Once each year, local youth participating in Scouts BSA and their leaders get a chance to sample a whole variety of high-adventure activities during a Powder Horn course. This year’s sessions on paddlesports were taught on Saturday April 17 at the Aquatics Pavilion of the new Camp Strake, which is located north of Houston, between the towns of New Waverly and Coldspring.
Gateway to Adventure
By Chuck Babb
Two groups of experienced paddlers pitched in to share their expertise. One set of instructors, headed up by Susan Eda, came from the Spring Woods Canoe Group (SWCG), and the other set of instructors, headed up by Chris Arceneaux, came from the Houston Association of Sea Kayakers (HASK). The corps of instructors included four members of the Houston Canoe Club: Tom Loesch, Tom Douglas, Chris Arceneaux, and Charles “Chuck” Falk.
At 1:00, one crew of students started out with the SWCG instructors while the other crew was with the HASK instructors. Then, after an hour, the two crews switched venues.
Once they had been briefed regarding safety procedures and properly fitted with life jackets, students with the SWCG instructors had an opportunity to try out a variety of canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards. Teamwork and boat-handling skills came to the fore when many of them eagerly availed themselves of a chance to race the camp’s two big voyager-style canoes.
Canoes, Kayaks, and SUPs on the Lake
By Susan Eda
The BIG Canoes
By Susan Eda
Students with the HASK instructors learned about life jackets, trip planning, parts of a kayak, helpful gear, kayak care, basic paddling strokes, how to enter and exit a kayak, and how to pack a kayak for a multi-day trip. Much of this was demonstrated using a sea kayak that had been brought up to Camp Strake by one of the instructors, Robert Rollen.
Learning about Sea Kayaks
By Robert Rollen
After a short break, the two sets of instructors got ready to start the whole routine up again at 3:00 for two new crews of scouts and their adult leaders. Then, at 5:00, it was time to pack up our gear and head for home, confident that we had helped to pass on our passion for paddling to a new generation.