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FLASH: 2nd ANNUAL SUPER BOWL PADDLE & PARTY
date: Sunday, February 6, 2005
place: Party at Harriet & Fritz's in Fairhope, paddle to be announced later
comments: You don't have to paddle to attend the party - details about time, what to bring, paddle location and directions will follow at a later date. Mark this one on your calendars, so you will not miss it. Last year's paddle/party was legendary, including the food, fun and halftime costume malfunction!

DECEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS
prepared by Bruce Zimmerman


Bob Andrews Memorial Adventure Event
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2004
Time: 3:00 PM
Contact: Larry McDuff 928-1582
Place: Fairhope Yacht Club
Comments: This is not a race; everybody wins. Pairs of participants will go separately at the same time. One will paddle a boat from Fairhope Yacht Club to Rock Creek and stop where a kayak will be tied up. Bring a bowline to secure your boat since there is little river bank sand left after the storm. The paddler will walk or run up the creek and trail to a meeting place near the Montrose post office. The other person in the pair of participants rides a bicycle to the same meeting place. Switch off. The paddler becomes the bike rider and rides the bike to the yacht club. The other person walks or runs to the kayak and paddles back to the yacht club. Larry needs responses from anyone wishing to participate. He also needs some helpers on the course.

Styx River Paddle
Date: December 11, 2004
Time: 9 a.m.
Place: Meet at the Oasis Truck Stop and shuttle to the put in, which may be Steel Bridge.
Contact: Marc Vance, (251) 458-7574
Comments: Styx River has a drop that may be Class I or Class II depending on the river stage. If you have the boat for it (spray skirt), this is fun. If not you can portage around the drop over a rock shelf and maybe borrow a boat to try the drop.

Econfina Creek
Date: Sunday, December 12, 2004
Time: 7:30 AM
Place: Meet at Oasis Truck Stop on I-10 at Wilcox Road exit 53
Contact: Sonya Wood Mahler- 709-7588 (cell)
Comments: We will travel to Hwy 20 & Hwy 77 north of Panama City. The Econfina Creek is the source of drinking water for the city of Panama City, FL. It is a brown, slow-moving creek with crystal clear springs feeding into it along the way. The banks of the creek are rolling hills of loose sand, often hundreds of feet deep. Intermixed with the hills are dozens of shallow, sand-bottomed lakes that have extremely clear water.

We will put in at Hwy 20, go upstream to Pitt Spring, Williford Spring and Blue Spring. Then we will go downstream past our put-in to several large springs, down to Hwy 388, and back up to Hwy 20 by 4:00 PM.

If interested, you may transport your kayak on Sonya's trailer for $10 or rent a kayak from her for $40. Please contact Sonya by Wed., December 8th, to arrange for a rental and get a headcount. If you are renting, give her your height and weight, so she can choose the right boat for you.

This is a beginner-friendly paddle with some upriver paddling. It will be good for snorkeling, so you may want to bring fins, mask and with 70 degree water, a wetsuit jacket.

Be sure to bring: towel, jacket, polartec or sweatshirt, hat, sunglasses, water shoes, camera, lunch, drinks, PFD and change of clothes. Sonya will bring: first aid supplies, bottled water, maps to the put-in site and of the creek.

For further general information, call Bob Andrews - 251-367-4144 cell

Big Lagoon
Date: Saturday, December 18, 2004
Time: TBA
Place: Leaving from Big Lagoon State Park
Contact: Larry McDuff 928-1582
Comments: Over night campout on the Johnsons Beach National Seashore

Matt's Monet Paddle
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Place: Buzbee's Fish Camp
Contact: Matt Darring 463-8523 or iama@backpacker.com
Comments: This may be the last one since Matt has been doing this for a year.


2nd Annual Super Bowl Sunday Paddle and Party
Date: Sunday, February 6, 2005
Time: TBA
Place: TBA
Contact: Harriet
Comments: More details at the next meeting. - Paddle to be announced. Party at Harriet and Fritz's following the Paddle. You don't have to paddle to attend the party.

News and notes:

Our December meeting was well attended, with 31 members. The Bayou LaFourche paddle that Tom went on in November, was fully booked with 170 paddlers! The route on Bayou LaFourche started at Donaldsonville, LA and ended 54 miles downstream. Each night the group was greeted by local families who provided Cajun feasts and live music. This extraordinary event happens around the second weekend in November, so you may need to get a reservation far in advance. Marc Vance gave us a rundown of what rivers in northwest Florida are cleared after the Chainsaw Paddles: Juniper Creek, Escambia Creek, Blackwater, Coldwater Creek, Boiling Creek are cleared. Clearing Turkey Creek is still in progress.