Paddle School is just about the most important thing TVCC does every year…
but
we can’t do it without the help of a LOT of TVCC members! 

Flatwater Paddle Saturday on
South Chick Creek
By Eric Fleming
When: Sat, November 02, 2019; 10:00 AM
Location: Graysville, GA.
We’ll meet above the Graysville Dam at 10 am on Saturday and do an upstream round trip paddle of about 2.5 hours with a break. If interested email Eric Fleming by 4 pm on Thursday (31st) and check your emai that night for details. 598eric@gmail.com.

Winter Roll Practice
Scheduled bi-weekly thru May
When: Tuesday, November 05, 2019, 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Location: UTC Pool
Base fee: TVCC Member: Pay $5.00 for each session selected and an additional $5.00 for American Canoe Association (ACA) Insurance for each pool session if you do not have an ACA Membership Number. Consider joining ACA! It’s only $30 per year ($40 for a Family).
Greatly speed up the time it takes to get everyone in the pool by registering and paying online in advance of the event. Everyone must fill out 3 waiver forms and pay any fees.
No credit card payments will be accepted at the door. If you are not currently a member of TVCC, you will be asked to fill out the membership form and pay the $20 annual dues. Cash only!
CLEAN your boat before coming to the pool! Remove air bags and rinse the inside and outside of your boat thoroughly. We may lose our pool privileges if we contaminate the UTC pool! UTC has equipment you can borrow to clean your boat if necessary. Arrive early enough to grab what you need.
Helmets must be worn while in the pool.
Be gentle with UTC’s pool. Boofing off the coping or hard entries and exits from the pool may damage the tile work. Exercise caution when trying out your gnarly dynamic moves.
You must sign the following waiver to participate! If you are an ACA member save some trees and everyone time and please sign the ACA Annual Waiver online. You will only have to do this once this year for these events by clicking the following link, :
o Adult- https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/512bca5b0577e/web/
o Minor- https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/51364d25a7300/web/
If you are NOT an ACA member, we strongly encourage you to join, but if you choose not to then you will need to pay an extra $5 per session to cover your insurance (BRING CASH). If you are not an ACA member you must sign the following waiver to participate:
o Adult- https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/5d8255ca06949/web/
o Minor- https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/5d82564977da8/web/
REGISTER: https://tvccpaddler.com/events-2/

Annual Florida Overnighter
December 27-January 2 FL Blue Holes and Backwater Trip
Contact Ben at johnsonbbd3@aol.com
The rivers we will be paddling this year are:
1) Suwannee River-put-in at County Road 410 to take-out at Ivy Memorial Park in Branford. About 10 mile paddle. We will go by Adams Track River camp and 3 different springs.
2) Ichetucknee River: Put-in at the Head Springs, and take-out at the Highway 27. This is a 3.5 mile paddle
3) Santa Fe River: Put-in at the Hwy 27 bridge just outside High Springs and take-out by the Hwy 47 bridge. About 9 miles with 6 different springs.
4) Steinhatchee River: Put on at Steinhatchee Falls and taking out at the boat ramp in Steinhatchee. Then we will eat at Roy’s restaurant on the water.
5) Another sectioon of the Santa Fe River
6) Suwannee River: Put on at the campsite and go down about 4 miles to the confluence of Santa Fe and Santa Fe Gorge about 8 miles to Bob’s River Takeout.
We are staying at the Swannee River Cove Campground, 8749 288th St. Branford, Fl 32008
Campground contact: Tudor at 386-222-5124 – cell
When you call, tell him you are with TVCC from Tennessee
Costs:
Tent site: $10 per night per person
RV hookup $40 per night,
Cabins $100 per night with price of $540 + tax for the trip dates above
Ben & Beth have 1 cabin reserved. We can now use the entire riverfront section- the two cabins, RV hookups and some tent sites just for us (TVCC). When reserving, tell Tudor that he talked to Beth Johnson on April 22nd about all this. Reserve soon. Spots fill up quickly. Please let Beth & Ben know when you are reserved. Call 423-241-3483 (Ben’s Cell)

Help designate
the Nolichucky River
a Wild and Scenic River!!
Paddlers, we need your click throughs to do a good thing for a good river!
TVCC has joined forces with ACA, American Whitewater, and the other 4 major paddling clubs across the state in support of trying to get Congress to designate the Nolichucky River a Wild and Scenic River!! Working with TSRA, the Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts, Chota and Bluff City Canoe Club we want to get as many individual endorsements as we can to make the Noli Wild and Scenic and secure all the federal protections that come with that designation!
Every individual endorsement through this link, set up by American Whitewater, automatically sends an email to your Congressman and Senators to ask them to support a bill to protect the Nolichucky. So can you take just a few minutes and click through? It’s not for us; it’s for our rivers!
https://www.noliwildandscenic.org/endorsements/
Here’s some more information, in a video produced by John Grace, about why we should protect the Nolichucky by designating it Wild and Scenic:
https://youtu.be/nYFAluvJB8g

Another Opportunity to help
Protect our Great Outdoors!
Paddlers: want to help reconnect the Cumberland Trail and protect a section of Daddys Creek and the headwaters of Fall Creek (Ozone Falls)?
Donation Deadline: November 30, 2019
TennGreen – Tennessee Parks & Greenways Foundation is currently accepting donations (of any amount) to go toward the purchase and conservation of the Lone Star Tract on the Cumberland Plateau. This 6,650 acre purchase will ultimately become a significant addition to Cumberland Trail State Park, providing the opportunity to reconnect a key segment of the Cumberland Trail, restore a critical wildlife corridor, and protect 22 miles of rivers and streams including a section of river frontage on Daddys Creek and the headwaters of Fall Creek (Ozone Falls).
For more information or to contribute to this initiative go to https://www.tenngreen.org/lone-star
\uD83D\uDCF8: Keith White

Tennessee River Rescue 2019
Ben Johnson’s Tennessee River rescue crew started clean up at Lightfoot Mill Road on South Chickamauga Creek. In just over an hour, 37 tires and half a dumpster was collected at the put in. Between there and Sterchi Farm, the crew ended up filling the trash dumpster, and got a total of 48 tires in two and a half miles.

11th Annual Ocoee River Race
The 11th annual Ocoee River Race sponsored by Tennessee Valley Canoe Club brought together racers in all age groups on Saturday, October 12th to compete for the fastest time down the middle Ocoee River. Proceeds from the race with be donated to Team RIver Runner and Hiwassee/Ocoee Friends of the River.
We put 148 racers on the water. They all got off the river safely. And yes, there were some epic swims out there!!
We are loving the support of our local businesses for this year’s race!!! Thank you so much for your raffle donations! Here are just a few of our local community vendors. All proceeds will go to benefit Team River Runner Chattanooga and Friends of the Hiwassee/Ocoee State Park!
Ms Be’s Purple Bus, Mash & Hops Craft Beers, Shockerz Gearcom, Ocoee River Dog Daycare and Resort, Ace Kayaking School, Scenic City Safari Shuttles & Outfitters, Rock/Creek at the Ocoee River, Tacoee, Ace Ocoee Adventures, Adventures Unlimited.
See more on the Ocoee River Race sponsors in next newsletter.
See Race Results and more photos on
https://tvccpaddler.com/2019-ocoee-race-results/#more-‘
Asian Carp Invasive Species

Spreading like Wildfire!!!!!
The invasive silver carp have destroyed the ecology, recreation, and economies of the Mississippi and Ohio River Watersheds. They are in Wheeler Reservoir and are heading upstream to TN. Addressing the devastation of Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake, (The Land Between the Lakes) Allan Brown, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Regional Director said: “The silver-carp population has ballooned to unmanageable numbers. Here in Kentucky, sport fishing is GONE. The groups that historically flocked to the lakes for vacation have dwindled.” The same will be said about the Upper TN River Basin: Nickajack, Watts Bar, Melton Hill, Ft. Louden and Tellico lakes if these invasive fish aren’t stopped. One silver carp can lay 2-5 million eggs in a summer, thus quickly destroy a lake’s ecosystem. These jumping fish not only destroy the economy, fishery, and ecology, they can weigh 50 lbs. and have broken jaws, fractured skulls, knocked children out of boats—they are lethal. Further migration must be prevented. The only sure way to stop them is with electric barriers at Nickajack lock immediately, and then Watts Bar lock, for about $15-Million each. This cost is nothing compared to what will be lost. A TVA study by the University of Tennessee shows that these lakes are responsible for a $2.6 Billion annual economy. Understanding silver carp have reduced the economic income of The Land Between the Lakes by more than 50%, if they reach us, it will cost this region more than $1-Billion annually in lost revenue. Clearly, the economy, ecology, fishery, and recreation of our natural resource must be protected. The Sonic Barrier are only 90% effective; thus, they will not stop them—TWRA knows this. Electric barriers are the only choice. The word “electrocution” has unfortunately been used when discussing electric barriers, however, electrocution is simply “Impossible.” Electrocutions in pools and at marinas is because the current is 120-Volts AC. The voltage at the electrodes in electric barriers ranges from 0.2 to 1.2-Volts DC. If a person fell in the water the amperage to their heart would be 0.0045 amps. We must not fear electric barriers. This technology is 50-years old and more than 50-electric barriers are in use in the U.S. and others in Europe. There has never been an electrocution. Presently, Tennessee has a $600 Million Budget Surplus. We need to do everything in our power to support and advance using a small portion of this money to install electric barriers to protect the Upper TN River Basin still free of the silver-carp. We need to support the formation of a multiagency taskforce to make these barriers a reality, and include non-government fishery biologists. For more information, contact the founder and chairman of the Watts Bar Ecology and Fishery Council (wbefc.org), Dr. Timothy Joseph, an experienced fishery biologist. Dr. Joseph’s contact information is: timjosephphd@gmail.com (phone: 865-228-2590). He will provide all the scientific and economic data in a PowerPoint Presentation upon request. Please understand the critical importance of this effort, for if we don’t stop these fish, this region will face the most significant environmental and economic disaster it has ever faced. The devastating ash-spill was nothing compared to this. This disaster will go on forever and can never be mitigated. So very much is at stake and TIME is critical—we must begin immediately. If we don’t, we will lose this major economic engine, and the most precious and wondrous natural resource this region has to offer.

Check out the official
TVCC website
for details on all upcoming events!
(These include information on the 2019 Christmas Party!)
Follow TVCC Facebook Page (Events) for list and details on upcoming events.
Check out Photos and stories about recent club activities.
https://www.facebook.com/TVCC50/

Thanks to PS 2019 Sponsors!
Sponsors for the 2019 Paddle School need our business as a thank you for sponsoring PS19.·
Ocoee Level Sponsors
Outdoor Chattanooga
Battlefield Outdoors
Cabelas’s
Jackson Kayak
Rock Creek
Safety Rescue and Paddle Sports
Tennessee Valley Canoe Club
Focus 4 Massage
Tellico Level Sponsors
ACE Kayaking
Adventures Unlimited/The Bus Bar
Chattanooga Audubon Society
Chilhowee Gliderport
Dennis Burdett Greenland Paddles & Boats
Gordon’s Cleaners
Hiwassee Whitewater Company/Flip Flop Burgers
Immersion Research
Kayak Outfitting.com
Megan Stone Massage Therapy
Owen Cyclery
Performance Design
Quest Expeditions
Smith-Lawhon Recreational Enterprises
Snap Dragon Design
Sports Barn
Hiwassee Level Sponsors
Backroad Bum
Best Sesh Boards
HANDUP HandleBar and Gear
High Point Climbing & Fitness
Horizon Graphics
Ironman Foundation
James “Woody” Woodall Designs
Mind, Body, Paddle
Nantahala Outdoor Center
North Face
NRS/WRSI
Reflection Riding
REI Co-op
Safety, Rescue and Paddlesports
Solar Sporting Goods
Team Popp – Popp Dentistry
Tennessee Aquarium/IMAX
WRSI
Tennessee Level Sponsors
310 to Everest
Foamie Friends
First Volunteer Bank
Heinz von Sehien Hook 1 Outfitters
Liquid Logic
Relise Design Co.
Jim Fortune

TVCC Board of Directors
President: Mike Shillinger
president@tvccpaddler.com
Vice President: Nicky Croisant
vp@tvccpaddler.com
Assistant VP: Karla Gann
avp@tvccpaddler.com
Secretary: Kathy Gardner
secretary@tvccpaddler.com
Treasurer: Sue Spalding
treasurer@tvccpaddler.com
Safety Chair: Rob Theurer
safety@tvccpaddler.com
Communications Chair: Dian Lawhon
comm@tvccpaddler.com
Conservation Chair: Buck Meyer
conservation@tvccpaddler.com
Webmaster: David Riall
webmaster@tvccpaddler.com
Training Chair: Darren Caputo
training@tvccpaddler.com
Quartermaster: Scott Painter
qm@tvccpaddler.com
Competition: Cat Vogel
cm6@tvccpaddler.com
Whitewater Il/IIl Cruisemaster: Pat Carver
cm1@tvccpaddler.com
Whitewater Cruisemaster III/IV+: Robert Haile
cm2@tvccpaddler.com
Overnighter Cruisemaster: Ben Johnson
cm3@tvccpaddler.com
Paddleboard Cruisemaster: Chris Gibson
cm4@tvccpaddler.com
Flatwater Cruisemaster: Eric Fleming
cm5@tvccpaddler.com
Non-Paddling Events Cruisemaster: Cat Vogel
cm6@tvccpaddler.com
Reach out to your Board of Officers with questions and suggestions; after all, they serve the members of the Club. (Please cut and paste email addresses into your system if the link doesn’t work)

Check out the many events and activities scheduled for Sat, March 31st thru the end of April.  You will need to act fast for several of the events, so follow the instructions below to ensure a place for you and any family members.  

 

Read on for Upcoming Events & Activities