AMC Maine Chapter
Paddling Committee Annual Report
October 6, 2005
Submitted by Dave Lanman with Rich Sousa, Co-chairs

We submitted our usual ambitious schedule with 19 events starting with the March runoff and ending in August. As often happens, our high hopes of paddling all that was scheduled were dashed by circumstances beyond our control. Call her mother nature. This year, she did particular damage to our hopes and the schedule causing more numerous cancellations than in recent years due to ice, rain, flood waters, and mud preventing access.

However, when conditions were good they were very, very good.

A double run on the Sheepscot included 11 boats, ideal water level, warm sun and just plain fun.

The Middle Saco was scheduled late this year with some concern about this fickle river section having too little H2O to float us. There wasn’t a problem. It was the best level in years, and the sun again was bright.

A week long trip on the St. Croix, started in Spednik Lake, which some of us St. Croix veterans had never done before, and ended at Loon Bay. Again, things were perfect. Lake travel can be marred by high winds and waves. The days we planned to lay over on Spednik were windy, keeping the bug level down, and the days we needed to move it was calm. The St. Croix itself can be a scratchy problem when it’s low, but the river level was high and just fine. One boat went over at Little Falls, but it was a recreational run as we were camped there and the boat was empty of gear, so it amounted to a welcome swim.

A sea kayak run to Thrumcap Island near South Bristol provided a bit of a wake up with some large swells until we reached the shelter of the thread-of-life shoals. We then headed for the sandy crescent among the boulders which marks Little Thrumcap, where we lunched. The way back was breezy but the wind was behind us, and we ended the day at a harbor side restaurant before parting company.

The annual Errol trip was a happy mob of some 30 paddlers and tubers taking advantage of the flat water and Class 1 and 2 whitewater that the Androscoggin offers in that area.

We wish to recognize the following for leading or co-leading trips this year: Ken Hutchins for the Middle Saco trip; Phil Haines for the St. Croix trip; Bob Gonyea for the Thrumcap trip; and Bryan Courtois for offering several mid-summer Saco trips.

Rich Sousa and I will be stepping down as Paddling Committee Co-chairs this year. We appreciate being able to serve the AMC Maine Chapter, and will be available to assist whoever takes over the paddling activities of the
Chapter.

--Dave Lanman and Rich Sousa, Co-chairs