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December Club Calendar

Upper Fish River
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Contact: Brint Adams 251-583-9919
Comments: see Flash Paddle above

Northernmost Full Moon Paddle on the lower Mobile-Tensaw River Delta
Major Lunar Standstill cycle puts moon on northernmost track until 2023 CANCELLED
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: TBD
Contact: Bob Andrews 251-367-4177
Comments: Call Bob to sign up, find out the put-in location and leave a number in case weather conditions turn bad. The paddle will be short, followed by dinner somewhere along the Causeway. Bring a light, pfd, warm clothes, etc. for winter night paddling. To check out more details about the high path of the full moon this month and major lunar standstills, go to http://www.earthsky.com/

New Year's Eve on Mobile Bay
Date: Saturday, December 31, 2005
Time: 4:00 PM
Contact: Gene Boothe 251-928-1107
Place: Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL
Comments: Come for a short trip out into Mobile Bay and toast the last sunset of 2005. This will be a short paddle, allowing time to attend other festivities afterwards. The object is to paddle just far enough off shore to get away from land noise and boat traffic, to enjoy the sunset. Bring normal safety gear, including a light to be used as needed for safety, such as alerting power boat traffic, not for normal paddling. Also bring your own toast.

January 2006

7 Rivers in 7 Days Kayak Trip

Date: January 14 - 27, 2006

Day 1: Ichetucknee River (the Itch)
Crystal-clear, spring-fed swift water.
Put in near the headsprings in Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
Red-shouldered hawks & limpkins.

Day 2: Waccasassa River (the Wau)
Tannic water, slow-moving current,
cabbage palm trees lining the banks.
Bald eagles & ospreys. Possibility of a black bear.

Day 3: Rainbow River
Crystal-clear, swift water.
Paddle up the river. Drift dive, snorkel downstream.
Bass, bream, turtles, river otters, little blue herons, & gallinules.

Day 4: Crystal River
Crystal-clear.
Paddle to Three Sisters. Snorkel with manatees there.
Snorkel up the channel to the three springs.

Day 5: Homosassa River (the Sass)
Clear upstream, bluewater downstream. Slow current.
Kayak with manatees & dolphins.
Great Blue Herons, ospreys, egrets, vultures, & blonde raccoons.

Day 6: Chassahowitzka River (the Chaz)
Clear upstream, bluewater downstream. Slow current.
Paddle to headsprings. Kayak with manatees & dolphins.
Roseate spoonbills, white pelicans, wood storks, & vultures.

Day 7: Weeki Wachee River
Crystal-clear, swift water.
Kayak with manatees (downstream) & river otters (upstream).
Red-shouldered hawks, apple snails, & deer.



Coordinated by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System,
Baldwin County Office.
For more information, contact Sonya Wood Mahler,
mahlesw @auburn.edu, cell: 251-709-7588
or Rhonda Bryars, bryarrm @aces.edu, office: 251-937-7176.

This trip is a great opportunity for experienced paddlers, or beginning paddlers who are willing to “cowboy up”! The adventure will take us from north central Florida to the central Gulf coast of Florida. We will stay in a motel in Gainesville the first night and a motel in Crystal River the last seven nights. Participants may opt out of a day of paddling if they want to, so they can take a break or do something else in the area. The whole group will opt out of a day if there are bad thunderstorms that day. Usually in January, during a whole week, we will have one day of nasty rain and one day of light showers. The other days should be gorgeous, but we won’t know which ones those are until a few days before. We will stay tuned to the Weather Channel!

The registration fee of $50.00 covers guide service, insurance, water, snacks, and first aid supplies. Participants will be responsible for their lodging (about $640.00), dinner each night (about $120.00), rental of wetsuit, fins, mask, and snorkel for Rainbow River and Crystal River (about $48.00 total). If you need to rent a kayak from us for the week, the cost is $50.00. If you need us to transport your kayak or a rental kayak on our trailer from the Alabama/Florida state line, that cost is $20.00. If you bring your own kayak, remember to include a paddle and life vest.

We will meet on Saturday, January 14th at 3:00pm in Gainesville, Florida. We will check into our motel and have a strategy meeting at dinner that evening. We will paddle Sunday through Saturday. We will begin the paddle at about 8:30am or at 10:00am each day, and finish up at 3:00pm or 5:00pm. Participants will have the evenings free to freshen up and rest. We will have the opportunity to go out together to eat supper or to a movie. Paddlers could leave Saturday at 3:00pm to start their drive home, or spend one more night and drive home Sunday. Gainesville is about a 6-hour from the Alabama/Florida state line. Crystal River is about a 7-hour drive. Both are in the Eastern time zone.

In Gainesville, we will stay at the Days Inn, located at Exit #387 off of I-75 (Newberry Road or State Road 26). The Days Inn has continental breakfast and a heated pool. Our group rate for a room with two double beds is $44.95 plus tax. Call 352-376-0004 for reservations. Ask for Mike or Carmen and tell them you are with Sonya’s kayak group. Sonya will be staying there January 13th and 14th.

In Crystal River, we will stay at the Comfort Inn, located on Highway 19 near the Crystal River Mall. They have continental breakfast. Our group rate for a room with two double beds is $70.00 plus tax. Call 352-563-1500 for reservations and mention that you are with Sonya’s kayak group. Sonya will be staying there January 15th through 21st, leaving to drive home on the 22nd.

To register, mail in the attached form and your $50.00 registration fee to: Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 7 Rivers in 7 Days, 302A Byrne Street, Bay Minette, AL 36507. Make checks payable to ACES. Include an additional $50.00 if you want to rent a kayak and $20.00 if you want us to transport your kayak. The registration deadline is Thursday, January 5th. Please make your motel reservations by Thursday, December 29th.


December Meeting

The December meeting was held at the Fairhope Yacht Club auxiliary building across the street from the ruined main building. The old boat storage barn was converted and closed in with recycled materials found after Hurricane Katrina. We had a potluck Christmas dinner and a good time was had by all.

Gary Worob announced the following educational program to be started in 2006 and is asking for monetary donations to help fund the program:

George Borne (MBCAKC member extraordinaire) will teach a program in Wooden Boat Building to the older students at the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education, located in Fairhope. The Organic School has been in existence since 1907 and strives to teach the "whole child" and nurture the creative aspects of each child.

The program will start after the New Year and will use "kit boats" to teach each participant building skills as well as a sense of responsibility and pride in their creative talents as they evolve through this wonderful process. Combined with the boat building class will be hands on instruction from members of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program who will volunteer to teach the students marine biology and a better appreciation of the estuaries here along Mobile Bay. They will also build aquariums and learn about water inhabitants.

The students, for a final part of the program, will go out into the bay in their new wooden sailing and rowng boats and explore the estuaries with the help of members of the Mobile Bay Canoe and Kayak Club and also learn boating safety. Parents will be encouraged to participate in all phases of this program.

In order to ensure the success of this program, I am asking that you strongly consider contributing financially to its success. Your contribution is TAX DEDUCTIBLE, and I will match your donation dollar for dollar.

Please make your check to:

Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education
8 Marietta Drive
Fairhope, AL 36532

Earmark the check to: Boatbuilding Program

Thank you very much,

Gary I. Worob