Date: Saturday, December 10
About: Join us in person aboard the museum ship SS Red Oak Victory. Visit the last surviving vessel of 747 ships of all types built at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyards during World War II. A pancake breakfast will be served at 9:00 ($10 donation requested) followed by the meeting from 10 to noon. Take a free self-guided tour of the ship before or after the meeting. Docent-led tours also available ($10) that include the engine room and take about 90 minutes. Nearby paddling opportunities in the afternoon from Ferry Point or Marina Bay.
Signup: Please tell us if you will attend breakfast and the meeting on the signup at https://tinyurl.com/f9yeva9w If you wish to take a 90-minute guided tour after the meeting, signup here: https://tinyurl.com/bddx9dzw
Location: Red Oak Victory, 1337 Canal Blvd., Berth 5, Richmond, CA 94804. Note: Access to the ship requires climbing a gangplank and navigating narrow doors and stairways. Ample free parking is available, and there is a good bicycling route.
Contribute photos: of your paddling adventures in 2022! Mike Higgins will accept photos uploaded to his Google Drive at https://tinyurl.com/hb68h9s4. Please upload folders of your photos to keep them organized and Mike will assemble a slideshow of 2022 paddles to be on display at the meeting. If you insert a comment on your photos (in the Google folder) with your name and the location of the paddle event, he can created title slides for each event.
Agenda Highlights:
- Upcoming Paddles and Events
- Welcome new members
- Planning meeting highlights
- Special celebration of a great year!
- Gearhead with Nathan Moody
- Muscle of the Month by Mary Ann Furda
- Featured Presentation: “A Brief Look at an Historic Ship and the Kaiser Shipyards where it was Built” presented by Alan Burns
Presentation Description: At the outbreak of WWII, the mud flats and marshes of Richmond suddenly gave rise to a huge shipyard complex, the remnants of which we all paddle through today. Our speaker will trace the history of this transformation, shipyard activity during the war years, the Red Oak Victory's involvement in World War II and the years afterward, the effort to save the ship from being scrapped, and current efforts to maintain and restore the ship. Alan Burns has been a docent on the Red Oak Victory since 2014 and is the ship's Purser. He served in the U.S. Navy as the Supply Officer aboard the USS Cacapon (AO-52) between 1964-1967, an era when the Red Oak Victory was still in service.
