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It's that time of year! PFDs are required to be worn on OCs

10/22/2014

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We've gotten to the darker cooler portion of the year, and water temperatures have dropped enough that PFDs are again required to be worn on DragonSports outrigger canoes at all times.

As a reminder the DragonSports Safety Rules & Guidelines permit the use of inflatable waist PFDs (please ensure that they are in working order) on the OCs only. Vest-type PFDs are required on the dragon boats.

As always, in fall, winter and spring, weather can be unpredicable. Please exercise caution and good judgment when going out on the water.  

We have also made some changes to the launcher on the dock.  It now has rollers to make the process require a little less muscle, but you need to pay attention to what you are doing to keep the canoe on track as you pull it up the ramp.

Please email Andrew if you have any questions.

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Derelict Boats 101

10/21/2014

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It's no news to paddlers that the derelict boat situation has not gotten any better in the last few months. So, what's it all about? Here's a few bits of information worth knowing. Feel free to share with anyone you like.

Homelessness in Portland is way beyond what the current shelters/funding can handle. There's plenty of people looking for a cheap way to shelter (and some that are just looking for a rogue way of life).

Boats that have not been properly registered, titled, etc. for a few years get handed around from person to person (some sold for as cheap as a hundred bucks). Tracing the temporary owners and even finding the original owner is a somewhat monumental task and, often, the hull ID has been removed. And, evidently, there is a "dealer" out there who specializes in finding these boats for folks. Bottom line, there's a supply.

DSL (Dept of State Lands) owns the land under the Willamette River. They supply permits for docks (it's kind of a lease agreement in a way), but allow boaters to anchor without permit as long as they stay no longer than 30 days in one spot. After 30 days, the boater must move at least 5 miles and not return to the same area within a 12 month period. This rule is being looked at for potential change. Problem is, there's a rule, but DSL has no enforcement arm to their agency, so if someone disobeys there's no consequence via DSL. DSL does not track who is parked where, etc, etc. They rely on the River Patrols, who, quite frankly have their hands full. River Patrols are funded by OSMB (Oregon State Marine Board) and do the best they can to track these boats but it's a monumental task for a small group of Deputies. (For instance, the Multnomah County River Patrol is in charge of 120 river miles). And of course the boaters know exactly where they can push the law limits.

Downtown Docks. The Boathouse dock is owned by PDC, the Duckworth is DOT controlled, Riverplace and Willamette Park belong to City Parks. Any dock owner may remove a trespasser under recent legislation. This does not mean they have the ability to do so.

Duckworth. After Fleet Week, when the transients tied up on the dock caused a security issue, the cleats were removed and the dock was shut down. As that dock was constructed with grant monies, it must operate under grant rules. OSMB was approached for a rule change that would allow them to reopen the dock but no longer allow overnight traffic. There is work in progress to get signage, etc. at when the cleats will be reinstalled and the dock reopened as a day use only dock.

PDC. Issue here is, of course, the swimmers. However, we have a flotilla right off the dock, which means it's on DSL property. PDC has yet to be challenged to remove anyone tied up to our dock since nobody has tried and tested this yet (let's hope they don't).

Willamette Park. City Parks owned. Currently has a "resident". Parks Rangers can ticket, fine, whatever but they have no way to remove the boat. And, there can be up to a 30 day time frame before the receiver of the ticket has a hearing.

Riverplace. Wow, out of control. Again, Parks Rangers can ticket all they want but the boaters know there are not currently any consequences of any big deal coming their way. The Rangers could really use some help from the City of Portland on this because they sure would like to see the problem fixed.

So, bring on the Task Force!

A Task Force has been assembled to find some solutions. The group consists of all sorts of agencies. Governors office, Mayor's office, OSMB, DSL, JOIN, DEQ, DOJ, Parks, Multnomah County RIver Patrol. I have been following the progress of the group, and I will say, it is painfully slow but moving along. So many layers of law and inter-agency dealing to get this solved! And, as with all problems, where's the money going to come from? Lots to figure out.

We need to be patient. I know, it's not like we haven't been already, right? When Duckworth shut down it sent everybody our way which in the end may have been the only reason the Task Force got put together - because so many people complained and got upset about the deluge of derelict/transient boaters.

I will continue to inform when solid outcomes are in place. In the meantime, feel free to send any questions my way. If I can't answer them I will refer you to a Task Force member who can.

Jean 
Quinsey​
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Practices May Resume On Monday

10/5/2014

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The advisory for the Willamette River toxic algae bloom was lifted late last week. The DragonSports Board has been looking carefully at conditions in the RiverPlace Marina and while it appears that some patches of algae remain, we are going to permit teams to resume practices as scheduled starting Monday, October 6th at their own risk. 

The Oregon Health Authority news release can be found here. Information about algae blooms can found here.

If you have any questions, please contact board@dragonsports.org.
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Algae Bloom Update

10/2/2014

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Word on the street is that new samples were taken this week and there should be results before the weekend. The Oregon Health Authority has advised DragonSports, however, that toxic conditions may persist in the Ross Island Lagoon and RiverPlace Marina and that even if the samples come back clear, we should wait until next week at the earliest before allowing practices.

The DragonSports Board is considering this advice and will send out a further update once we hear the results. There will be no practices this weekend, even if they do come back clear today or tomorrow.
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Senior C USA Team Trials

10/2/2014

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Our friends across the river at Wasabi have shared with us information regarding Team USA trials at the Portland Boathouse on October 11. The trials will be overseen by Garf Cooper, the coach of the 2015 USA Senior C Mixed Team, and he is hoping to form Senior C Mixed, Open and Women's teams.

The first stage of the try-out process is basically a fitness test. All candidates will be asked to do a 4 minute erg test and a 30 second erg test. In addition, candidates can choose to do two exercises from a variety of one-minute fitness tests: push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, burpees, ball slams, planks. Basically, most folks have opted to do the 1 minute push ups, but many have alternated other exercises in lieu of the sit up. Some fitness experts feel that the old fashioned sit up exposes athletes (particularly senior athletes) to back problems. Accordingly, the other exercises can be substituted for the sit up. Crunches are the preferred option.

The initial screening process also involves a 500m OC-1 test. OC-1 testing has many variables: wind, water conditions, the type and condition of the OC being utilized, and experience paddling an OC-1. For this reason, it is difficult to achieve an "apples to apples" comparison of test results. However, individual OC-1 testing is probably one of the best ways to measure individual paddling skills. All candidates can expect to do OC-1 time trials at the subsequent Team USA training camps where conditions will be relatively the same for all participants.

Once the first round of time trials have been completed, candidates will be invited to two three day camps. One is planned for late January in Florida. The second camp, we hope, will be at a warm weather West Coast location in early March. Currently, the vast majority of our Sr. C candidate pool hails from the eastern part of the country. If we can attract a significant number of West Coast candidates, we’ll hold camps on both coasts. The three Team USA crews (Mixed, Open, Women) will be selected after the three day camps. The final crews will participate in a five day camp in Melbourne, Florida from April 28 through May 3.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the Team USA Senior C Coaches:

Mixed Crew: Garf Cooper ecooper98@aol.com
Women’s Crew: Robin Parker parker_robin@yahoo.com
Open Crew: John Dyer jgdyer3@gmail.com
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