.

Contact Bob Brunda at 610-577-5312 and let him know when you can help.

October 6, 2011 Meeting

The next meeting of the Lehigh Valley Kayak & Canoe club will take place on Thursday, October 6th at the Red Cross Building  on Ave A in the Industrial Park next to the Lehigh Valley Airport.

Here is the proposed agenda for the meeting:

1. Penn Cup races: Scott Douglas

2. Website update:

3. Fall boating schedule update: John Rossini

4. Walnutport festival: Bob Brunda

5. Report on trip to Chesapeake etc.: Bob Rock

6. Program for November meeting: LL Bean will present Stand Up Paddling
7. Planning of winter classes and expanding them into the spring ( my suggestion is to run the first 4 classes from 6-8 pm and focus just on club members that want to practice there roll. Then 8 classes for beginners WW and 3 classes for flat water to finish the winter/spring
8. Racing team update: Scott Douglas
9. Report on the Easton WW Park: John Rossini
10. Holiday party date and place: If no solid suggestions go with bath Rod and Gun. I’d like to see one at a restaurant in Allentown/Bethlehem area.
11. Club instruction/instructors and expansion of more instructors. Next round of potential instructors: Bob Babacz and a female for WW kayak. We need another canoe person. Is Tony Broadwater still available or did he get it. I can’t remember.
12. Film Festival (potential new site) Jerry McAward suggested the place he had the film festival in Jim Thorpe last month.otherwise lets go for Saucon Valley at a later date.
13. Membership report: Don Harris
14. Treasurers report: Kim Royer

New business:

1. Nominations for officiers to be voted on in next meeting.

2. Still need a Secretary.

Jim Schulte
President Lehigh Valley Kayak & Canoe Club

Here is a Google Maps Link to the meeting site.

View minutes from September 1, 2011 here.