Classic paddling trips along the Washington and Oregon coasts -OOPS General Meeting February 27, 2013 – Featuring Pat Welle

Please join your fellow paddlers Wednesday, February 27, 6:00 PM for an evening with local kayaking fanatic Pat Welle at the upcoming OOPS General Meeting.

There and Back Again, A Paddlers Tale
We all have our favorite places to paddle.  We are fortunate with so many great trips so close to home.  What we sometimes forgot, however, is that just beyond our back yard on the coast is world class paddling.  In this presentation, we will explore a few of the classic paddling trips along the Washington and Oregon coasts; Hobuck Beach, Tatoosh Island and Neah Bay at Cape Flattery on the northwest corner of Washington; LaPush (a little further south), and several locations from Cascade Head to Port Orford and Gold Beach in Oregon.  These are coastal excursions with potentially rough water, but on many summer days, there are plenty of opportunities for calm water as well.  In addition to beautiful pictures (think whale sightings and sea caves), the talk will include logistics, launch sites, and just a bit about the skills you need to explore the Washington and Oregon coasts. 

Pat Welle is a kayaking fanatic.  She started paddling in 2000 and by 2004 started her own kayaking business on the upper Columbia River.   Craving better access to salt water, she moved to Portland in 2008, lives on a floating home on the Multnomah Channel, and now spends as much time as possible paddling the Washington and Oregon Coastlines.  Pat pays for her kayaking habit by working as a graduate student studying the Columbia River estuary.  She is a level 4 ACA kayak instructor and a level 3 ACA Instructor Trainer.  Her regular paddling partner (and frequent kayak photo subject), Tim Mattson, lives in Ilwaco and has paddled the coast since 1998.  This talk explores three of their longer kayaking trips.