Newsletter 6
6/2/04
Dear Southland Sea Kayakers
We have a very successful Skills Course last weekend at Monowai. Mark and Kevin organised a very professional course and we all learned lots of exciting skills. We based ourselves at the Monowai Holiday Camp which proved to be an excellent venue. On Saturday morning we went to the pool on the river nearby and practised various paddling strokes. Some of our members
capsized in their enthusiasm. The afternoon session was at the pool at Blackmount and concentrated on Group and self rescue. Again this was a superb session. Near the end of the session some of us practised eskimo rolling. Mark then had a discussion on paddles and kayaks. Interestingly nearly all the kayaks were plastic. We had 2 glass kayaks, 1 folding kayak and 1 plastic ones. Saturday night I chaired a talk on "Trip Planning". On Sunday we went on a paddle up Lake Monowai to Rogers Inlet Hut. We had a interesting look at group dynamics and safety techniques like towing. At the end of the trip the Tara led the way by practising a self rescue in the
lake. Other brave people to do so were Terry, Noel and Mark. Out thanks go to Mark and Terry for an excellent course.
Mark Robertson of OSKA attended and was enthusiastic about fostering joint trips / forums and I intend to follow up on this.
We were to have a mid February trip but unfortunately Kevin is tied up with work then. If anyone else is keen to lead a trip please get in touch with me. I am off climbing for the next two weeks so will be out of circulation.
I was hoping in March to get back up to Monowai to practice these skills again so if anyone who missed out is keen to learn get in touch with me.
Our committee members are as follows:
Matt Sillars: advise on kayaks and associated equipment - [email protected]
Terry Macnamara: network website - [email protected]
Belinda Mulvany: social and evening meetings - [email protected]
Stanley Mulvany: chairperson/secretary and contact person - [email protected]
Mark Aplin: skills coordinator until June - [email protected]
Kevin Pasco: skills organiser after Mark leaves - [email protected]
Terry has done an amazing job with our web site and has posted lots of
photos of our skill weekend so check it out:
sskn.uniformnz.com
Noel has sent me the following information on VHF radios
Hi Stan. This is the info you asked me to send you.
If you're using a VHF radio via the repeater channels,
e.g.. Channel 61, 63, 65 you need to belong to the association that
own and runs the repeaters.
The organisation is:
Southland Maritime VHF Users Association,
PO Box 844, Invercargill.
Ph (03) 218 6179.
Fax (03) 218 2238.
This is an excellent service available to us who use a VHF radio.
The very reasonable annual subscription of $20.00 is some thing I think we
should be happy to pay.
It is very valuable for us to be able to check in and out when going for a
paddle.
I tend to paddle alone a lot and is very comforting to know some one will
know if you're not back on time. Or some one to call if trouble strikes
and you need help.
There is a $20.00 joining fee The 1st time plus the annual subscription
but very cheap for the safety net these channels provide.
Should be a good weekend coming up, Noel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly it has been suggested we post a list of members and their addresses on our web site to be accessible by password only to network members. How do members feel about this? Before I do this I will need permission from every member to be included on the web site list. Please also tell me what contact address you want. I would suggest your email address and your home phone
number.
Safe kayaking
Stanley
Dear Southland Sea Kayakers
We have a very successful Skills Course last weekend at Monowai. Mark and Kevin organised a very professional course and we all learned lots of exciting skills. We based ourselves at the Monowai Holiday Camp which proved to be an excellent venue. On Saturday morning we went to the pool on the river nearby and practised various paddling strokes. Some of our members
capsized in their enthusiasm. The afternoon session was at the pool at Blackmount and concentrated on Group and self rescue. Again this was a superb session. Near the end of the session some of us practised eskimo rolling. Mark then had a discussion on paddles and kayaks. Interestingly nearly all the kayaks were plastic. We had 2 glass kayaks, 1 folding kayak and 1 plastic ones. Saturday night I chaired a talk on "Trip Planning". On Sunday we went on a paddle up Lake Monowai to Rogers Inlet Hut. We had a interesting look at group dynamics and safety techniques like towing. At the end of the trip the Tara led the way by practising a self rescue in the
lake. Other brave people to do so were Terry, Noel and Mark. Out thanks go to Mark and Terry for an excellent course.
Mark Robertson of OSKA attended and was enthusiastic about fostering joint trips / forums and I intend to follow up on this.
We were to have a mid February trip but unfortunately Kevin is tied up with work then. If anyone else is keen to lead a trip please get in touch with me. I am off climbing for the next two weeks so will be out of circulation.
I was hoping in March to get back up to Monowai to practice these skills again so if anyone who missed out is keen to learn get in touch with me.
Our committee members are as follows:
Matt Sillars: advise on kayaks and associated equipment - [email protected]
Terry Macnamara: network website - [email protected]
Belinda Mulvany: social and evening meetings - [email protected]
Stanley Mulvany: chairperson/secretary and contact person - [email protected]
Mark Aplin: skills coordinator until June - [email protected]
Kevin Pasco: skills organiser after Mark leaves - [email protected]
Terry has done an amazing job with our web site and has posted lots of
photos of our skill weekend so check it out:
sskn.uniformnz.com
Noel has sent me the following information on VHF radios
Hi Stan. This is the info you asked me to send you.
If you're using a VHF radio via the repeater channels,
e.g.. Channel 61, 63, 65 you need to belong to the association that
own and runs the repeaters.
The organisation is:
Southland Maritime VHF Users Association,
PO Box 844, Invercargill.
Ph (03) 218 6179.
Fax (03) 218 2238.
This is an excellent service available to us who use a VHF radio.
The very reasonable annual subscription of $20.00 is some thing I think we
should be happy to pay.
It is very valuable for us to be able to check in and out when going for a
paddle.
I tend to paddle alone a lot and is very comforting to know some one will
know if you're not back on time. Or some one to call if trouble strikes
and you need help.
There is a $20.00 joining fee The 1st time plus the annual subscription
but very cheap for the safety net these channels provide.
Should be a good weekend coming up, Noel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly it has been suggested we post a list of members and their addresses on our web site to be accessible by password only to network members. How do members feel about this? Before I do this I will need permission from every member to be included on the web site list. Please also tell me what contact address you want. I would suggest your email address and your home phone
number.
Safe kayaking
Stanley