Grand Isle creates a special place to launch kayaks

 

Responding to a growing trend of kayak use, 

Grand Isle now has a launch that caters to the small boats.

The launch, now considered temporary, is on the back bay, 

beside LSU's new oyster hatchery building on Ludwig Lane.

“Five or six years ago, if you saw a kayak it was crazy. 

When you'd see one you'd say, Whoa, these guys are nuts,” 

said Buggy Vegas, owner of Bridgeside Marina in Grand Isle. 

“Now you see them all summer out here. It has really picked up in the past two years.”

Vegas said the trend was likely spurred by kayak fishing rodeos that 

have grown each year. He noted the ...more

Whitewater kayaking at Stone Valley in Colton during Labor Day Weekend

 

COLTON -- Summer activities conclude in Colton during Labor Day weekend featuring whitewater kayaking at the Stone Valley section of the Racquette River.

The last two of six releases this summer by Brookfield Renewable Energy take place Saturday, Aug. 30 and Monday, Sept. 1. The largest turnout is expected on Saturday when paddlers will be doing timed runs on the class 5 section of the river which begins just below the dam.

Expert kayakers are expected from eastern United States and Canada for the predictable and challenging conditions at Stone Valley on release days. They start around 10 a.m. when the water is at the full release level. Beforehand spectators will see paddlers hiking the trails to check conditions of the river.

On Saturday and Monday, the town’s Tourism & Beautification Committee will have a tent set up and staffed by volunteers at the main trailhead at the end of Riverside Drive just past the fire station. A variety of free information including brochures with maps of the Raquette River and Stone Valley published by Brookfield will be available.

Also DVDs of the Raquette River produced by WPBS, Colton tee shirts and other products will be available to purchase. Nearby, on ...more

Enjoy whitewater tricks at freestyle championships

 

WAUSAU – The Cartwheel and Space Godzilla are just two of the trick moves expected this weekend at Wausau Whitewater Park. Paddlers throughout the Midwest will come to Wausau Whitewater Park to perform freestyle moves this Saturday and Sunday during the Midwest Freestyle Championships.

Spectators are welcome, and seating is available along the course on the east channel of the Wisconsin River. Wausau Whitewater Park is located along River Drive, southwest of the Marathon County Public Library. Most of the action for this two-day event will take place just west of the Marathon County office building and the Hangar Lounge Restaurant & Banquet Hall. Food vendor and restrooms are conveniently located on site.

The kayakers, in their covered boats, will ride the ...more

Community Paddle: Final 2014 event part of Michigan Maritime Celebration on Saturday

 

MUSKEGON, MI – The third and final Community Paddle on Muskegon Lake this summer will launch Saturday, Aug. 16 as part of the revamped Michigan Maritime Celebration.

Paddlers will begin to gather at the city of Muskegon's Harbour Towne Beach on the west end of Muskegon Lake at 9:30 a.m. The Community Paddle will take off from the beach at approximately 10 a.m.

A new Michigan Maritime Celebration kayak race will take place after the approximately hour and a half of paddle on Muskegon Lake right in front of the Harbour Towne Beach.

The Community Paddle and the Michigan Maritime Celebration are events of Muskegon Lake Effect Boating – a promotional group that has been advancing Muskegon Lake's recreational boating for three years. The Michigan Maritime Celebration is Friday through Sunday, Aug. 15-17, and had been called Muskegon Lake Boat Time the past two years.

"This is just one more maritime event at which we can celebrate our blue economy here in Muskegon and across the ...more

Ten years on, Athens 2004 gives Greece little to cheer

 

It was billed as a chance to transform Greece's image abroad and boost growth but 10 years after the country hosted the world's greatest sporting extravaganza there is little to celebrate at the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games.

Many of the once-gleaming Olympic venues which crackled with activity have been abandoned while others are used occasionally for non-sporting events such as conferences and weddings.

At the former Olympic rowing centre in the town of Marathon, which gave its name to the endurance race, stray dogs play among overgrown weeds as a dozen youths train in the water.

Across the city, the former canoe and kayak venue has dried up, and entire banks of spectators' seats have been ripped out.

Just days before the anniversary of the Aug. 13-29 Games in 2004, and as Brazil gears up for the 2016 Rio Olympics, many question how Greece, among the smallest countries to ever host the Games, has benefited from the multi-billion dollar event.

For Greeks who swelled with pride at the time, the Games are now a source of anger as the country struggles through a six-year depression, record unemployment, homelessness and poverty.

Greece has struggled to generate revenue from the venues.

"Celebrate for what?," said Eleni Goliou, who runs a grocery store in the capital. "They spent money they didn't have - our money, taxpayers' money - on a big party. You see any money left for a celebration?" she asked with a shrug.

After failing in a bid to host the centennial Olympics in ...more

In From the Outdoors: Q&A with Diane Gilman

 

OOTHBAY HARBOR — One kayak camping trip to an island off Acadia National Park is all it took. Diane Gilman was hooked.

That was 10 years ago. Now the Woolwich resident leads paddle tours for land trusts, around islands and on the open ocean. From that first kayak trip to her most recent, Gilman has never tired of the Maine coast. On weekdays she runs the Boothbay Region Land Trust office, but come the weekend, Gilman, 61, is a woman who needs a paddle.

When did you start paddling?

The minute I got into a kayak I felt I had died and gone to heaven. I had heard about ocean kayaking in Bar Harbor. So I went with an outfit that did everything for you. Some offer lodging in B&Bs. That wasn’t for me. There was one that camped on islands and that was appealing. There were about eight of us and none of us had much experience. It was five days and so much fun. I went ...more

Mark de Jonge sets world record in kayak race

 

Halifax's Mark de Jonge set a new world record Saturday in the men's K1 200-metre race, as he advances to the final Sunday.

De Jonge won his semifinal race at the 2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow with a time of 33.945 seconds.

That breaks the previous International Canoe Federation record by 0.035 of a second. That record was set in ...more