September Full Moon Paddle

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***** TRIP COMPLETED, SEE TRIP REPORT and PHOTOS*****.


TRIP REPORT:

One trout, one jack, and one ladyfish. The fish were…. wait a second, is this a fishing report or a kayak trip report? Somehow kayak fishermen have infiltrated our kayak club; four of the six participants were fishing along the way. Other than the occasional plunk, click, click click, splash and “I got one” it was a very peaceful evening kayaking towards the St. Johns River as the sunset in the west and the moon rose in the east.

There were six paddlers for the evening with two new members and two guests joining us. We launched at 6:30 from the lock dock and paddled across the intracoastal heading north under the Wonderwood Bridge. After about 2 miles, we beached the kayaks just south of the St. Johns River and watched the sunset over Florida while we nibbled on BBQ ribs and wings and sipped Tinto Verano – a Spanish summer wine spritzer. The moon rose with a brilliant yellow orange hue at the same time the sun was setting and a lightning display flashed to the west. Then after 30 minutes, the shy moon slipped behind a thin layer of clouds for the rest of the trip, remaining just out of view.

Having arrived to the launch site late, two of the paddlers joined the group after sunset and cocktails. We met up with them as they fished from an oyster bar puffing on cigars. We then deviated from our original float plan to paddle back to Queen’s Harbour via the Intracoastal and ducked into the marsh reemerging just south of Wonderwood. We crossed the intracoastal and returned to Queen’s Harbour. It was a perfect evening.

For those of you that were unable to join us, you missed a Perfect evening on the water.















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Date: Monday, September 15, 2008

Time: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Level: Moderate/Intermediate

Location: Queen's Harbour Lock Dock

Length of Trip: approximately 4 hours

Trip Leader: Shannon and Lisa Beardsley

Gear: PDF, Flashlight, Whistle required

Trip Info:

We will meet at the Queen's Harbour Lock Dock at 6pm, paddle up the ICW to the St. John's river, exploring some estuaries along the way. We will take a break at a small beach just south of the St. John's River and have a snack and a drink while we watch the sunset over Florida. We will then paddle back to the Lock Dock, exploring some side marshes along the way, under the light of a full moon.

Sunset: 7:32 pm
Twilight ends: 7:56 pm
Moonrise: 7:36 pm

Sign up by posting a comment or e-mail the club at BackcountryKayakAdventures@yahoo.com

See you on the water!


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Need Gear for a Trip?

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GoGITTO.com rents paddle trip gear from dry bags to wine "glasses" to GPS units!

GITTO also specializes in the equipment needed to go Car Camping, Backpacking, Kayak or Canoe Camping or to have a family Backyard Campout or host a Backyard Birthday Campout.

Daily Gear Rental Rates have been arranged especially for Queen's Harbour Kayak Club Members! E-mail Lisa@GoGITTO.com with your equipment needs.

Full Moon Paddle for August

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Date: Saturday, August 16, 2008

Time: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Level: Moderate/Intermediate

Location: Queen's Harbour Lock Dock

Length of Trip: approximately 5 hours

Trip Leader: Shannon and Lisa Beardsley

Trip Info:

We will meet at the Queen's Harbour Lock Dock at 5pm, paddle up the ICW to the St. John's river, exploring some estuaries along the way. We will take a break at a small beach just south of the St. John's River and have a snack and a drink while we watch the sunset over Florida. We will then paddle back to the Lock Dock, exploring some side marshes along the way, under the light of a full moon.

Sunset: 8:07 pm
Twilight ends: 8:32 pm
Moonrise: 8:05 pm

Sign up by posting a comment or e-mail the club at Queensharbourkayakclub@yahoo.com

See you on the water!

Santa Fe River Paddle

*** TRIP COMPLETED ***

*** see TRIP REPORT and PHOTOS below ***

***** TRIP REPORT ***** by Glenn Ross

The Queen's Harbour Kayak Club members set out from the Queen's Harbour Sports Complex at 7:30 on Wednesday, July 23rd under cloudy skies. Though most of the day was overcast the trip was great. We launched at Poe Springs with help from the staff of Santa Fe Canoe Outpost. After a short delay, as we had to wait for 1 missing kayak to show up, the trip was underway. The members of the group were Mary Domask, Holly Taylor, Denise Pointner, Lisa and Shannon Beardsley, Glenn and Debbie Ross, Steve and Donna Yablonski, Dave O'Hara and Jackie, Hope Evans, Harold Smith, Doug Izard and Bill MacLeod.

The river was a little low, but it did not create any problems for anyone. A few members of the group traveled up the inlet to visit Naked Ed and were not disappointed, as Ed didn't put in an appearance. Ha Ha. Rum Island Spring was beautiful, but a bit chilly and crowded due to summer visitors. After stopping for lunch at Ginnie Springs, Lisa and Shannon showed everyone techniques for assisted deep water rescues, essentially righting, empying water and reentering a kayak in deep water. It was a great display and we learned how to kayak more safely.

Many in the group stopped at Ginnie Springs while Lisa, Shannon, Glenn, Debbie and Holly traveled down to the Highway 47 Bridge. We were able to get back to the Outpost and load our kayaks for the trip home just as the rain began to fall in earnest.

The trip was beautiful and peaceful. Our group had the river to ourselves for most of the trip. Our only company was the birds, turtles, fish and one small alligator that were enjoying the river along with us.

We hope more of you will join us for the next trip.

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Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Time: Meet at 7:00 am, at the QH Sports Complex to Car Pool. Arrive at Santa Fe Canoe Outpost around 9:00 am, shuttle and launch from Poe Springs by 10:00 am.

Pick Up Shuttle from Ginnie Springs and Highway 47 Bridge will be determined and there will be one shuttle from each end point, allowing time to swim and play once you arrive. Tentative pick up times are 2:30 pm for the Ginnie Springs Bunch and 4:00 pm for the Bridge Bunch. (please keep in mind these times are not exact but estimates.)

Level: Easy/Beginner - Moderate/Intermediate

Location: Santa Fe River

Length of Trip: approximately 6-8 hours

Trip Leader: Glen Ross and Steve Yablonski

Trip Info:

The plan is to travel to the Canoe Outpost, http://www.santaferiver.com/, and purchase the trip and rent kayaks, if needed. Then the staff will load us into their vans and take us to Poe Springs. Poe Springs is a very nice YMCA camp on the river with a large spring for swimming and viewing. Starting there will also allow us to miss most if not all of the low water portage locations. From there we will kayak down river to Ginnie Springs for lunch and a short swim. If you wish, you may end your paddle here stop here and arrange for shuttle service back to your vehicle, but the group will continue to our scheduled take-out at the Highway 47 Bridge.

The fee schedule is on the web site above.

Outpost to Poe Springs by Outpost Van ride. If we stay at Poe Springs there is a $6.00 per person entrance fee. If we just launch-and-go the fee can most likely be waved.

Poe Springs to Rum Island . 2 miles, approx. 1 hours paddling time.

Rum Island to Ginnie Springs. 1.5 miles, approx. 45 minutes paddling time.

Ginnie Springs charges a $10.00 entrance fee per person for anyone who wish to stop and take-out there. Outpost may also charge a small pickup fee (estimated at $10.00 per van-load).

Ginnie Springs to Highway 47 Bridge. 7 miles, approx. 1.5 hours paddling time.

The price of the trip will vary depending on the options selected above.

The estimated cost of the entire trip - Outpost to Poe Springs by Outpost Van ride then take-out at the Highway 47 Bridge – will cost $20.00 per person for the shuttle service and if you need to rent a kayak a $35.00 kayak rental charge ($40.00 for a tandem).

Technically if we stop at Ginnie Springs for lunch we should pay the $10.00 park fee for a total of:

· $35.00 with your own Kayak
· $50.00 with a rental Kayak / $65.00 for a tandem Kayak

We plan to meet at the QH sports complex about 7:00 a.m. on July 23rd and carpool.

Glenn Ross has room for two more kayaks on his truck and an extra sit on top that someone may borrow.

Lisa Beardsley also will have room on her truck for an additional kayak and has a sit on top someone may borrow.

Please e-mail the club or sign up on the blog if you are going to participate.

You may also be interested in viewing the following link:

http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com/

See you on the Water!

Full Moon Paddle for June

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Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Time: 9:00 pm

Level: Moderate/Intermediate - due to being out at night

Location: Queen's Harbour Lock Dock

Trip Leader: Lisa Beardsley

Gear: PDF, flashlight, whistle

Trip Info:

We will meet at the Lock Dock at 9:00 pm and be ready to launch by 9:15 pm. We will paddle for 1.5 hours through the marsh surrounding Queen's Harbour.

Sunset: 8:30 pm
Moonrise: 8:53 pm
Civil Twilight Ends: 8:58

To participate in this trip: e-mail the club at backcountrykayakadventures@yahoo.com or post a response by clicking on comment below.

See you on the Water.