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Water advisory for Lady Bird Lake

Update : 2019-08-14 See the City of Austin page on the expanded area affected by the cyanobacteria and their neurotoxins.

As the summer air temperature continues to heat up, so does the surface water temperature.

The increased water temperature, coupled with decreased water through-flow, and consequent nutrient build-up, result in algal blooms. Normally, these are harmless … unsightly and a bit smelly.

At the moment, Lady Bird Lake seems to be having a problem with cyanobacteria (so-called “blue-green algae”). Two genera, in particular, Anabaena and Microcystis, produce neurotoxic compounds, at times.

Anabaena flos-aquae, aquatic cyanobacterium
Anabaena flos-aquae, an aquatic cyanobacterium, is capable of producing powerful neurotoxins. Photo credit to US EPA 2007.

While we await the results of testing by the City of Austin, an advisory has been issued for dogs (dogs are permitted to swim in these waters; humans are not).

With the exception of Barton Creek, nearer to the pool than to the river, you might re-consider going into the water or splashing river water onto your face (keep it out of your eyes and out of your mouth). Individuals with known sensitivity to these compounds should be especially aware.

Microcystis aeruginosa, aquatic cyanobacterium
Microcystis aeruginosa, an aquatic cyanobacterium, is capable of producing powerful neurotoxins. Photo credit to Kristian Peters.

See? Those hundred of hours of environmental engineering coursework back in graduate school might have learnt me a thing or two. 😉

Notice of Annual Business Meeting

On Sunday 05 May, at 1100 hrs at the Waller Creek Boathouse, Austin OCC, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, will hold its annual business meeting.

At that time, election of the leadership for the next year will take place. Members in good standing (i.e, dues paid-up) are eligible to vote.

Members who cannot attend the meeting can appoint a proxy in writing or can e-mail your vote to our secretary, Joy Emshoff.

Further instructions will follow via e-mail.

Nominees are :

  • Justin McGuire, president
  • Denise Scioli, vice president
  • Joy Emshoff, secretary
  • Tracy Quon, treasurer
  • Wolf Dilworth, Mike Scioli, co-quartermasters

Building our own ‘iakos (spars) for the outrigger canoes

Work on the outrigger canoes never stops around here. There is always another bubble in the gel-coat protecting the gunwales, another scratch in the gel-coat protecting the hull, etc. The Texas sun plays Hell with all exposed surfaces but, probably, takes its heaviest toll on the ‘iakos.

We always hope that the most critical work can wait until the months with more amenable weather arrive. [Austin, TX is sometimes referred to as the Land of Eternal Air-Conditioning. Many of us run the air-conditioning system for 9-10 months of the year.]

Traditionally, Hawaiian boat-makers used Hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), one of the woody members of the cotton family (Malvaceae) for the ‘iakos. It should be no surprise that Hau is not available in Texas.

Sea hibiscus aka Hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus)
Sea hibiscus aka Hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus)

In the past, we have used relatively-inexpensive plywood to build-up laminated ‘iakos, a technique demonstrated for us by Carleton Kruse of Texas OCC. Those ‘iakos functioned well for a couple of years before decay and delamination set in.

I began exploring alternative construction materials / techniques and came across a reference to the materials and construction of the ‘iakos for the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s HƍkĆ«leÊ»a.

I like what I see about the ‘iakos built by The John Williams Boat Co. (JWC), Mt. Desert Island, Maine.

I will report back about our progress and our satisfaction with the results of this journey.

Austin OCC 2017 Sprint event is in the books!

Wow! The 2017 Austin OCC Sprints at Lake Bastrop Noth Shore Park was a huge[1] event!! It was a lot of fun even though not without its problems :

  • the official NWS high temperature was recorded at 100 F,
  • the event got underway a couple of hours late, and
  • the water temperature in Lake Bastrop was hotter than anything in which I have bathed in decades!

Times can be found here. (No, actually, they cannot. The Wayback Machine at archive.org missed that one.)

Austin OCC thanks all of the teams represented at the event :

  • Texas OCC
  • Hoewa’a Dallas OCC
  • Team Hokulele
  • San Antonio OCC
  • Rio Grande Valley OCC
  • Austin OCC!

More thanks to offer :

  • Justin McGuire, Austin OCC president, for spearheading this effort.
  • Tracy Quon, Joy Emshoff, Ginsie Stauss,[2] and Denise Scioli for the hours of planning and printing the new shirt design, and the awards.
  • Tracy, Joy, Bob Spain, and everyone else involved in getting four lanes of buoys deployed.[3]
  • Denise and everyone else who helped at the registration table.[3]
  • Alma Forti, Becky Naddef, Jenny Tam, and everyone else involved in timing the race.[4]
  • Austin OCC members who provided the coffee, cold water, energy drinks, iced tea, breakfast items, fruit, salads, and side-dishes that complimented the chicken and brisket so lovingly grilled by J.D. Martinez.[5]
  • Phil Schafer and Jenny Tam for photographing the event for posteriety (that is a misspelling but the combination of posterity and notoriety is too good to correct).
  • Austin OCC members who were there until the bitter end, helping with the tear-down of the site, hauling equipment across the grounds, de-rigging the canoes, pulling buoys, loading everything on trailers and into vehicles.
  • All who paddled their hearts out in the heat.
  • All who were patient with late-afternoon lineup changes.
  • All who were patient as we provided opportunities for our newest members to paddle even if that made us less competitive.[6]

Notes :

[1] There have never been as many teams represented in a Texas outrigger event before. Nor have as many paddlers participated in a Texas outrigger event before. The sport is growing!

[2] Ginsie, we are so sorry that we did not get to distribute them at the event. The crowd began to thin as soon as the racing was done 
 long before we could tally the results.

[3] We learned a few things that we hope will make this faster at the next event.

[4] T.O.R.A. (Texas Outrigger Racing Association) rules need to be followed better next time. In particular, we need timing help from all clubs. Shade, cold drinks, and comfort need to be a forethought next time.

[5] We will have some significant improvements in place for your comfort before the next event. I am already in the process of re-creating a hand-and-utensil washing system to make your task easier and the whole process safer.

[6] After all, what is the role of senior and more-experienced paddlers if not to prepare our newest members and to provide them with such opportunity?

Wahine

Sandra Cormier
Joy Emshoff
Alma Forti (ground support)
Hong Hua
Backy Naddef
Tracy Quon
Angie Schafer
Denise Scioli
Ginsie Stauss
Jenny Tam
Kila Vare-Nixon

Kane

Aaron Braud
Wolf Dilworth (ground support)
Rob Forti
Binh Hua
Jim Jones
J.D. Martinez (ground support)
Justin McGuire
Phil Schafer
Mike Scioli
Justin Stevenson

Invasive pest species now infesting Lake Travis

[Updated 2019-08-12 : Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake, Lake Georgetown, and Canton Lake are now classified as ‘infested.’ Decker Lake (aka Lake Walter E. Long) and Grapevine Lake are classified as ‘positive.’ Lake Ray Hubbard is still classified as ‘suspect.’]

I heard this sad news on our local NPR affiliate, KUT 90.5 FM, yesterday. Texas paddlers should be aware that an invasive pest species, the Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has become established in Lake Travis (now classified as ‘infested’).

Zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, photo credit to Amy Benson
Invasive species, the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, has reached Lake Travis. Photo credit to Amy Benson, USGS 1992-03-14.

Our sister club, Hoewa’a Dallas OCC, should be aware that Lake Ray Hubbard is classified as ‘suspect’ since Zebra mussel adults and larvae have been observed in recent years. All boaters – including canoeists and kayakers – are required to drain all water from their boat and onboard receptacles before leaving or approaching a body of fresh water in order to prevent the transfer of zebra mussels.

Further recommendations for reducing the likelihood that these pests reach Lake Austin, Lake Travis, etc. can be found at Texas Invasives.

The zebra mussel was accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes from the Caspian Sea via transport shipping in 1986. Click to see how rapidly the zebra mussel has spread from the Great Lakes since then through freshwater waterways.

Austin OCC meets the Girl Scouts Of Central Texas

2017-05-27

Members of Austin Outrigger Canoe Club were thrilled to take on the mighty-women-in-training from the Girl Scouts of Central Texas this morning! A baker’s dozen of young women turned-out for this opportunity along with about one-half that number of adult supervisors.

This is part of our outreach, and part of our mission (both as an outrigger club and as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation). It was an unqualified success!

Denise Scioli oversees some on-land paddling drills
Denise Scioli oversees some on-land paddling drills.

Austin OCC members demonstrated some basic water safety, some basic paddling technique, and away they went in Mimi (our OC-4) and Makalani (one of our OC-6s).

We even ran them through a couple of huli drills (the canoe huli’d 
 intentionally overturned) and they performed spectacularly.

I saw a lot of smiles and I heard a lot of “I want to do that, again!” 
 from the Girl Scouts and from Austin OCC members.

Thank you, so much, ladies, for your visit! We look forward to doing this, again!!

Thank you, Justin McGuire (president), Chris Almaguer (treasurer), Wolf Dilworth and Mike Scioli (co-quartermasters), Binh & Hong Hua, Len Sorese, and the rest of the crew who labored, over the past several months, in the pursuit of getting our OC-4, Mimi, ready to go back into the water!

The Girl Scouts of Central Texas practice twisting and reaching.
The Girl Scouts of Central Texas practice twisting and reaching.

Thank you to the Austin OCC members that were able to help with today’s event :
Justin McGuire (president), Denise Scioli (vice-president), Chris Almaguer (treasurer), Wolf Dilworth and Mike Scioli (co-quartermasters), Joy Emshoff, Stu Fields, Binh & Hong Hua, J.D. Martinez, Tracy Quon, Murray (& Dawson) Sagal, Phil & Angie Schafer, and Len Sorese!

The Girl Scouts hit the water!
Joy Emshoff and Chris Almaguer in Mimi (foreground) race with Justin McGuire and Denise Scioli in Makalani (background).

Thanks, too, to our sister organization, the Austin Coolers Dragon Boat Team for their cooperation in photographing the event!

All images courtesy of Phil Schafer and copyright 2017 Austin Outrigger Canoe Club.

2014 Texas OCC Paniolo Ironman Event

2014-08-16 Mud Lake (Clear Lake, TX)

Texas Outrigger Canoe Club (TOCC) hosted their annual Paniolo Ironman Event. The 2014 version was a 10-mile run from Mud Lake through the Kemah Channel out into the bay.

The participating crews were from the host club (TOCC), Team Hokulele, Hoewa’a Dallas OCC (HDOCC), and Austin OCC (AOCC).

The weather was surprisingly pleasant. The event was well-organized and executed. The company and the food were excellent, as always!

AOCC Women’s crew :
(1) Sandra Cormier / Carleton Kruse *, (2) Momi Kane ***, (3) Kila Nixon, (4) Tina Ho, (5) Christy Rodriguez ** (6) Denise Scioli

AOCC Men’s crew :
(1) Chris Almaguer, (2) Tri Bach, (3) Mike Brooks, (4) Ben Castro **, (5) Mike Scioli, (6) Justin Mcguire

* injury substitution, TOCC
** on loan from TOCC
*** on loan from HDOCC

The results are as follows :

PlaceWomenMixedMen
1st1:54:55 TOCC1:40:20 HOCC 1:45:35 HDOCC
2nd2:03:43 HDOCC1:47:20 AOCC
3rd2:20:48 AOCC1:47:20 AOCC