About Us
Welcome from our President
Coastals is a family-oriented club dedicated to the enjoyment and advancement of paddlesports and consists of canoeists, kayakers and others from the southeastern U.S., but primarily from Virginia. Activities of the club include an active club volunteer-coordinated trip roster with trips for members, at all skill levels, happening nearly every weekend of the year.
The club holds quarterly meetings at various locations around Virginia featuring an evening meal, board of directors meeting, a trip on a nearby river, and a program of interest to paddlers. Coastals' website features an active bulletin board used by paddlers throughout the Commonwealth for communications and discussions of canoeing and kayaking related information, in addition to other pertinent information of interest to paddlers
The Coastals Logo
O.K. Goodwin, one of the club founders, designed Coastals' logo. Because he was associated with the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, his design drew on a bit of maritime history.
Sam Plimsoll (1824-1898) was a British politician and reformer who hit at "coffin ships" - unseaworthy, overloaded vessels, often heavily insured, on which unscrupulous owners risked the lives of their crews. Following the publication of Our Seamen, the public outcry forced amendment of the Merchant Shipping Act. The mark that indicates the limit to which a ship may be safely loaded is now known as the "Plimsoll mark." The circle with the line through it was as far as the mark got in Plimsoll's day. British ships would have "L" and "L" at opposite ends of the line, meaning the mark's location had the approval of Lloyds of London. American ships would bear an "A" and "B", American Bureau. Our "C" and "C" just means Coastals. The other lines show the limits for ships in tropical fresh water (TF), fresh water (F), salt water (S) and in winter (W). These are latter day refinements. "DEW" stands for dew - about all the water a canoe requires (a little humor here).
The bluebird of happiness on the emblem is the great blue heron, club mascot and native to most of the area over which we range. On many Coastal trips, the mascot is often found out in front leading us downstream - trailing his little Plimsoll mark behind him.
