Dear Fellow Paddlers,

Inside tonight's issue of the Bow & Stern you will find reports from club officers, a trip report, announcements of upcoming events, and the tentative Whitewater Schedule. But, what I want all of you to look for is what's not there that you might like the Bow & Stern to have. We haven't changed the format for a long time, and perhaps some of you club members have some suggestions on how to improve the newsletter, making it more useful, informative or fun. If so, let me know.

See you on the river,
Larry Thomson

The June potluck supper meeting, held on Wednesday, June 16 was called to order by President Al Roberts at 7:30 p.m. Al welcomed all in attendance and thanked Margaret and George McIntosh for doing an excellent job on the dinner for the second year.

The committee reports are as follows:

Peter Alden, White Water Chairperson, thanked all trip leaders for a very successful season. There were a record number of trips this past Spring.

Ray Gonda, White Water Training Chairperson, reported this year's class had 51 participants in the classroom and 40 on the river. Specials thanks to all instructors for making this another successful year.

Editor of the Bow and Stern, Larry Thomson, thanked the typing staff and George Agnew for arranging the printing of the newsletter for such a reasonable cost. He also announced there would be no formal limerick contest this year. The entries are in the Bow and Stern between trip reports. Let's try again next year.

Co-chairpersons for the summer events, Brian Kooiker and Brenda Clarkson, announced the completed schedule is in the Bow and Stern. They reminded members if you are interested in a trip, please call the trip leader a few days before the trip.

OLD BUSINESS

Al Roberts spoke on the club incorporating. An insurance agent that Al spoke with said it would be cheaper for trip leaders to increase their homeowners insurance than for the club to incorporate. Also, a representative of the Green Mountain Club was contacted, and he indicated the major reason for the GMC incorporating was for tax purposes.

Al also gave a brief status on the following dams:

Pontook Dam: The matter will soon be in court. The defense fund reports it has sufficient funds to defend their position.

The dam on the Lower Lamoille has been shelved for the time being.

Chase Mill: Barb Kehaya, who is a resident of Winooski, discussed the fact that the Winooski is a "working river". In addition to residents from Winooski, people from Burlington, Colchester, and So. Burlington should be concerned as the Winooski has several sewage treatment plants on it. Immediate concern is for the hearings being held with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

NEW BUSINESS

None

Meeting was adjourned and followed by the films, Fast and Clean, and Uncalculated Risk.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Lavigne
Secretary/Treasurer

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Lavigne
Secretary/Treasurer

A meeting of the executive committee was held on Wednesday, January 26. The meeting was called to order at 7:45 p.m. by President Al Roberts. The following members were in attendance:

The minutes of the June meeting and treasurer's report were read and accepted.

Old Business

Al Roberts reported that Pontook Dam on the Androscoggin River is being built.

Al also reported he received a letter asking for a representative from the club to be a contact person in regards to the water diversion tunnel on the West River. If the tunnel were built, the upper stretch would not contain enough water for paddling. There would be less impact to paddlers if the existing dam were fitted for power generation. Peter Alden suggested the club write a resolution stating our position on the tunnel. Ray Gonda will write the resolution and it will be voted on at the March meeting.

Al Stirt will give a general status on dams at the March meeting.

New Business

Peter Alden asked if the club would be interested in T-shirts with the club logo on them. Peter will investigate and report at the March meeting.

The club is missing one throw bag and Al Roberts asked if anyone has it to please return it to him.

A donation was made this past December to the Audubon Society as a memorial gift for a club member who past away. The question was raised as to what club policy should be on memorial gifts. It was decided that it will be at the discretion of the president to decide if a memorial gift should be sent.

Al Roberts announced the chairpersons for the following events:

Al mentioned that the response for day trips during the summer has been poor, but the weekend overnight trips are successful. After some discussion it was agreed that day trips will still run, but if there is no interest in a trip by the preceding Friday, the trip will be cancelled. So if you are interested in a trip, please call early.

Peter Alden will explore the possibility of a joint trip with the Green Mountain Club.

Norm Lavoie reported the Dattilios will cater the March dinner again this year, but the price has risen. It was voted to have the chicken dinner again and the dinner price for 16 and under will be a dollar less than adults.

The whitewater training blackboard and pool session will be on a Saturday again this year. The pool has to be used during spring break at UVM, so the day will be either March 26 or April 2. March 26 is the weekend of the boat show and April 2 is the day before Easter. After much discussion on which was the better day, a resolution was passed choosing March 26 for the blackboard session. However, if any problems arise in scheduling for that day it will be left to the discretion of the whitewater training chair to change to day. The training trip will be on April 9. It was recommended that the following weeks have trips suitable for beginners.

There was no further new business and the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Lavigne
Secretary/Treasurer

A.F.S. (American Field Service) benefit slide show

Tundra journey on the Hamburg-Thelon rivers (Northwest Territories)

With Bill Haines, Charlie Phillips, John Bates.

Thursday, March 24 - 7:30 p.m. Union Elementary School Auditorium, Montpelier.

Adults: $3.00, Students & Senior Citizens: $2.00

The Bow & Stern is sponsoring a Limerick Contest again this Spring. Last year only two Cruisers sent in any offerings, so we are hoping more of you will participate this time around.

Send your limericks or other poems to:

Larry Thomson
P.O. Box 45
Richmond, VT 05477

All entries should be received four weeks prior to the June Supper.

1st Prize: $20.00 gift certificate⁺
2nd Prize: $15.00 ⁺
3rd Prize: $10.00 ⁺

Judging will be on the basis of meter and humor, and the theme of the limericks should relate to paddling. Good luck.

⁺ from Canoe Imports.

Lamoille River - Ten Bends: July 25, 1982

Put in below the power dam below Lake Lamoille. Water level was low -we scraped bottom on the first half dozen riffles. Good current for first half of the trip. Ate lunch on a sandbar. Continued on down toward Johnson, scraping bottom a few more times and took out at the last curve where the river meets Route 15 before heading into Johnson. Nice easy trip for the summer, with pleasant scenery. Took about 3 hours.

Brenda Clarkson

Call for Instructors

Please Respond by March 12

Blackboard and Pool Sessions

The key elements in any successful program lies in the degree of organization of that effort and in the level of interest, enthusiasm and commitment of the individuals engaged in that effort. In the interests of maintaining the long-term vitality of the clinic it is desirable to allow new interested persons the opportunity to contribute their efforts to the program. It is also desirable to retain instructors who are experienced with the program for the sake of continuity. We have had good success the past several years because the level of interest of the instructors has been high. Hopefully instructors would be willing to move in and out of the program and back into it as the years pass.

Interested persons please call me at 862-6164.

River Session

As in previous years we will need all the instructors we can get. From past experience it has proven quite time consuming to attempt to reach all potential river instructors individually by phone in a recruiting effort. Instead it would be very helpful if instructors would call and volunteer their efforts. The river session is expected, organizationally speaking, to run very much like last year. Individual groups would arrive at the river at offset times, put on the river as a self-contained group and stick together for the duration of the day. A group would typically consist of two instructor boats and four student boats. Retaining group integrity is important for safety reasons. A shuttle will be provided to simplify logistics.

Please call Al Roberts or me by March 12.

Post River Session Party

As last year, I will host a slide show/party/bull session the evening of the river session for instructors, students and other contributors to the clinic.

Ray Gonda

As a non-profit public service and as a service to its membership, the NVCC is offering a two-day clinic to introduce the novice canoeist to the fundamentals of whitewater paddling.

The clinic will consist of one day of classroom and pool sessions. The classroom session will cover paddling equipment, river reading, river running techniques, trip leader vs. trip participant responsibilities, protective clothing, and hypothermia. An emphasis will be placed on safety and on the dynamics involved in organized group river running. Following that, a pool session will cover the basic strokes needed for whitewater. The club will provide all the needed materials and equipment for the above sessions.

The second day of the clinic will be spent on a suitable river in the area. The club will provide neither the canoes nor the equipment for this session.

To participate in the pool and river sessions, the student must be competent in flatwater paddling, be a competent swimmer, be in good health and good physical condition.

Although this is a non-profit activity, a contribution estimated to be less than $10 will be collected at the classroom session to cover expenses associated with the clinic. This contribution applies to club members as well as non-members.

Ray Gonda

Please direct inquires to:

Pre-registration by March 30 by phone is required. Class size limited to 36 students.

Whitewater Clinic Schedule
for Saturday April 2

Patrick Gymnasium - UVM

Bring a bag lunch & bathing suit.

EVENING TRIPS ON LOWER LAMOILLE TUES-WEDS-THURS NIGHT DEPENDS ON WATER AND WEATHER; FIRST THREE WEEKS IN MAY. CALL RICH LARSEN (862-6878) OR RAY GONDA (862-6164) OR ALAN ROBERTS (878-3187) FOR DETAILS.

SOME TENTATIVE SUMMER EVENTS:

• JULY 4 AND LABOR DAY WEEKENDS - DEAD RIVER IN MAINE
• JULY 23 CANOEING AND TUBING ON THE LOWER SACANDAGA IN NY

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