Pelican Paddlers of Southwest Louisiana

Weekly Paddles

We have resumed our weekly paddles. We will be meeting at the 210 boat ramp at 6:00pm every Wednesday. See you on the water!

Port of Cameron Feb. 10, 2008

Sunday was a great trip. Bob, Dan, and I made a little better than 10 miles. Started the trip at the ferry ramp on the west side of the ship channel. Wind was about 5 to 10 from the south east. We made southeast to start the loop around Monkey island. Business is up in the area its nice to see people working again. However, there is still damage from the hurricane. We came across a few locals, it was hard to make what they said but it was something like "Wee's Crazy". Once back in the ship channel we headed down the jetties to the Gulf. The swells are just a load of fun. Its like a roller coaster ride but you can't get off. We saw many pelicans and most of them were not very concerned about our presence. We could come right up along side of the rocks and if you remained still they would'nt fly off. It wasn't long and we rounded the last light in the jetties and entered the gulf. The swells were about 3 to 4 feet with breaking waves about a hundered yards off the end of the jettie. You were going to surf these waves if you liked it or not. It was hard not to get back in without coming down the face a little quicker than I usually do. I'm always a little nervous around the jetties. I have visions of getting stuck there for some reason and a crew boat coming in a full throttle at the same time. The resulting wave drowning you. That didn't happen. While we were out the wind picked up to about 20 waves in the port were choppy. On the way in my right arm started to burn from all the sweep strokes to keep the course I wanted. Bob had the same complaint. Almost back and the reflective waves coming off the west bank mixed with the wind driven chop from the east was FUN. I got out of the boat tired, hungry, and sunburned. A good day on the water. I wish you could have made it.

Ian

Pascagoula to Horn Island, Mississippi

September 28-29, 2007

Steve Baxter, Rene’ Stramwasser, and Dan Plummer

When I went to bed in my tent on Horn Island, my head was aching and I wondered what conditions the approaching cold front would bring in the morning. Steve, Rene’ and I probably had enough food and water for another two days if we really needed it.

Cayenne Kayak Challenge Results

The 3rd Annual Cayenne Kayak Challenge was run on September 15th. There were 20 participants in the 4 mile race around Lake Charles. Then everyone had a chance to demo various kayaks, including 3 brought by Ship to Shore. Thanks to Ricky for cooking hamburgers for lunch. Also, special thanks to Ship to Shore for providing the t-shirts and for helping out with the event. Here are the results of this year's race...

Cayenne Kayak Challenge

The Pelican Paddlers Club of Southwest Louisiana is inviting people of all interests and abilities to its 3rd Annual Cayenne Kayak Challenge on Saturday September 15th at 9:15 a.m. at the I-10 Beach pavilion on the west end of the Lake Charles north beach. The challenge is simple: paddlers will paddle a four mile course around the edge of Lake Charles at whatever pace they choose, leisurely or brisk. The idea is to bring together people who enjoy canoe, kayak, and pirogue paddling and introduce the sport to those who want to learn more or give it a try. After the challenge course paddle, Ship to Shore and club members will make available a variety of boats for participants to try out to see what kind of boat might suit them, learn more about boats, or just kick back and relax.

Pine Island Bayou 8/4/07

We met at the Wal-Mart parking lot and piled into two vehicles for the trek to Texas. Rene had researched the trip, so despite the confusion caused by road work, we soon arrived at the Lakeview boat launch. The Beaumont Kayak Club had already made a short run and got interupted by rain. Luckily for us, the weather had passed through quickly and we were looking forward to a beautiful evening on the river.

English Bayou 5/19/07

Bobby, Bob, Dan, and Ian meet at the North beach to pile into Dan's truck for the short trip to the put in. Once there we put on our gloves and picked up the site a bit. We filled about 3 or 4 bags of trash in the short time we worked at it. Then its time to shove off.

Bayou Lafourche 4/12/07

This trip was organized by the Barataria - Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP), a foundation aimed at the preservation and restoration of the estuarine system, raising at the same public awareness with events such as the Bayou Lafourche paddle trip.

Black Lake 3/11/07

Dan, Rene, and Ian meet at the Wal-mart for a trip to Black Lake. The weather was great a few clouds, a light breeze, and the temp in the upper 60's.

Henderson Swamp 12/06

We loaded our boats bright and early for the trip to Henderson. For most of us this was our first trip into one of the largest river swamps in the U.S. Oleg was our trip leader and knew Lake Bigeux well. The putin was at McGees landing, with a great wharf to test just how well you can put one foot in a boat and the other on the wharf without taking a swim.