Paddling News


IPC Upcoming events
 Posted by rich on 08/20/2008 02:02PM

From Jack Snarr of the Illinois Paddling Council:

IPC IS SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR PADDLER OF THE YEAR

Do you know a paddler whom we can recognize for his/her:

* Long-term commitment to the sport
* Outstanding contribution
* Extraordinary accomplishment
* Volunteerism

Then please fill in the attached form and return to us. We will recognize this paddler with our ILLINOIS PADDLER OF THE YEAR AWARD at our November dinner.

IPC SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO PRESENT ITS MISSION AT PUBLIC EVENTS

We are frequently asked to participate in area events with a table or booth informing the public about IPC's activities, to display our dam simulator and educate people to the dangers of dams, and more. While board members can often carry out this function, with the increased frequency of requests, we would like to be able to have other paddlers willing to spend an afternoon or day promoting these causes. Please let us know if you might be willing to participate in events next year by contacting Sigrid Pilgrim at 847-328-0145 or sigpilgr@....

Also check out the latest updates to the paddling calendar which include:

*Oct 18, 19th : IPC Season Ender on the Sangamon
*Nov 22 2:30pm : IPC Annual Council Meeting at White Fence Farm in Romeoville.


Whalon Lake Grand Opening - Saturday Aug 9, 2008
 Posted by rich on 07/31/2008 10:23PM

From the Prairie State Canoeist's Aug-08 Newsletter:

"The Forest Preserve District of Will County will celebrate the grand opening of Whalon Lake, a premier public 80-acre fishing/boating lake in Bolingbrook on Saturday, August 9, 2008."

Your show of support is requested to help show a need for watertrail access on the adjacent East Branch of the DuPage River (and other waterways in general). As such, PSC will be hosting a paddle on the East Branch of the DuPage River starting or ending at Whalon Lake.

Whalon Lake details

This event is on Saturday, Aug 9th from 10am-3pm @ Whalon Lake in Bolingbrook, IL.


Chicago River Pollution Standards
 Posted by rich on 06/08/2008 06:09PM

Members of the paddling community are being asked to attend a Illinois Pollution Control Board meeting to show support of cleaner pollution standards for the Chicago River and the lower Des Plaines River.

See the Friends of the Chicago River website for more details on how you can help make an impact on our river's water quality. Sample letters are provided along with a list of members of the paddling community who have shown their support.

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Attend an Illinois Pollution Control Board Public Hearing:

Public Hearing
June 16, 2008
5:30-8 p.m.
100 E. Erie St., Chicago
Contact Caitlyn for details: cbolton@chicagoriver.org









June is Paddle-A-Trail Month!
 Posted by rich on 06/07/2008 11:35PM

With warm weather finally upon us, it's time to put those paddles in the water. The Illinois Paddling Council has deemed June Paddle-A-Trail Month, where paddlers are encouraged to paddle a local waterway and report the details of the trip on the openlands.org water trail site for the benefit of all paddlers. Check out the site as they offer descriptions of many great trips.

For more details see the IPC Paddle-A-Trail Month website.



Older paddling news



New Paddling Articles/Links



Learn how to perform proper sweep strokes, rolls, low and high braces. This article has annotated photos showing both good technique and bad.



Paddling.net member discusses rolling exercises to be performed in flatwater that can help prepare you for unplanned/combat rolls in rougher conditions.



Inform yourself about the dangers of paddling in high water conditions.



Low angle, high angle? Join Simon Willis as he discusses picking the right paddle with Danny Mongno from Werner paddles.



More paddling resources here



Paddling Calendar



Calendar - Monthly View



New Paddling Videos!



Outfitting Your Whitewater Canoe    
Author: getafixcoaching

"Advice from Leo Hoare on fitting out your canoe with the right equipment "
Canoe Rescue - The Curl    
Author: getafixcoaching

"Excerpt from Canoe Safety DVD coming winter 08 showing the curl rescue with canoe coach Leo Hoare"

This video demonstrates how to use the boat that has dumped as a ladder to ease getting into the rescuers solo canoe. They also demonstrate how to get back into the canoe once it has been emptied.






Head over to the videos section to view these and more great videos!



New put-ins!


Whiting Park - Whiting, IN     (View on map)
Lake Michigan     
by rich on 08/27/2008

From CASKA mailing list, this spot is said to be good for surfing, having "steady 8 footers" on at least one day a year.

Lincolns New Salem State Park - Lewisburg, IL     (View on map)
Sangamon River     
by rich on 08/20/2008

Takeout for the 2008 IPC season ender? Should be somewhere around here... This is about 10 miles from the put-in.


See the official IPC 2008 Season Ender website for a description of this historic river.

Gudgel Rd. Bridge - Salisbury, IL     (View on map)
Sangamon River     
by rich on 08/20/2008

Mid-point of the 2008 IPC season ender.

See the official IPC 2008 Season Ender website for a description of this historic river.


View all 239 put-ins here!


PaddleAway.com News!

Help put in the put-ins!

Your help is needed in locating put-ins. If you know of some terrific put-ins, try out the new Google map interface to add in your favorite put-ins. Don't keep them secret, let us all enjoy them.

Click the image below to find some amazing put-ins!

















With the new mapping interface you can view all put-ins in Google Maps! Mapped by GPS location through Google's mapping interface allowing you to see exactly where you are putting in and taking out. You can even get driving directions to the put-in -just enter your address in the start address field and click on a put-in and you'll instantly have directions to your put-in.

Tons of put-ins on the Kish, Nippersink, Des Plaines and Fox rivers as well as many others. Feel free to add your own put-in or email me the details and I'll be sure to add it in.

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Welcome to PaddleAway.com:

A site dedicated to kayakers and canoeists. This site was developed to help paddlers find the information they need to get them out on the water. Illinois has numerous places to paddle and relax. Hopefully this site will help both veteran and novice paddlers alike find great places to paddle.

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What can you do here?

Besides the put-ins list and mapping interface, we have a link to paddling clubs in Illinois, rental links, as well as links to video footage of some local waterways.

Most paddlers will likely be interested in the Put-Ins section which has links to info on the put-in, weather for the specific put-in as well as a link to USGS water data for up-to-date flow and depth levels.

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Upcoming Site Enhancements

(these may take a while ;))
  • Ability to track your trips by creating and saving routes on map
  • Distance between put-ins -on rivers and especially along Lake Michigan lakeshore .
  • Add a video and photo gallery linked to a particular stretch/section of rivers/lakes
  • Allow data to be added and modified from the web by members
  • Link USGS data with geographical coordinates to Google Maps markers
  • Add overlays to google maps easily identifying popular paddling destinations
  • Trip Reports
  • Boat and gear review section
  • Calendar of upcoming paddling trips and events
  • To see what fellow paddlers are interested in, a list of top visited put-ins sorted by popularity
  • Canoe/kayak rentals in close proximity to put-in sites.