Well, KOIN didn't quite get the teaser headline correct (the Festival is on hiatus for another year), but our boats are back on the water and fully vaccinated individuals are practicing now!

If you are looking to join a team, please Contact Us or any one of our Teams directly!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kaspar Murer (Wasabi Paddling Club)
Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2020 at 5:46 PM
 
Hi everyone – There is a BIG NEED for the human powered boating community to SEND WRITTEN TESTIMONY THIS WEEKEND, for a newly scheduled Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission meeting this coming Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 4pm – 7pm. This is the final meeting about the River Plan/South Reach. We all have a big stake in this.

This city plan is parallel to the efforts of the Oregon State Marine Board, and its Rules Advisory Committee. 6 other Calm Water Coalition members, including me, are also a part of that committee.

Without a lot of support from the human powered boating community, the plan could fail. Please be a part of this and help restore Safety for Everybody on the River.

The reason for this additional meeting is, that the wake boat community recently sent a letter to the Mayor’s office. They stated they had not been made aware that the city was working on the River Plan/South Reach for the last two years, in spite of seven well attended public meetings and Open House Sessions.

A good number of human powered representatives, floating homeowners, swimmers, environmental advocates and other interested parties have been actively participating for the past two years, sharing experiences on the river, concerns for safety, riparian and shore areas, fish habitat. As part of the plan, City Bureaus are asking the Oregon State Marine Board to install a Slow-No-Wake Zone for the stretch of the river between the Hawthorne Bridge and the Sellwood Bridge. Reasons stated were, to provide better safety for human powered watercraft, and to protect the fragile eco-system, riparian areas and habitat for the endangered juvenile salmon and steelhead.

If the Marine Board agrees to this Slow-No-Wake zone, we would like it to extend another half mile past the Sellwood Bridge, to the northern border of Waverley Country Club. This would protect 32 floating homes at Portland Rowing Club, and two marinas on the east shore, and Powers Marine Park on the west shore.

Here is how you can participate: The meeting is this coming Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 4pm – 7pm. At the meeting, online, individuals have 2 minutes to testify.

1. Highly recommended: Submit written testimony from now until before the meeting starts , on this Map App (link).
Click on “River Plan/South Reach”
On the next page, click on the “Testify” button. Testifying on the Map App is easy, and you can proof read, before you send it.
An easy template: Complete the required name, etc. information in the blue boxes. In the testimony box, state your connection to the river. Thanks BPS staff and the commissioners for the work they have done. Why you are testifying: i.e. Safety, Environment, More Access to the River, Experiences you had, etc. Keep it short but state the things that are most important to you.

2. Testify at the hearing: The deadline to sign up for testimony at the meeting is Monday, June 22 at 5:00 pm. (link).
Individuals have only 2 minutes to testify. The meeting is this coming Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 4pm – 7pm.

3. You can watch the public hearing (live stream and recorded - link).

We expect the commission will receive many comments from the wake boat community in opposition to the plan. This could put the whole plan into jeopardy.

You can help support the River Plan/South Reach as it is currently written.
Some of the goals in the plan are:

• Bring people closer to the river to foster an improved understanding of river history, economy, and ecology.
• Increase Portlanders’ enjoyment of, and direct experience with, the Willamette River
• Provide for safe, enjoyable, and valuable on‐water recreational experiences for all users.

Amongst others, it includes these features:

• Efforts to bring back the Multnomah County Sheriff’s River Patrol, more boater education and safety.
• A new boat launch, parking and loading area at Sellwood Park
• Non-motorized boat launches at Willamette Park and Staff Jennings
• Oaks Amusement Park partnership to develop a public swimming beach if it is feasible
• Seek funds to create better bicycle and pedestrian access to the river from Brooklyn Neighborhood

With your help, hopefully the Planning and Sustainability Commission will review the public testimony and approve the plan. From there it will go to the City Commissioners. More on that another time.

Feel free to send me questions or comments
Thank you for doing this.
​
Safety for Everyone on the River!
Kaspar

We had previously said that we were considering beginning OC practices on July 1, hopefully to coincide with entering Phase 2 of the opening plan. 

Since then, new guidelines have become available for outdoor activities for Phase 2. There will still be a recommended 6 foot distancing, which as we know isn't possible on an OC-6 with more than three paddlers. However, the guidelines do offer some flexibility for outdoor sports. We will continue to consider opening OC practices to coincide with Phase 2 in Multnomah County, which will likely be around mid-July.

We do have an additional consideration in light of the recent protests. Large crowds have gathered, some without masks. The Oregon Health Authority is watching the situation carefully, and I receive daily updates from them. Should COVID cases begin to rise again, the OHA guidelines may change. The OHA does expect a slight rise in reported cases because of increased testing. Those increases will be accounted for in determining a cause-effect relationship of an increase in positive COVID cases due to the protests. 

Again, we thank you for your patience. We are monitoring the situation closely and are keeping the safety of our members as our top priority.

We will send another message prior to the end of June with an update on the situation and timing of resumption of OC practices.

Please stay healthy and safe.

Prior announcement dated 5/11/2020:

We have been closely tracking the Governor’s re-opening plan. See the latest guidelines here.

Based on the most recent information, we have a somewhat better idea of how we can all get back on the water. The Governor’s plan calls for three stages that are implemented on a region-by-region basis. The information provided indicates that we may be able to resume outrigger canoe (OC) practices during Phase II, and dragon boat practices during Phase III. We are considering this phased approach for DragonSports even though in an OC, you still may not be able to put the recommended six feet in between yourself and other paddlers at all times. 

Under the current guidelines and projected timeline, we are planning to resume OC practices on July 1 using the current master schedule. Some adjustments to the current schedule will likely need to be made to avoid congestion on the dock and to allow teams the time to properly sanitize the boats. So that more teams can get on the water, we are asking those teams that are currently on the schedule to evaluate their projected needs between now and June 15 and to email outrigger@dragonsports.org to confirm your continued reservations. For those teams that are interested in scheduling OC time starting July 1, please send an email to outrigger@dragonsports.org by June 15 with your preferred days/times. If there is significant interest, we may ask teams to alternate weeks for practicing and reserve the right to further adjust the schedule based on actual use. 

For all requests, please note that you must have a certified OC steersperson. Unfortunately, we cannot arrange for new training at this time but we may be able to help you find one from our current pool of steers.

We are currently planning on resuming dragon boat practices in Phase III, with the earliest possible start date projected as October 1. We are currently constructing racks at the warehouse and plan to move many, if not all of the dragon boats off of the water until then. We will provide further updates about dragon boat schedules once Phase II commences and opportunities to help volunteer with maintenance as they arise. 

Thank you for your continued support of DragonSports (and your patience!).

Sharing information about an exciting paddling clinic taking place in Portland next month. Please email James Dunbar directly with questions or to register.

Hello DSUSA Members and Affiliates!
 
The Zamboanga AquaRockets, youth team of the Zamboanga Paddling Club, are fundraising for an ambitious year on the water! We would like to see if you all would be interested in helping us out with competing in Vancouver BC, Long Beach CA, and in the PDBA!
 
We are doing a plant fundraiser that was very successful last year amongst our friends and families and would like to extend the offer to everyone in the Portland-Metro area! Our student-athlete paddlers receive a portion of the total profits, which will be going towards our general scholarship fund that will help offset costs for travel and lodging.
 
Please follow these steps:

• Share copies of the Plant Order Form with your team members, friends, neighbors, coworkers and/or family!
• Fill out your Plant Order Form and PLEASE INCLUDE your:
  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email (can be put in the order taken by spot)
  • Your method of payment (online payment can be taken by sending money to username @ZamboPDX or finding us by using zambopdx@gmail.com on the three online apps).
  • Circle Youth at the top please.
• Plant Order Forms are due by FRIDAY, APRIL 5TH.
  • If you are paying online, you can scan or take a picture of your form and email it to zambopdx@gmail.com
  • If you are paying with cash or check, please include it in an envelope and you can find us about to get on the water on Tuesday/Thursday 5:00PM-5:30PM, 6:30PM-7:00PM, or after 8:00PM.
    • We can always make special arrangements to meet up with you as well!
• Plants will be delivered to Franklin High School on SUNDAY, APRIL 28TH and will be ready for pickup at 11:00 AM till 1:00 PM
  • Please coordinator to pick up your plants then as we cannot house them at the school later in the day.
  • At this time, we do not have the capacity to deliver your plants, but if you have a very special circumstances, please feel free to reach out and we can see if we can work something out!

 
One of our sponsors, Hornet Watersports, has gladly made a discount code for us to share with our community to receive a 5% discount on all purchases! A portion of the profits goes towards our team, so if you are looking for some of the coolest looking paddles or even looking to design your own paddles, use the code HORNETJAC during checkout.
 
If you would like to DIRECTLY DONATE to the AquaRockets, then please find us on our GoFundMe page. Any help would be most appreciated!
 
Thank You! We hope to see you on the water and have a great season!

​Senior Dragon Boat Captain - Josie C.
Junior Dragon Boat Captain - Sten M.
Outrigger Captain - Pilar D.
Head Coach - JAC Conlu
​

​​We look forward to training you and getting everyone on the water! ​

As we’re sure you’re aware, the wake board boats are increasing in number and weight, creating more and bigger wakes. In addition to causing damage to the shoreline, docks, and other structures, they have created a hazard for us, kayakers, SUPs and other non-motorized river users. The Oregon House of Representatives is considering two bills this session. The first would require licensing and safety training for all motorized boats (HB 2351) and the second bill will provide the Marine Board with the power and authority to limit their usage in certain parts of the river (HB 2352).

We strongly urge our membership to write a short note to your state representative in support of these measures. It would be helpful if you stated your concerns about the safety of the paddlers on your team, emphasizing the seriousness of getting swamped and flipping the boat.  You may use this link to find your representative: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/findyourlegislator/leg-districts.html

As we have done in previous years, we will focus on cleaning up the Willamette River between the south end of Ross Island and the Steel Bridge. Cleaning up the riverbanks is actually very hard work. We can see the trash as we pass by on our dragon boats but removing the trash from the landside is very difficult.

Most volunteers will be walking to the areas needing to be cleaned up. Once there, the trash is gathered into piles then placed into one of several chase boats we are using to help move the trash to our collection point at the Fire Boat Dock. 

Our current clean-up plan is as follows: 
(1) Members of the Golden Dragons will meet at 9:00 am to paddle or walk to clean up the East Bank of the Holgate Channel, 
(2) Members of Wasabi will also meet at 9:00 a.m. to paddle to clean up Ross Island. 
(3) Members of all other DragonSports teams will gather near the Fire Boat Dock at 10:00 am and will walk to the clean-up areas on the East Bank between the Hawthorne and Steel Bridges. There are two homeless camps near the Steel Bridge that may or may not be abandoned by the time we get there on Saturday. If still occupied, we will avoid these encampments.  
(4) A couple of DragonSports members may be needed to help get the trash from the shore to the chase boats. Please bring waders or wear shoes and gear that you don't mind getting wet and muddy if you would like to volunteer for this task (there is no separate sign-up).
(5) Members from Pink Phoenix and Amazon Dragons will be cleaning the West Bank from the Hawthorne Bridge to SW Montgomery the following weekend, on October 6.

SOLVE will furnish gloves, pick-up wands, vests, and waivers. Lunch will be provided after the cleanup, scheduled to go until 1:00, but may be done as early as noon.

Sharing the following from the Columbia River Outrigger Canoe Club:

​We look forward to training you and getting everyone on the water! ​