| Sea kayaking is just one of the paddling experiences at Paddling in the Park, an annual expo to be held this year on July 28 and 29. Photo by Susan Sherrod
Paddling in the Park:
Innovative working model makes this a unique,
& dam good, expo By Bob McCray
When I grew up around Chicago years back, unless your parents sent you to "camp," there weren't many places to learn how to paddle. In high school, we paddled our homemade boat down swift rivers without knowing a lick about paddle strokes, life jackets, or the risks – such as For More Information on Paddling in the Park,
click here. |
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strainers and dams. Our guardian angels worked overtime.
A lot has changed since then. Nowadays there are more learning resources available. My wife and I have taken white–water classes in pools and on–river, sea kayaking clinics on lakes, have tested boats with retailers, participated in demos and boating events and now regularly paddle with a canoe club. 
| A working model of a low–head dam, and its dangers, is one of the innovative
learning resources at Paddling in the Park.
Photo by Susan Sherrod |
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However, at the same time more learning resources are available, the number of paddle sport participants keeps growing (now more than 32 million). With more new paddlers, the need for proper introduction, instruction and lessons on safety becomes ever more important.
One annual expo, Paddling in the Park, to be held July 28 and 29, 2001, at the Twin Lakes Recreation Area in Palatine, Ill., aims to provide entrée to paddling for a greater number of paddlers. Last year more than 2,000 attended from 15 states, from Massachusetts to California. It's a good example of a program geared to introduce both newcomers
and experienced paddlers to a variety of paddling adventures. The purpose of the expo is to make people aware of the resources that are available in paddle sport, and how and where to start participating safely. Canoe and kayak clinics are available for both those who have never tried a boat, as well as veteran paddlers. A prospective paddler can climb in a tandem canoe and learn what it takes to paddle with a spouse, learn self–rescue in
a river kayak, how to rig and sail a canoe, or try a white–water kayak on for size. Last year nearly 500 people took the two–hour introductory classes taught by the more than 30 certified American Canoe Association instructors.
One of the most innovative features of Paddling in the Park is the working model of a low–head dam, which demonstrates the dangers of these dams – sometimes referred to as drowning machines. In dams such as these
(common in the Midwest), the water goes over the dam, drops down, goes underneath, and then some of the water recycles back upstream. The water that recycles back upstream can be dangerous because it can hold the paddler or the boat. Low–head dams often have dangerous hydraulics because they are wide, have several feet of backwash and no current blowing through. Wearing a life jacket won't save a paddler from recycling.
The four–foot–long by one–foot–wide working model of a low–head dam shows how a boater or his boat can get stuck, held under water and recirculated over and over until drowning. The model dam, funded by a grant from Baxter Allegiance Foundation, and built by Joel Neuman and Susan Sherrod, displays how these dangerous hydraulics are formed and their dangers. In the model, little wooden people and doll–house children are recirculated below concrete models of a man–made and a natural dam.
In a kayak clinic my wife and I took on a Wisconsin white–water river we were introduced on–river about how to recognize such a dam by the "horizon line" on the river. The model demonstrates what is meant by a horizon line, and how the hydraulic can be mitigated and made safer by putting rocks at strategic locations. If all you have seen are still photos of these dams, a live, working model lends reality.
The future plans for the model dam include its use for a training program of
a local fire department, as well as training programs in St. Louis and North Dakota. Susan Sherrod is currently finishing engineering drawings to use for developing a kit which will include all the information necessary for people to build a dam simulator themselves. Pictures of the dam are appearing on Web sites, and plans include providing footage of the dam in operation on one Web site.
Paddling in the Park offers a broad range of paddling experiences. Some
highlights include a dragon boat, group paddles in voyageur canoes, and a kids' paddling playground – where children under 10 can enjoy paddling sit–on–tops.
The expo is a "crossroads," where paddlers, paddling clubs, retailers, conservation organizations, and a variety of other organizations can meet–and–greet in an on–water setting. Last year more than a dozen retailers, boat builders' representatives and outfitters lined the lake with
their displays and demonstration fleets for people interested in testing various boat designs. It's a great paddling mosaic, where you can learn a lot in one spot. For more information visit: www.paddlinginthepark.com.
PADDLING IN THE PARK JULY 28–29
Illinois – Paddling In the Park, the ninth annual festival for canoes and kayaks, will be held July 28–29, 2001, at the Twin Lakes Recreation Area in Palatine, Ill., a northwest Chicago suburb. Paddling In the Park offers
introductory two–hour clinics taught by ACA certified instructors in solo and tandem canoeing, freestyle and whitewater canoeing, river and sea kayaking. The event also features canoe sailing and marathon canoes. A historic voyageur encampment, and paddling opportunities in a 26–foot birch bark canoe replica, recreate the Midwest's canoeing history. The public can also group–paddle in a reproduction of a 2000–year–old Chinese Dragon Boat from the American Dragon Boat Association in
Iowa. For the kids, there's a children's paddling playground sponsored by the Lincoln Park Boat Club.
Paddling In the Park also features the area's leading paddlesport retailers and the nation's top canoe and kayak builders. The public can test paddle the latest canoe, river and sea kayak designs from these vendors to find out about the differences in materials, hull designs and price, until the one is found that best fits each new paddler's or family's needs. Retailers will also
have the necessary paddling gear, such as life jackets (PFD's), paddles and more, as no one is admitted on the lake without a properly fitted PFD. Waivers are required for on–water activities.
Knowledgeable paddlers can walk among vendors' displays to find out all there is to know about boat design, materials, types of craft, and much more.
Author Mike Svob will again be present to talk about his books on
paddling Illinois rivers, and autograph copies. Bear Paw Inn will sponsor a whitewater kayak playground, featuring the latest river kayak designs. Representatives from many paddling clubs and conservation organizations will be present, and a raffle has great prizes for the lucky winners.
Admission to Paddling In the Park is free. Each two–hour clinic is $l0, $5 for children l0 through 17 years old (with adult), and includes test paddling
of vendor boats. Test paddling is for adults only or by permission of vendors and without clinic, requires a $5 registration/insurance fee. This fee is not a boat rental fee. Group paddles in Dragon Boat and Voyageur Canoe is free, pre–registration for groups only. Call 847/328–0l45 to make arrangements for groups.
The site for Paddling In the Park, the Twin Lakes Recreation Area in Palatine, is near Route 53 and Palatine Road, just north of I–90 and west
of I–294. For details, call 847/328–0145 (before July 27), then 847/934–6050 or visit the website at www.paddlinginthepark.com.
Hours of the event are Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This fun–filled weekend of paddling activities is for everyone, novice
or experienced. No matter the age, people who love to be outdoors, are active and enjoy fresh air, will find a paddle sport to suit their lifestyle. In 2000, over 1,800 people enjoyed the on–water activities.
Paddling In the Park is sanctioned by the American Canoe Association. Major sponsors are the MW Division of the American Canoe Association, in cooperation with the Salt Creek Rural Park District and Subaru of America. Paddling In the Park is also supported by the College of
DuPage, Northern Illinois University and Northeastern University, who provide boats used in the instructional program as well as local paddling clubs and area retailers.
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