October Notes and Paddles

November Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 3rd at 6:30 pm in the Long Leaf Room (immediately to the left of the Tensaw Theater). We will hold our 3rd Annual Photo Contest, Coastal Images, along with a potluck dinner. Bring your photos and a dish to share and enjoy the evening. Please note the time and place change for this special event!

Contest Rules:
Categories include : 1. Flora 2. Trees 3. Landscape/Waterscape 4. Boat (with or without Paddlers) 5. Animals/Wildlife 6. Birds
Photographs must be taken while on a paddle. Photographs may be in color or black and white and must be NO larger than 11x14. No digitally enhanced/altered photographs please. For judging purposes please title your entry. Awards will be given for each of the six categories listed above. Bring your mounted or framed photograph to the November 3rd meeting. Entries will be judged by MBCKC members. Attach the following information to the back of your entry: Name, Subject/Category, and Title

October Notes
Don Morrow of the Trust for Public Land explained the plans and process for the aquistion on Live Oak Landing. Stay tuned for future updates so that that we, as individuals, can voice our interest in seeing this land made available for public use.



Upcoming Events and Paddles

Please remember to check the calendar for new paddle postings. Current paddles/events posted on calendar are:

October 3 - Approximate date for the Island Apple Snail Removal Project. Please call Mobile Baykeeper for more info: (251)433-4229
October 10 - Phatwater Challenge http://www.kayakmississippi.com/phatwater/
October 10 - Fowl River Shoreline Assessment
October 15-22 - Paddle Florida (fall paddle) http://www.paddleflorida.org/
October 17 - Pedal or Paddle Trip
October 25 - Kayak Rolling and Bracing Class
October 29 - Bay Bash for more info go to: http://www.mobilebaykeeper.org/events/bay-bash
November 1 - Gunnison Creek Paddle
November 1 - Kayak Stroke Refinement Class

September Notes and Paddles

October Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 6th. Don Morrow from the Trust for Public Land will be discussing the TPL's acquisiton of Live Oak Landing on the Tensaw River. For more info on the TPL, visit: http://www.tpl.org/
We will also have the pleasure of viewing a short video of White Pelicans at Justin's Bay (filmed by Five Rivers).

September Notes
Tracy Lannie presented a slide show and gave tips from an amateur's view on photographing wildlife from a kayak. The show featured many photos of the birds and other wildlife that can be seen while paddling our local waters.



Upcoming Events and Paddles

Please remember to check the calendar for new paddle postings. Current paddles/events posted on calendar are:

September 2 - Moonlight Bay Minette Basin Paddle
September 5-7 - Sipsey River Paddle / Camp Trip
September 19 - Yak-A-Du / Kayak & Run Duathlon
September 19 - AL Coastal Cleanup / http://www.alabamacoastalcleanup.com/
Sept 26 & 27 - Turkey Creek/Boiling Creek Camp/Paddle

August Notes and Paddles

September Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 1st. Tracy Lannie, MBCKC webmaster, will present on taking photographs from a kayak with an emphasis on photographing wildlife. The presentation will include a slideshow. Come early (6:45) for Meet, Greet, & Eat and enjoy chocolate poundcake and coffee!

August Notes
Maggie Pyle, MBCKC President, presented with a slide show of the 2009 Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore which she attended last month. Thank you Maggie for sharing your trip and the paddling skills you learned at the symposium. Your story made some of us appreciate our warm-weather/warm-water paddling opportunities even more!

August Paddles
See Calendar for paddle details

August 8 - Escatawpa at Presley's Outing
August 13 - Whiskey Ditch
August 16- Magnolia River
August 25 - Whiskey Ditch
August 30 - Fish River

July Notes and Paddles
August Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 4th. MBCKC President, Maggie Pyle. and club members, Andrew and Mary Emilie Acklen, will give a presentation on the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

July Notes
Thanks to Tom Montgomery for sharing his Paddle Florida photos and story with us. He had some really nice photos! If you are interested in participating in the fall Paddle Florida trip, you will find more information at the following website: http://www.paddleflorida.org/

Upcoming Events and Paddles
Please remember to check the calendar for new paddle postings. Current paddles posted are:
July 19 - Magnolia River Paddle
July 31-Aug 1 - Wilcox County Cleanup / Paddle
August 1 - Big Creek Lake / Kayak Fun
August 2 - Fish River at Big Daddy's

June Notes and Paddles
July Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 7th. MBCKC member, Tom Montgomery, will present on the Paddle Florida trip he did this past spring. He spent a week on the Suwannee River paddling approximately 125 miles during this event that is held twice a year. http://www.paddleflorida.org/

June Notes

What an interesting presentation by Arthur Hebert! Thanks to Arthur for taking the time to travel to our area and share the fascinating experience he had in the Gulf of Mexico with us all. What an attitude for us all to develop...to begin first with a dream and, if obtainable, make it a goal!

Upcoming Events and Paddles

Beginning this month, all paddles and events can be viewed in detail on the Calendar page. Please view the calendar often for updates. Currently, the following scheduled paddles can be found there:

Saturday, June 13 - Big Lagoon @ Big Lagoon State Park
Sunday, June 14 - Fish River / Big Daddy's Paddle
Friday, June 19 - Boiling Creek Paddle
Saturday, June 27 - Fish River at Big Daddy's
Saturday, June 27 - Middle Bay Lighthouse Paddle
Saturday, July 4 - Fireworks Paddle
Wednesday, July 8 - Fowl River Paddle


Of Interest:

If you spot a Swallow-tailed Kite while out, please go to http://www.thecenterforthebirdsofprey.org/ to report your siting. Please fill out all reports as completely as possible with detailed location descriptions and complete longitude and latitude reading that can be found using the Google map tool on the report form.

May Notes and Paddles
June Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 2nd. Avid paddler, Arthur Hebert of Gretna, LA will be our guest speaker. Arthur will be sharing his adventure of his 1998 twenty-day, 738-mile solo open-water crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. Arthur made this unescorted trip from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to the mouth of the Mississippi River in his 17' Eddyline Wind Dancer and dedicated the expedition to his daughter, Nichole, who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of nine. The goal was not only to cross the Gulf but to make more people aware of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.


May Notes

Thanks to Bruce Coldsmith for sharing the plans for a Blueway on Dog River. How exciting to know that MBCKC members may have the opportunity to participate in the planning of the Blueway! Stay-tuned for further info. Thanks to Tom Meyer for sharing several paddlers photos from March's Paddle Bayou Lafourche.

Upcoming Events and Paddles

May 16, 2009 - Dog Paddle Races / Dog River Park 8:30AM - 2:00PM, 1/2 mile races, 1 mile races, and a 7 mile down river race to Dog River Bridge. Open to all paddlers. See www.dogriver.org

May 30, 2009 - Grandman Triathlon - the quota for Volunteer Kayakers has been met

June 11-13, 2009 - Paddle Alabama @ Weiss Lake for more info: http://www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com/events/?eventID=12&date=06/11/2009

Boiling Creek Paddle (sometime between June1 -4 (Mon - Thurs)
Leader: Bob Andrews
Notes: Bob will be leading a boiling creek paddle during the first week of June. Check back for futher information. If you do not have your Boiling Creek Pass and you wish to make this paddle, you need to apply for the pass now. For more information, see the "Eglin AFB Recreation Permit" link to the right.