WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Tuesday, August 18 Luther Marsh (revised Blog)

This is the birthplace of the Grand River. You will see incredible water-life in one of Ontario’s largest inland marshes.

Please pre-register with trip coordinator Anne Woolner (annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277). Because of Covid, only 12 will be allowed on each trip and you must bring 2 masks, hand sanitizer, your $9 canoeing fee in an envelope with your name and $ amount on it, a signed waiver, if you have not handed it in yet (on the blog) and your PFD . There is no car shuttle for this trip, so everyone can bring their own car.

Meet at the shed @ 8:00 for a 8:15 departure.

Tower-Armand

Tuesday, August 18- Luther Marsh

This is the birthplace of the Grand River. You will see incredible water-life in one of Ontario’s largest inland marshes.

Please pre-register with trip coordinator Anne Woolner (annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277). Because of Covid, only 12 will be allowed on each trip and you must bring 2 masks, hand sanitizer, your $9 canoeing fee in an envelope with your name and $ amount on it, a signed waiver, if you have not handed it in yet (on the blog) and your PFD . There is no car shuttle for this trip, so everyone can bring their own car.

Meet at the shed @ 8:80 for a 8:15 departure.

Tower-Armand

Thursday, August 13, Easy Breezy on Hespeler Pond

This is an easy flat water paddle on Hespeler pond. Please pre-register with trip co-ordinator Anne Woolner (annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277). Because of Covid, only 12 will be allowed on each trip and you must bring 2 masks, hand sanitizer, your $6 canoeing fee in an envelop with your name and $ amount on it, a signed waiver, if you have not already done this, (on the blog) and your PFD .

Armand (226-899-6339) will be towing

Tuesday, August 11. Moyers Landing – River Bluffs

This is a short river canoe trip that starts at Moyers Landing across the river from Blair and ends up at River Bluffs before the dam in Galt. There will be a short car shuffle for this trip. Everyone must wear a mask and sanitize their hands before entering the car. There will not be more than 4 in any car.
Please pre-register with trip co-coordinator Anne Woolner (annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277). Because of Covid, only 12 will be allowed on each trip and you must bring 2 masks, hand sanitizer, your $6 canoeing fee in an envelope with your name and $ amount on it, a signed waiver, if you have not handed it in yet (on the blog) and your PFD .
Meet at the shed @ 8:30 for a 8:45 departure

Thursday, Aug. 6 canoe trip-Nith River, New Hamburg

Come join us for our first canoe trip of the season at the Nith River in New Hamburg! This is an easy flat water paddle for about 2 hours. Please pre-register with trip co-coordinator Anne Woolner (annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277). Because of Covid, only 13 will be allowed on each trip and you must bring 2 masks, hand sanitizer, your $6 canoeing fee in an envelop with your name and $ amount on it, a signed waiver (on the blog) and your PFD .

Meet at the shed @ 9:00 for a 9:15 departure.

2020 REOPENING! {Please Read}

Hello Members,

As mentioned in the last couple of posts, the OSSCC  Board has tried to come up with a plan to get us back on the water in a manner that will allow us to be safe yet still respect the the COVID-19 parameters set out by the province.

To that end, many of our members have expressed their desire for the Club to reopen and to get back on the water. How that will work will depend on YOU and your level of participation.  We still need people to lead trips. To be blunt, NO TRIP ORGANIZERS = NO TRIP! 

To volunteer, contact Anne Woolner at annewoolner@hotmail.com to get your name and contact info on the schedule. The proposed schedule is posted here.  If you want to know what’s involved in organizing a trip, check out the duties here. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions about the schedule, please either contact Anne directly, or comment below this post.

To get on the water, the Board has approved a strategy to employ strict safety measures to keep everyone safe and healthy. EVERYONE is required to adhere to these measures, no exceptions!

Highlights of the 2020 OSSCC Reopening Strategy includes, but is not limited to: (please read the full document for all details)

    • Anyone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 , is not feeling well, has Covid-19 symptoms, has been in contact with someone who has Covid-19 etc., should not participate in our canoe trips this year.
    • Anyone who has been out of province or out of the country recently, should be quarantining and not participate in canoe trips or Club activities until their quarantining period is over.
    • Number of people on a trip are limited to 1 trailer (6 canoes) = 12 people maximum to 8 people minimum. The second trailer will not be used this year. There will be no car-topping.
    • Members must provide their own masks (at least 2), hand sanitizer and wipes as part of their canoe gear and use as required. This will not be supplied by the Club.
    • Members must sign and submit a Covid-19 Liability Waiver. This is in additon to the Waiver that was submitted with your registration. This must be submitted to the Trip Organizer prior to participating on your first trip.
    • Members will be required to pre-register for canoe trips (like it is done for Easy Breezy trips.) If members don’t sign up for trips, they will be cancelled and the season will end due to lack of interest!
    • Changes to how trip fees are being collected is outlined (see document)
    • Includes trip day protocols, handling the canoes, shuttling/carpooling (if required) etc. (Read the document for more details)

[pdf id=3156]

[pdf id=3158]

You can also view and print both documents from here.

Since we can offer no training this season to assess skills, new members will be restricted to Easy Breezy outings (flat water) only. I know our more experienced members will welcome and help our new members who bravely joined our group in spite of the covid threat.

Participation is purely voluntary and according to your own personal comfort level. We recognize that not everyone is comfortable canoeing at this time, in spite of the measures put in place, especially with regards to carpooling and shuttling, etc. We leave that to you to decide and respect your decision.

For those who have decided not to canoe this season, we thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you on the water and at other Club events next season. Stay healthy, be safe!

MEMBERSHIP RESPONSE REQUIRED

The board is meeting on Monday via Zoom to discuss the logistics of commencing with our season now that our region is in Stage 3 of the Covid-19 reopening as outlined by the Provincial Government.

However, it makes no sense to reopen our club, if the majority of our  members do not feel safe doing so and don’t plan on participating accordingly based on their own comfort levels. It also doesn’t make sense to open up if we don’t have members willing to help organize trips and tow the trailer.

To date, only a small handful of members have responded either in the comments section below the post **2020 OSSCC Season Opening-{Please Read!!}  by Eugene or via email. We hope this is not an indication that people don’t care and are leaving it up to the board to decide.

Therefore, again, we ask that those who haven’t responded, to please take the time to give us your feedback. Many thanks to those of you who have responded.  Your thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated and will be considered in any decisions that are made.

We have never faced this situation as a club before and are in unchartered territory. Since the board represents the membership and is trying to work in everyone’s best interest, it is important that any decisions made of this magnitude are done with input and suggestions from the membership.

Do you think we should reopen? (Why or why not?)

Do you plan on participating if we do open?

Which trips are you most interested in? (see Trip Schedule)
Is there a trip you would like to see substituted?  Why?

Trips can’t happen without someone to organize them. Are you willing to be a Trip Organizer? Please contact Anne Woolner to get your name on the schedule (membership list) 

Are you willing to be a Tower.…or car top a canoe if neccessary? Please contact Anne Woolner to get yourself on the schedule (membership list)

Do you have any ideas or suggestions that the board could utilize in their plan to ensure the safety of our members? 

After our meeting next week, there will be another post to let you know what the plan is moving forward and any guidelines that will need to be followed to keep our members safe.

***2020 SHOULD WE REOPEN?-{Please Read!!}

The Premier has finally announced that much of Ontario will be moving to Stage 3 on Friday.  This includes the Waterloo Region.

That is good news for many reasons and goes to show that through diligence and determination we can flatten the curve, cut the number of new covid cases, stay safe, and can now enjoy less restriction, while still practicing responsible safety measures.

To that end, while the board comes up with a plan and protocols to reopen safely, we would also like to solicit feedback from our members to see what you think:

Do you think we should reopen? (Why or why not?)

Which trips are you most interested in? (see Trip Schedule)

Are you willing to be a Trip Organizer? (We can’t have trips without people to organize them)

Are you willing to be a Tower.…or car top a canoe if neccessary?

Do you have any ideas or suggestions that the board could utilize in their plan? 

Please either answer the above in the comments section below for everyone to read, or send to info@oldsaltsclub.com

We hope to hear from as many members as possible, so I thank you in advance for your input.

Eugene Marion, President

 

July OSSCC Covid Update

Hello fellow OSSCC Members,

With July now here, I thought I’d give you all a quick update on how we stand as a club as we continue to navigate the covid crisis and its effects on our club’s reopening.

As I have said before, due to Covid-19, the City of Waterloo has kept its facilities closed, which includes access to our canoes. The target date for a soft opening with restricted use and reduced capacity is July 13. This includes Wing 404 and some senior programs.  The last update can be found here (scroll down to Senior Services): link to notice

Also affecting us, the province has  not changed the number of people allowed to gather, which is still 10, although this may change with stage 3.  Until we get more information from the city, region and province that allows us to resume club activities safely,  we will stay temporarily closed.

I have been in touch with the President of the Ancient Mariners and they are following the same protocols as us and have cancelled all their scheduled trips until they can reopen safely.  The Waterloo Wellington Canoe Club has also suspended all their activities until further notice, so we are not alone.

It cannot be emphasized enough that as a board, our first priority is the safety and continued good health of our members. So, at least for now, until restrictions are lifted by the various levels of government, and until we can do so safely, we cannot proceed with scheduled canoe trips just yet.

Once we have clear direction, the board will come up with a plan to commence our season in a way that is safe for everyone. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, please post in the comments below, or email me directly at eugene.marion@gmail.com.  Thanks to those who have already done so.

Eugene Marion, President

Please note that the final membership list has been posted. Some emails and phone numbers have changed so please discard any old lists you may be currently using.