Narragansett Chapter Flatwater Activities

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Outdoors.org Listings Flatwater Paddles

General Notices

Paddling Participation Requirements

The Flatwater Committee of the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club runs several flatwater paddling trips during the warmer season. Most beginners are welcome on flatwater trips.

These trips generally involve paddling on calmer water, although some wind and current is usually encountered. If you have some paddling experience and feel comfortable in and have basic skills getting into/out of, turning and controlling a canoe/kayak, you can get involved in our activities by simply watching the the Narragansett Chapter AMC Gansett Gazette or this web site for future trips and getting in touch with the leader. It is helpful to have your own boat and equipment, however, even if you don't, in some cases it may be possible to get put in touch with a more experienced person who has a canoe and needs a partner. The chapter also has kayaks available to rent. If you have never been in a canoe/kayak before, it is probably best that you try our basic instruction workshop (usually held in the Spring or Summer) before attempting a trip. Trips involving faster currents are sometimes referred to as "Quickwater" and generally require more experience. Canoes, sea kayaks and kiwis are all welcome on most flatwater trips, subject to leader's judgment. For more info, contact the trip leader, or the Chapter flatwater subchair Linda Pease

Notice

Paddler Advisory: We are not offering our usual all day-all encompassing paddle safety program this year. We are only offering rescue practice on weekday evenings – see write ups. We always recommend that our members join sister organizations such as RICKA which offers great paddling opportunities. Membership is only $15. Check them out at www.ricka.org. You may want to sign up for RICKA’s paddling class, but you must be a RICKA member. Many of our members already belong to RICKA,so you’ll always see familiar faces. Learn the strokes and maneuvers that give you efficient control of your boat on flatwater. The 3-hour class will also cover basic rescue techniques. Even if you can’t make the class, you can always learn good paddling techniques paddling with them and discover places to paddle that we won't get to this year.
Linda Pease
Flatwater Subchair

Reference Information for Flatwater Paddling

Chapter Rentals Available

Recreational Kayaks - Contact either Linda Pease 351-2234 (Prov) or Steve Morra 231-5365 (Johnston) for directions/arrangements to pick up/return kayaks. RENTALS are $8 per day w/all related equipment. The two AMC owned kayaks are rented to members only (Acadia and Santa Cruze listed below). AMC kayaks can be rented for Non-AMC paddles by AMC paddlers in good standing as long as there are no conflicts with AMC scheduled events.

Perception Acadia kayak - Steve Morra With Life Jacket, Paddle, Skirt & Car Carrier
Necky Santa Cruze Kayak - Linda Pease With Life Jacket, Paddle, Skirt & Car Carrier

Personally owned kayaks/canoes (3)are available on a case by case basis to be negotiated with Linda or Steve and availability is subject to change. Rental fee is $8 per day.

Sea Kayaks - The Chapter has available two fully equipped sea kayaks for rental. The rental rates are $8/day. The rentals are cheap because the purpose is to get members hooked on paddling so they will buy their own sea kayak. If you have rented our recreational kayaks and think that you are ready to try out a sea kayak, now you have a chance to expand your capabilities and experience a faster smoother paddle. For members who have paddled sea kayaks but don't have their own kayak yet, now you can join our paddles.

You should contact Mike Krabach (333-5350) in Cumberland or Linda Pease (351-2234) in Providence about renting. The kayaks are for use on AMC sponsored events where a qualified leader is present. For open water paddles the renter will need to have the same qualifications as any other sea kayaker. Having performed a wet exit with a spray skirt is one of the requirements. For flatwater paddles involving lakes, ponds or river activities, the skirt will not be used and the wet exit requirement can be waived by the paddle leader. The sea kayaks are:

Both kayaks have skegs. Since these are full size kayaks the renter will have to arrange transportaion to the launch site with a car that has a top rack. These do not need to be full kayak cradles and rollers, but two cross bar racks are required. Custom foam pads are available for seating the kayaks on the bar racks. We will supply tie down straps, and fore and rear safety ropes. Currently the kayaks are stored in Cumberland.

Trip Report, 10 Mile River Paddle, May 29, 2009

A great group of folks paddled the Ten Mile River in Pawtucket on Saturday May 23, led by Antoinette & Herrick. We met at the Pawtucket Country Club, where we left our boats and headed off for shuttle duty...The paddle starts with hardly any current, no wind and a wide berth along the edge of the golf course. Herrick led us past one lone swan who wandered around on the opposite side. The river twists and turns gently, becoming more forested and wild. Read the full article by Shannon Kelley. A Kayak Trip Down the Ten Mile River

Leadership Requirements

The overall AMC Leadership Requirements and Guidelines will apply to all our leaders.
Members should do two co-leads and one lead with another leader.
Leaders should know one rescue technique, preferably two. If they can't do a self rescue, they need to at least be able to do an assisted rescue in their first year. In their second year, they should work on learning their self rescue, or preferably two rescues.
If offered, the co-leaders and leaders should attend training if offered on a yearly basis.

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