MaCKRO News. Message from the Prez MaCKRO Annual Meeting 6:00pm Thursday, Oct. 13 th SeaDog, Bangor OCTOBER 2011

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Abraham Robinson
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1 Publisher Mike Sproul: (207) , 468 Old Portland Rd, Brunswick, ME Editor John Cangelosi: Message from the Prez A year ago at the 2010 MaCKRO Annual Meeting we committed to increasing our efforts with youth. Let the 2011 numbers speak for themselves: Twelve the number of MaCKRO youth paddlers who did enough whitewater races this spring to become Champions and qualify for DR Series awards. (Compared to 8 in 2010 and 5 in 2009.) Four the number of MaCKRO youth who traveled to the Deerfield River in western Mass to compete in the ACA Downriver Open Canoe Nationals. (Compared to 0 in 2010 and 2 in 2009.) Seventeen the number of MaCKRO adult paddlers who partnered with youth in this spring s whitewater races. (A consistent number with recent years.) Many of these 17 adults partnered with youth more than once, creating 33 total adult/youth partnerships. Six the number of MaCKRO youth who competed in enough Thursday evening flatwater events this summer to become Champions and qualify for FW Series awards. (Compared to 1 in 2010 and 4 in 2009.) Twelve the number of youth in Waterville and Orono who participated in the first ever MaCKRO paddling camps. Though many MaCKRO members have participated in making these numbers so impressive, it has taken the dedicated work of a few members working behind the scenes to pull it off. I d like to particularly thank Hillary Alger, Jon Hill, Kristin Gilbert, Sammi Nadeau and Kailey Schmidt for all they ve done this summer to get lots of kids in boats MaCKRO Annual Meeting 6:00pm Thursday, Oct. 13 th SeaDog, Bangor As promised after recent years loooooong annual meetings, I ve made some changes for this year s meeting. The business part of the evening will be limited to reports from the various MaCKRO committees. Since the committees are empowered to make decisions within the parameters established by the Board of Directors, the reports you ll hear at the annual meeting will represent their current plans. Each committee, however, is an extension of the larger membership and if you have any comments or questions you d the committees to consider, please pass them along as fodder for the committees work through the off season. Keeping the reports short and not of the decision-making sort should free up the evening to celebrate our work from 2011 and enjoy the company of fellow paddlers at the end of the season. Please, come join us!! Paddle Hard! Jeff! PAGE 1

2 War Canoes make a Big Splash at Stillwater Events In a new twist at the four Thursday evening events in Orono, the Penobscot Riverkeepers loaned MaCKRO their trailer of six war canoes with paddles and PFDs included. And what a hit they were. Teams were floated from the Orono Land Trust, the University of Maine, Orono High School s GoActive! club, the Orono Old Foggies Network, and Dan Baumert even got a team from his office to come over one night. Having the war canoes on hand allowed the Stillwater events to truly become events for the entire community. There were teams vying for dominance, and there were teams vying to avoid cardiac arrest. There were people paddling hard, people hardly paddling, and even an assortment of passengers. The thing about war canoes is that they can really accommodate just about anybody. (And what great seats from which to watch the MaCKRO flatwater paddlers duke it out!) Thank you, Mike and BJ Maybury, for making these evenings extra special!! Splashes from the WWOCD Nationals ~73 total bibs with 27 coming from MaCKRO members. ~23 medals brought home by MaCKRO members. ~President Owen gave his wife Susannah her first whitewater swimming lesson during the Mixed Sprint. She came out smiling and said it wasn t that bad. ~It was also a kayak championship, and MaCKRO member Bruce Weik competed in both long and short kayaks and placed in both events. ~Overall fastest boats were: F14 C-1 Jeff Owen (1:05:26) F14 C-2 Jeff Owen / Steve Woodard (1:03:10) F16 C-1 Charley Brackett (1:08:24) F16 C-2 Terese Wheeler / Travis Wheeler (1:06:34) Short Kayak Bruce Weik (1:10:20) Long Kayak Mark Wendolowski (course record, 56:38) Continued next page! PAGE 2

3 Capital Campaign MaCKRO is embarking in its first ever capital campaign. We re seeking $28,000 to facilitate the following three projects: 1. The purchase and/or construction of 10 youth racing boats for use with the racing clubs we ll be developing. Currently we re investigating a MaCKRO Sprint Club (using ICF-type boats) and a less formal MaCKRO Downriver Club (using whitewater rec boats). 2. The purchase of materials for the construction of a 24 x40 storage facility. I ve secured a verbal agreement with Orono High School to build the storage facility on the high school s property. The facility would provide secure, covered storage for MaCKRO s boats and trailer, Orono High s boats and trailer, and the school s outdoor education equipment (mountain bikes, snow shoes, and XC skis). And the footprint is also large enough to have sufficient space for a repair shop to work on the equipment. Once we have the money in hand, I ll work with the school board to formalize the agreement. 3. The creation of a travel fund to assist MaCKRO youth who want to travel to regional and national paddling events. Gary Brooks is taking the lead on this financial campaign and I m sure he would value assistance from anyone willing to help out. Stillwater River Youth Clinic! PAGE 3

4 MaCKRO Membership Committee Notes 2011 Committee: Bob Miller, Hillary Alger, and Jon Hill 2011 Stats Members New Members - 51 Lifetime Members - 5 s addresses on file MaCKRO group likes on Facebook members - 85 Committee suggestions for 2012 More outreach to past members Outreach for new members at races Membership confirmation letter/card sent as soon as we receive the application! PAGE 4

5 2011 Downriver Point Series Championship In this year's point series we had 31 paddlers qualify, including 13 youth members. The format was similar to recent years, with paddlers needing to participate in 6 of the 10 series races in any race class, and points awarded based on place of finish. Downriver Champions Class Champion 2nd Place 3rd Place Canoe Man Jeff Owen Matt Dingle Clayton Cole Canoe Senior Terry Wescott - - Kayak Man Emmanuel Boss Ray Wirth John Carter Kayak Woman Leslie Gregory - - There were no qualifiers in the Canoe Woman and Kayak Senior classes. Youth Downriver Champions All youth members qualifying are recognized as champions. Congratulations to all of you, and we look forward to seeing you next year. Alex Introne Chris Introne Paul Robinson Laurie Hamilton Max Dingle Kailey Schmidt Eliot Lamb Dan Perry Isaac Arabadjis Sammi Nadeau Yuval Boss Ben Koehler Cal Hamilton Paddle with a Kid Challenge In several races experienced racers were asked to team up with a youth paddler, and many answered the call. This is a great way to get new paddlers over the hump of their first race, and most of the "kids" went on to paddle solo or with other youth as the season progressed. Thanks to all those who helped out. Special thanks to our sponsors: Epic Sports, Old Town Canoe. Visit MaCKRO.org for complete DR point series results.! PAGE 5

Looking Ahead to the 2012 Downriver Season The members of the Whitewater Committee (Ander Thebaud, Clayton Cole, Tammy Kelley and me, Chris Dalton) have been hard at work on the 2012 Downriver Point

6 Looking Ahead to the 2012 Downriver Season The members of the Whitewater Committee (Ander Thebaud, Clayton Cole, Tammy Kelley and me, Chris Dalton) have been hard at work on the 2012 Downriver Point Series. While this year's point series had solid participation, we'll be making some changes to the rules and the schedule with the goal of increasing the number of qualifiers and participation in general. The biggest change we're contemplating is a shift to a shorter, more concentrated series that has the duration and feel of a sports season. We're planning for 8 races over 8 weeks, finishing before Memorial Day. Historically, the early season races have been well attended, but the numbers fall off sharply after the Kenduskeag, and by the last series race it's summertime and few people are present to claim their prizes. By keeping the series in the spring we're hoping to maintain the pace and intensity of the April rush, and will be working to boost participation at the smaller series races. More details to follow at the annual meeting. Lastly, we'd like to mark the end of the series with fun event where paddlers and their friends/families can celebrate their accomplishments. Dan Baumert K1 bragging rights race Stillwater River, Orono! PAGE 6

MaCKRO Flatwater 2011 Series Committee Report and Recommendations for 2012 The 2011 flatwater series Thursday evening races were successful and seemed to generate more interest in flatwater racing

7 MaCKRO Flatwater 2011 Series Committee Report and Recommendations for 2012 The 2011 flatwater series Thursday evening races were successful and seemed to generate more interest in flatwater racing and paddling overall. The addition of the Penobscot River Keepers providing war canoes for paddlers especially generated more local participation at the races on the Stillwater in Orono. Total attendance of all the eight races combined was nearly 350 paddlers resulting in approximately 1,500 river miles! Even though there was no registration fee for these races free will donations exceeded $400! The youth workshops coordinated by Jeff Owen associated with three of the Stillwater Thursday flatwater events was also successful in getting new young paddlers introduced to the sport and improving their paddling skills. Detailed results of the 2011 flatwater series can be found on the MaCRKO website. Highlights of the flatwater series are shown below. Flatwater Series Overall Men: 1) Dan Baumert, Jon Hill 2) Clayton Cole, Bill Deighan 3) Chris Dalton Women: 1) Hillary Alger Youth: 1) Sammi Nadeau 2) Kaily Schmidt, Alexander Introne, Chris Introne, Elliot Lamb, Crystal Nason Senior 60+: 1)Bob Miller 2) Terry Wescott 3) Bill Anderson C2/K2 Bragging Rights C2 Men: 1) Jeff Owen/Rod McLain 2)Clayton Cole/Bill Deighan 3) Greg Morrow/Bill Anderson C2 Youth: 1) Elliot Lamb/Alex Introne 2) Dan Perry/Chris Introne 3) Andrew Holt/Sam Martinelli K2: 1) Hillary Alger/Jon Hill 2) Crystal Nason/Clint Cushman C1/K1 Bragging Rights C1 Men: 1) Barry Dana 2) Chris Francis 3) Clayton Cole C1 Youth: 1) John Goulet 2) Chris Introne 3) Alex Introne C1 Senior 60+: 1) Bill Anderson 2) Don Wescott K1 Men: 1) Eric McNett 2) Fred Ludwig 3) Jon Hill K1 Women: 1) Hillary Alger 2) Roberta McLain K1 Youth: 1) Cyrstal Nason Crystal Nason was the overall flatwater qualifier drawing winner for the $50 gift certificate. Yuval Boss was the drawing winner of the combined white water/flatwater end of the year Penobscot 17 youth winner. Thanks to all who participated in the Thursday races for a great 2011 season! continued next page! PAGE 7

For 2012 the current flatwater committee generally recommends the continuation of the Thursday evening race format for the MaCKRO flatwater series.

8 For 2012 the current flatwater committee generally recommends the continuation of the Thursday evening race format for the MaCKRO flatwater series. Following are some considerations the current flatwater committee has indentified that should be considered for Continue the availability of war canoes at the Orono races. Simplify the point system, base it on attendance only and not make attending bragging rights races mandatory for qualifying for overall series. Try to include northern and southern Maine in at least one race (4 races in Orono and 4 races at the following potential locations; Skowhegan, Waterville, Houlton, Brunswick, Belfast). Add bragging rights race for surf skis, ICF kayaks, standup paddle boards (SUP) possibly at Brunswick. Get another new sponsor for the faltwater series. Reach out to all other weekend flatwater races to offer assistance or advice. Encourage MaCKRO membership participation in the weekend races. Develop T-shirts specific for flatwater races (i.e. sleeveless, specific logo). Looking forward to an exciting 2012 flatwater series!! Dan Baumert 2011 Flatwater Series Chairman War canoes and C1 K1 bragging rights race Stillwater River, Orono! PAGE 8

9 Feature Story ACA Downriver Open Canoe National Championships Zoar Gap, July 14-17, 2011 My name is John (JD) Goulet. I am 16 years old and this year I entered in the white water nationals on the Zoar Gap stretch of the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts. I had run most of the downriver circuit in Maine with my partner Christopher Deane in the Jr/Sr open canoe recreation class. This was our third year racing together. We had also entered in the Dead River championships, and wow what a wild ride! We arrived at Zoar Gap late Thursday morning just as the Mens Tandem race was getting under way. We decided to hop in and do a practice run. We found that there is three ways to run Zoar right, center and left, we practiced the sneak chute river right. Friday, the day of the sprints, we decided to just pound down the center, which is a faster but wetter route, and yes we got wet. It made for a hard paddle to the finish, we were carrying a lot of water. Earlier that morning Jeff Owen had urged me to do a sprint in the MaCKRO solo Penobscot 16. (He had brought along hoping someone would use it.) I had never paddled by myself so when we hustled back up to the start I realized I was going to learn how to handle a canoe pretty quickly if I didn't want to get wet. Chris and I had agreed on me taking the sneak chute but when I approached the Gap, Chris got my attention and told me to run the center. (Later he told me the water was lower and there wasn t enough to get through the sneak chute.) I was thinking, "oh-yea-great-no-prob-this-is-going-to-bedisastrous." But I kept it upright and at the bottom did a nice 360 for the crowd and headed for the finish. It was intentional, kind of. The C-1 sprint had gone well enough that on Saturday I decided to run in the men s C-1 downriver race in the16-18 year old class, and I had another clean run. Then on Sunday, Chris and I entered in the Jr/Sr downriver, the race that we had originally came for. Our competition was Laurie Hamilton and Clayton Cole and I have to say they kept us moving the whole race. When we reached Zoar Gap we took the sneak chute and ran the bow up onto the shore. Chris immediately pulled the stern in to keep from getting sideways and I stood up and gave a little push. The canoe straightened out and we were on our way again but we had lost some time and Laurie and Clayton were very close behind. Luckily they took on a lot of water, so it gave us some time to regain our composure and race to the finish. We took first in the sprints and the downriver races, and the whole event was a great experience and I would encourage all teenagers to give it a try. I hope next year to give it another shot and hope to see more kids my age out there. I want to thank Chris Deane and all the time and effort he put into the sport to paddle with me. Also I want to thank Jeff Owen for encouraging me to use the MaCKRO C-1 and for all he is doing to get more youth into the sport. As Dan Littlefield would say, just keep leaning on it! J.D.! PAGE 9

10 Youth Outreach Committee Report 1.We d like to thank all MaCKRO adults who paddled with kids this year. Our work with youth, particularly in the whitewater season, is completely dependent upon the willingness of our members to volunteer to partner with kids. So, THANK YOU, and please keep a kid in your boat as often as possible! 2.MaCKRO Youth Corporation MaCKRO s Board of Directors decided to officially pursue the creation of another corporation, to be owned by MaCKRO and devoted solely to youth paddling outreach. Such a corporation would have 501c3 status making contributions to our efforts with youth tax deductible. 3.MaCKRO First-ever Youth Paddling Camps MaCKRO volunteers hosted camps of two different sorts this year in an effort to discover what it would take to offer such a thing more formally. Waterville camp, hosted by Kristin Gilbert, Hillary Alger, and Jon Hill,met after school on five Tuesdays in the Spring. Six kids and four adults paddled on the Messalonskee in racing canoes and kayaks. All the equipment was borrowed from MaCKRO members. The highlight was a four canoe sprint race with a photo finish! No one dumped!! The Orono camp met on three Thursday afternoons in the summer and was hosted by Hillary Alger, Jon Hill, Sammi Nadeau, Kailey Schmidt, and Jeff Owen. Two of the days featured Sprint racing using the boats designed by Jon and built by Jeff. The third day featured marathon paddling in MaCKRO s flatwater boats. All said, 12 kids had fun in boats and we learned a lot about what a successful paddling camp would involve. (Side note Jon is redesigning the Youth Boat and we ll have some new prototypes in the works for next year.) 4.We NEED insiders at middle and high schools to work from within to generate paddling interest and clubs. If you work at a school or know a paddler who does, please take some action to help MaCKRO s Youth Outreach volunteers get more schools involved in our programs. Photo by Jeff Owen! PAGE 10

11 MaCKRO Classified Ads Baldwin Downriver Kayak 13 2,31 lbs. Pretty good shape. Asking $549. Call Larry Merrill at Fenn Mako 6 Carbon/Kevlar weave Surf Ski kayak Built in South Africa. Very fast kayak designed for ocean racing, great flat water kayak as well. Sit on Top model with cockpit venturi's for automatic water draining. 21 feet long by 17 inches wide. Has under-stern rudder for steering by use of foot pedals in the cockpit model. New epoxy paint job. Previously had a clear coat which was a little foggy looking from sun exposure. There was no clear coat cracking or failure, just painted for cosmetic reasons. There is no damage to the boat. Only minor scratches or blemishes were sanded out in the paint process. I can detailed photographs if you are interested. $ Call Michael at Seda Glider Kayak 19, 55 lbs, Kevlar. A fast sea kayak. Two time winner at Yarmouth, one time winner at Tour de Verona. Hatches, overstern rudder. $ jonwhill@roadrunner.com or call: Jon Hill at QCC 600x Kayak Kevlar carbon construction, paddled once. Flip up rudder. Very fast with 21" beam and light at 42 pounds. Lists for $3975, will sell for $2875. Contact Rick Swan at Perception Canoe Saddle Allows sitting or straddling while kneeling in the center of a canoe. Internal watertight storage compartment. $50. jonwhill@roadrunner.com or call: Jon Hill at Epic surfskis, kayaks, and paddles Demo models. All in great shape. Eric McNett at milkywaydrifter@yahoo.com Fenn Double Surfski 24.5 long, 19 wide. Very fast. Fiberglass layup. $ Eric McNett at milkywaydrifter@yahoo.com! PAGE 11

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13 ! 468 Old Portland Rd, Brunswick, ME Thank You! to our sponsors!! PAGE 13

Message from the President

MaCKRO News Publisher Mike Sproul: (207) 449-0452, 468 Old Portland Rd, Brunswick, ME 04011 Editor John Cangelosi: mackronews@gmail.com Message from the President As I write this it is still February and