We had a huge crowd for the first club paddle of 2009. Final tally, 31 boats and 33 people. Our flotilla included sea kayaks, long and short recreational kayaks, canoes, sit on top kayaks of various lengths and one wooden contraption that I forgot the name of.

The paddlers were as diverse as the boats. We had experienced club members, new paddlers to our group with experience, new club members with little experience, younger club members with paddling experience and younger paddlers with very little experience. It was an amazing to see 31 boats being launched two and three at a time as fast as we could clear a spot. It was a real group effort and went it went quickly and efficiently. Watching it you would have thought that it was a group of old pros instead of the mixed group we had.

The trip ended up being nearly six and half miles and the paddling time was two hours and forty-five minutes. We paddled through Sparkleberry Flats, down Mill Creek to Sparkleberry Lake, from there we followed Jack's Creek until we came out on Pack's Lake and paddled across it to the long unnamed island on the east side of the lake where we stopped for lunch. (More on food to come). After lunch we paddled up the east side of Pack's Lake through the trees and out on to Sparkleberry Lake and took another nice trip through the trees to the bottom of Sparkleberry Flats and back to the landing. The wild life was in short supply this time out but we did spot a few birds and some horrible looking swamp creature climbing up a tree. Someone said that it looked a lot like our Jeffrey Day. We encouraged it to jump and Jonathan Wrightson even attempted to remove the nice new kayak lodged beneath the tree so the creature won't get hurt. But it apparently didn't understand southern English and after watching it for several minutes we decided to leave it alone and continued our trip.

Thanks to Linda Gray for leading the way (always follow the yellow SOT) and our Safety Officer Bruce Monson for paddling sweep. They both did a great job keeping our large group together even when we were wandering about. Also special congratulations to all of the other paddlers, if the conversations and smiles were any indication I would say everyone had a great time. Now some special thanks. To Joe, Jonathan and Victoria Wrightson for bring jelly filled doughnuts and putting them out by the sign up sheet. To Elona Rhame for calling me the night before and asking me what I wanted on the club sandwich she was bring me as a way of saying thanks for the extra boat I was bring so her friend Catherine Sawyer could paddle with us. Thanks to Larry Fernandez and Catherine Sawyer for coming with Elona so she some with a sense of direction would be in the car. Thanks one more time to Catherine Sawyer for the homemade ginger cookies and thanks to everyone else for making it one dang fine day on the water. And despite the many thanks, I really didn't have anything to do with the cloudless sky and the temperature being in the high 60s on February 7th.

Trip Coordinator
Michael E. Hollis

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