Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Bayland Community Center by Natalie Wiest, Commodore. Officers in attendance and introduced were Bob Naeger, Purser; Alice Nissen, Recorder; Tim Brooking, Boatswain. Bruce Bodson, Fleet Captain, and Christy Long, Newsletter Editor, were present via Zoom. Also present were Ann Derby, Sargent at Arms, and Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman, via Zoom. The last meeting minutes were approved.
Bruce gave the fleet captain’s report and stated there have been three events since the last meeting for a total of 32.2 miles. There were 10 participants of which 9 were members. Six out of nine trips were cancelled due to heat and low water. There have been 35 paddling events this year for a total of 456.2 miles of which 37 members and 17 nonmembers participated. Members with over 100 miles: Bruce Bodson 238 miles, Constantin Platon 161 miles, Karen Suggs 146 miles, Doug Fairchild 143 miles, David Portz 125 miles and Tim Brooking 117 miles. Members with over 50 miles: Brent Hwang, Kent Walters, Christy Long, Joe Coker, Bob Scaldino and Duane Heckelsberg. Trips in June were the Lost River Recon Part 1, Cedar Hill Park to Lake Charlotte for 15.8 miles on June 18; and Lake Catherine to Falls Creek Falls in Arkansas on June 30. On July 2 Lost River Recon Part 2 for 20.7 miles, Pickets Bayou to Lost River to Lost Lake. Upcoming trips in July: July 16, Brazos River SH159 to FM 529, 20 miles; Lost River Recon, Part 3 on July 23; catered picnic/club paddle on July 30 at the Courtyard Marriott; Islets Cove Paddle Trail in Arkansas on
July 24.
Tim gave the boatswain report and stated that we have one new member, six renewing members for a total membership of 141 and 839 Facebook followers. Five guests were welcomed at the meeting: Jim Earl and his wife are returning members. Jim was the Fleet Captain 35 years ago. He and his wife met on an HCC trip. Chris Read is an ocean kayaker. Naomi Brown wants to start kayaking. Tyrone White has tried kayaking a few times and loves it and wants to do more.
Tom’s conservation report can be seen on the conservation forum.
Bob gave the purser report and stated that as of the end of June our income is $1300 from membership dues, expenses are $1011, with a balance increase of $313 since the first of the year.
Christy thanked all contributors for trip reports, photos, and safety minutes.
Tim reminded us about the picnic/paddle on July 30 at the Courtyard Marriott from 5:30 to 8:30. It will be catered but you can bring a side dish if you wish.
Natalie stated that the last time we had t-shirts made was for the 50th anniversary which was eight years ago. Ann will bring sample t-shirts to the picnic. She found a print shop near her home that can do small quantities and we will be able to go online and order t-shirts.
Natalie stated we are still looking for a vice commodore, a position that finds speakers and makes arrangements.
Bob introduced our speaker, Jace Tunnell, who will speak about nurdle patrol and citizen participation. Jace is Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve director of education outreach and research. Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets, the size of a lentil, which get into the environment before production from onloading and offloading spillage. When it rains, they end up in rivers, oceans, creeks, lakes. It’s a supply chain issue. It’s been a problem since 1992. Wildlife eats them and absorb chemicals such as PCBs, DVT, PAHs. Not healthy for animals, sea life, birds, and humans. Citizen patrol constitutes looking for nurdles 10 minutes per month at a waterline, around the high-water mark. Companies and distributors are being sued and data needs to be correct for litigation. Most nurdles are coming from Houston. The nurdle patrol startup kit can be ordered on the nurdle app. We appreciated Jace Tunnell’s presentation on nurdles and are looking forward to receiving our startup kit and participating in nurdle counts.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:45.
Houston Canoe Club
Board Meeting
July 6, 2022