Sea Kayak on Lake Michigan Saturday, Sept 22, 2018 (8:30 am - 6:30 pm)

Sea Kayak on Lake Michigan

Saturday, Sept 22, 2018 (8:30 am - 6:30 pm)

Weather and Water Safety Approval Pending. Request to sign up by emailing me. You will need to describe your previous recent paddling experience. Participation is at the leader's discretion.

This is for experienced SK2p (SK1s with solid experience also possible) and up, and standard swim test is required. You should be comfortable with the idea of paddling a large body of water and the thought of getting into some waves (~2-3 feet) and wind. You should have stamina to paddle for about 5 hours at 3-4 miles per hour. I will be checking w/ paddlers that sign up to get an idea of experience.

This trip will be a chance for Hoofers to paddle Lake Michigan in a safe environment. There is a sea wall so that paddlers do not have to go into the waves if they don't want to.  And if there aren’t waves it is still a beautiful place to paddle. I will demonstrate and coach paddling strokes, rescues, towing techniques, and a few rules of the road for paddling on the Great Lakes. You may also meet seasoned paddlers outside of Hoofers. We will all learn something while paddling together.

You will need a lunch in a dry bag, 1-2 L water, and cash on hand for snacks & gas money. Given the current water temperatures and probability of immersion during rescue practices, a wetsuit is required for this trip (available from the club). Helmets, paddle float, life jacket, bilge pump, etc…are required as they would be for any sea kayak trip (also available from the club). We will launch at 10:00am from South Shore Harbor. We will drive to Milwaukee and have the boats ready to launch together. Meet at the boathouse at 8:30am. We will load boats, then it’s about a 1.5 hour drive to Milwaukee. There’s also the option of loading the boats the night before if people would prefer. This will be a day of new skills, refining skills, and hopefully bigger conditions. And it’ll show paddlers what it’s like to paddle a Great Lake.