Upcoming Paddles- June 26, 2007

Upcoming Paddles- June/July
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

It is a busy time for the River Mice- three paddling opportunities in the next week.

The next paddle will be on Thursday, June 28th, the Owl's Creek Evening Paddle
7:00pm
Meet at the Owl's Creek boatramp on General Booth Boulevard at 7 for this relaxing, fun paddle. Both High Tide and Monnrise are predicted for 7:16pm this day. We will paddle around lake Rudee and among the backyards of Croatan. Once it gets dark we will check out one of the isolated creeks, and see what we can see. If you remember the fireflies from past paddles, it is something you won't forget!

Bring a flashlight that can be attached to your boat. This paddle is beginner/intermediate. Owl's Creek is a nice place to paddle around. It is a no-wake zone, and is protected from wind and waves. The trip over to Croatan can get a little choppy as we pass under the Rudee Inlet bridge, and paddling in the dark may not be your cup of tea.

Keep an eye on the weather. Hopefully any pop-up storms will go through well before our put-in time. We will go if possible, but will stay away from any lightning.

Next up is the Deep Creek Locks this Sunday, July 1st, at 10:30am. We will meet at Deep Creek Locks Park. Take highway 17 south from the Deep Creek exit of I-64. Turn left onto Luray Street and enter the park. If you do the "S" curve over the canal, you have gone too far.

We will head over towards the Southern Branch and the High Rise Bridge, and will explore whatever side creeks we find. Bring along some lunch, and we will try to find a beach to pull up on for a picnic.

This is probably an intermediate paddle, though a secure beginner will do okay. There may be some powerboats, which mean wakes to avoid and turn into.

Finally, don't forget the Mogul July 4th party at John Schonk's house. It runs from 2pm until who knows when. last year at John's, we had sixteen boats in the water, putting in from John's backyard. We will paddle the Lafayette River, and some of the creeks that flow into it.

This paddle can be whatever you want, for as long (or short) as you want. The river is quite wide, so it resembles an open water paddle a little bit. Powerboat wakes make for some interesting chop. Beginners will have plenty of support.

John lives at 1004 Covington Lane in the Larchmont section of Norfolk. Check out this link for details and directions.
http://johnschonk.com/mogul

As always, email if you are joining us, and we will wait for you. If not, we will charge ahead. Spare boats are available if you give enough notice, and are willing to do a little hauling.

Hope to see you on the water!

Jeff

Lynnhaven Inlet Paddle 6/16/07

Lynnhaven Inlet Paddle 6/16/07
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

Six Moguls and a guest met at the Virginia Beach City boat ramp at the Lesner Bridge, and put in for a great paddle. Jeanine, Chris, Jeff, Jim, Bobbie, Dennis and Debbie paddled towards the Bayville Country Club, then headed out among the islands just south of the bridge, before winding up at Bubbas for lunch and some refreshments on the deck.

From Bubbas it was a short but eventful paddle back to the put-in. The group got a lesson in tidal current, having to work hard to avoid being swept towards the bridge and Chesapeake Bay. Jim was so distracted by the current that he paddled into a piling fifteen feet from Bubbas ramp, flipping over and earning a teabag award nomination!

It was a perfect day for a paddle- warm, but not too hot, with a slight breeze, and plenty of sun! Come join us for the next perfect paddle!