Paddlers needed!!
Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival June 9th
There’s still room in the boat. Help us fill it!
paddlers’ blog
First Paddles of 2018!
The HHP 2018 season got off to a good start on May 28th this year, with approx. 15 am paddlers & 14 pm paddlers, plus three coaches! Feeling a bit rusty but glad to be out on the water again as paddlers and coaches got back “in the groove” after a long winter lay off (with the exception of course, of the dedicated IB folks!). A few new technical paddling modifications to be observed this season, so listen closely to our expert COACHES (no, they didn’t ask for this plug!). First Festival comes up on June 9th at Peterborough – check website – still a few seats left in our boat (if it’s not too late)! GO HALIBURTON!!
Here’s to another great Paddling season!
The Susannah Foo is launched!
The Susannah Foo was launched at 11:00 a.m. today, May 17th. It was an extremely smooth launch thanks to the expert driving skills of Tony Taylor. We had Lois Deacon steering with Ginny Carmichael, Chris Whittemore, Cathy Meades, Carolyn Ellis and Heather Taylor paddling. Phil Meades and Tony Taylor stayed on shore.
Practice starts May 28th.
Make sure you check your email before each practice for cancellations.
Many hours of hard work went into getting the “Foo” ready for another season.
She looks Great!
Coming into the dock for the first time in the 2018 paddle season.
Launch 11 am May 17 2018
Yesterday afternoon, the prep work for the Foo was completed. The exposed wood now has 7+ coats of varnish, the bottom received a coat of anti-fouling paint and the floor has a new coat of white deck paint. She’s looking good and ready to go.
To Phil, Tony and those of you who made time to help out, a real big thank you. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and helpful in getting ready for the coming season.
PADDLES UP!
Our start date is: Monday May 28th, 7:00 am OR 5:30 pm.
Finally, the weather has warmed up, the ice finally left the lakes and we can now look forward to being out on the water again. The Susannah Foo is almost ready for her spring launch after several weeks of sanding, varnishing, a little touch-up of the red and a reapplication of anti-fouling. Phil and Tony with a loyal team of volunteers enjoyed the work under cover at the Minden Curling Club. Thank you volunteers and MCC.
All practices are scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:30 am; or 5:30 – 7:00 pm.
If any changes/cancellations of these scheduled times are necessary, you will be notified by email.
Please dress according to weather and don’t forget to bring your CSA approved PFD. If you haven’t already provided a waiver for this year, please do so at the first practice you attend. A waiver form can be downloaded from our website: www.
Peterborough Festival June 9th: Paddlers and a drummer are still needed for the Peterborough Festival on Saturday June 9th. If you would like to join the team, email Carolyn Ellis carolyn.halibu@gmail.com ASAP.
Looking forward to that first time out on the water.
PADDLES UP; TAKE IT AWAY
HHP Open House 2018
We could only dream of warm, sunny weather on the water paddling the Susannah Foo. On a wintery day, 22 enthusiastic people came to the Open House on February 4th at the Fish Hatchery.
The meeting opened with the introduction of the Management Committee. Two new members, Ginny Carmichael and Gabrielle Holmes have been added as ‘members-at-large’. Welcome Ginny and Gabrielle, so glad to have you on the committee.
Tony Taylor has come on board as Equipment Support and Scotty Boyd stepped down from the committee, although he will still coach. Elli Armstrong has had to take a break from her role as Chair and that spot will be taken on by the rest of the committee.
Vice Chair: Heather Taylor
Treasurer and Membership: Jane Boyd
Secretary: Chris Whittemore
Equipment Co-ordinator: Phil Meades with the assistance of Tony Taylor
Liaison with Haliburton County Community Cooperative: Carolynn Coburn
Members at Large: Carolyn Ellis, Ginny Carmichael, Gabrielle Holmes.
Web Admins: Robin Bell and Della Redwood
Coaches: Lois Deacon, Scotty Boyd, and Marg Cox who came on board this past year. Janine Papadopoulos had to take a break for 2017 and we hope she will be back in 2018.
For 2018, paddling days and times are:
Monday and Wednesday; 7:00 – 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Sundays will now be available for special practices, rentals, special events but it will not be a scheduled time for practice.
A recap of the 2017 season made us realize how much fun we had and how busy we were. We had 55 members.
There was the wedding of two of our members who came together because of dragon boating. A crew of our members and some special friends happily paddled the wedding party from our dock at Patient News to the venue at the Head Lake Park band shell. The “Foo” was resplendent with her new (to us) head and tail. Carolyn Ellis managed to find a head and tail and acquire them. Thank you so much Carolyn. The “Foo” now looks wonderful.
We are planning to have some of our members train to be extra Steerspersons. A steering clinic, coached by Scotty Boyd and Lois Deacon, was held over 2 Sundays in 2017. Six members took a shot at steering the “Foo” while she was paddled by volunteers from the club.
The Haliburton Highlands Paddlers entered 2 festivals in 2017. At the Port Perry Festival in June, we won a silver medal, division D.
The Barrie Festival was held at the end of August on Lake Simcoe. We entered an all female crew. Our final time was the second fastest finishing time of seven women’s teams.
Our Coaches Appreciation Dinner is always fun. It was held just before Labour Day so our cottagers could also attend. Into the Blue Bakery provided the delicious, fresh made in a wood fired oven, pizza and salads. There was a slide show of some of our members’ adventures in New Zealand when they entered the World Masters Games, together with paddlers from IBDB – a Lindsay Dragon Boat team.
It was a great season, with close to full boats for each practice time.
Carolynn Coburn presented greetings from the Haliburton County Community Co-operative and explained our role within this organization.
Our Equipment Co-ordinator, Phil Meades, updated us on the state of the Susannah Foo. Given her age, 23, she is looking good. That is thanks to the volunteers who worked on her for about 6 weeks last Spring.
A question came up about how long the Susannah Foo would last. The answer cannot be known but because of her age and the fact that she is a wooden boat, we will probably need a new boat in the near future. The club has created a reserve fund for the purpose of purchasing a new boat.
Carolyn Ellis spoke about festivals the club would like to enter for the 2018 season.
The Peterborough Festival to be held on June 9th is a large festival that supports equipment purchases and procedures for diagnosing and finding cures for breast cancer. By the end of our Open House, 18 members had signed up for the team to enter the Peterborough Festival.
The Barrie Festival is to be held this year on August 25th. So far 5 people have signed up for this festival. We are looking for someone to volunteer to coordinate our entry into this festival and act as Team Captain. If you would like to volunteer, let someone on the management committee know.
And finally, the raffle was held. Ten guest passes worth $15 each were drawn. Tony Taylor was the winner of the Grand Prize – a free membership for the 2018 season. It was a popular win since Tony is the driver of the truck and trailer that moves the Susannah Foo around as necessary when she is out of the water.
A heartfelt thank you to our ongoing sponsors.
Patient News – where we dock the boat during the summer.
RPM – where we launch and take out the Foo and store her over the Winter.
TechnicalitiesPlus – for creating and supporting our club Website.
Minden Curling Club – for the use of their facilities when we need to work on the boat.
