Thursday beginner paddling at Port Melbourne (weekly)

Requirements: Good swimmer.

A group of us will be heading off to Port Melbourne. We'll be going through what kayaking terms mean, doing a "wet exit", and doing "T-rescues" - if you find' you're comfortable - and having some fun on the bay as the sun sets. We're quite new to kayaking ourselves, so at the moment we can only run trips safely if the number of beginners we're looking after are low, however we can take a little more on the bay than we can on the river.

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Reilly will be coordinating this week's paddling trip:

(I am not a paddling leader, but I have offered to do the coordinating this week.)

Paddling on Thursday is great fun for all but coordinating the large group can be tricky. So Elliott and I are going to try putting some systems in place to make it run nice and smoothly for everyone.

Please note, although open to all, the number of people on this trip is limited. It will depend on the number of paddling leaders (volunteers) available on Thursday and vehicles to transport the kayaks (also volunteers). Sign-up is via this website only (for simplicity). People at the top of the list get priority when numbers are limited. (Maybe next week, we will figure out a rotating roster so that people who miss out one week get priority the following week.)

Paddling leaders please sign-up if you are available?

We kindly ask that you must attend the Tuesday meeting (unless you are a "leader").

Can everyone please bring cash money on Tuesday for kayak vehicle transport costs and club gear hire. Ie, this trip is going to be pre-paid. If I cancel the trip, you will get your money back. If you pull out and do not attend the trip, you will NOT get your money back. All money will go to vehicle owners and the club. This strategy benefits everyone because: 1 if your kayak is taken to the beach and you do not use it, it still costs the driver money; 2 Its a nice gesture towards being committed to attending; 3 Thursdays tend to involve a lot of rushing about and chaos so its just easier to do cash on Tuesday.

I will organise a "boat crew" to load and transport kayaks (@5:00pm). I think its best if everyone else make their own way to Port Melbourne (@5:30pm) -- eg on the 109 tram (plus a very short walk). (A tram doesn't get stuck in peak-hour traffic!)

Costs: $5 kayak transport (subject to change) + $5 gear hire per person.

http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/portphillip.shtml

PS: Someone else's turn to coordinate the following Thursday! :)