Introduction
Dear <<First Name>>,
This newsletter is a day or so late due to both editors being out of the country for much of March. We hope it is still timely! :)
Thanks to those members who contributed photos and materials. After enjoying a SISKA event or paddle, please consider putting fingers to keyboards and cobbling together a short (100-150 words) summary article; for more information, contact one of us. If you would like to start a regular column, please let us know! Any feedback or suggestions will be gratefully appreciated!
Michael Jackson (SISKA president) and Ben van Drimmelen (editor)
PS: You can find SISKA on Facebook at this link.
PPS: SISKA has a Meetup site for "impromptu" and other paddles organized by club members. For more details, go to https://www.meetup.com/SISKA-Meetup/. To join this, you have to be a club member. |
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Upcoming Events
April 04, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Food Prep for Trips with Lynn Baier, Robyn Byrne and Debbie Leach
April 08, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, BC Marine Trails AGM
April 09, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Spirit Bay to Becher Bay Paddle (RELAXED)
April 16, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, Rescue Clinic and Pool Drop in
April 22, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Whiffin Spit to Cabin Point Paddle (ENERGIZER)
April 26, 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm, Monthly Meeting - Pacific Storms: Where do they form, where do they travel, and why do they move as they do?
April 29, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Willows Beach to Intertidal Shoreline Paddle (RELAXED)
April 30, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Oak Bay Marina Parking Lot to Chain Islands Birding Paddle (RELAXED)
May 06, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Amherst to Tsehum Harbour Paddle (RELAXED)
May 21, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Telegraph Cove to Chatham/Discovery Islands Paddle (ENERGIZER)
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SISKA ByLaw Revisions
Due to BC's new Societies Act, we are required to revise and update our club bylaws. Under the leadership of one of our directors-at-large, Lynn Beak, we now have a set of new bylaws to put to the membership at our AGM on April 26th. Links to the new proposed bylaws as well as a summary are inlcuded below and are on the club web site. If you have any comments, please contact Lynn Beak
Full Bylaws Document
One page Summary
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2017 membership renewals
If you have not renewed your membership for 2017, this will be the last newsletter you receive and your name will be removed from the SISKA Meetup site. If you need to renew post-haste, please go to: http://siska.ca/membership/online-registration-3
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SISKA Picnic June 10th
Just a quick "save the date notice" to let you know that we will have a club picnic on June 10th from 9 AM to 3 PM in Gyro Park, Cadboro Bay. Gear swap, kayak games; bring your own lunch. Cost is $5: includes tea, coffee, dessert and nibbles. Will be set up with PayPal. Keep an eye out for an email within the next month!
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April meeting - AGM and Pacific Storms
On April 26th, we will have the club's Annual General Meeting and we will also have a talk about Pacific Storms. What are the types of Pacific storms? Where do they form, where do they travel, and why do they move as they do? Why do we have more storms in winter than in summer? How do El Nino/La Nina affect them? Presented by Dr. David Atkinson, Assistant Professor Department of Geography.
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What’s in a Name? Fisgard Lighthouse
This is our local name series! Most of our featured names are drawn from “The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names” by Andrew Scott. We have a copy in the library! Vic Turkington is our place names editor - please contact him if you have suggestions for future articles.
BC's first lighthouse was built on Fisgard Island in 1860 and named after the 46 gun frigate HMS Fisgard. Its red brick house and attached 47 ft. white tower and red lantern provides an attractive landmark for entry into Esquimalt Harbour.
The 18 ft. lantern flashes equal periods of light and darkness (chart symbol Fl Iso W-R). A nearby sandy beach provides a handy lunch spot for paddlers. Fisgard Island was connected by a causeway (1951) to Fort Rod Hill (named after Admiral John Rod, 1816-92). The fort was equipped with three quick-firing artillery guns for defence against anticipated attacks from Russia (which never happened).
The light was automated in 1928 and the fort decommissioned in 1956. The area is now designated a National Historic Site (free admission in 2017, as part of Canada's 150 year anniversary).
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Tips from the trips - SLEEP ON IT!
Catriona Campbell's tip is to use a "space blanket" as a reflector inside your tent to insulate against the cold, cold ground (although it can get kind of crinkly and loud when shifting positions at night....)
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Camp-Suited Cookery
(Here we share recipes that can be made deep into a multi-day kayak trip, or any recipe that makes the cooking part of a trip more enjoyable. Please submit your contributions to Lynn Baier at lbaier@telus.net.)
Doubling as an energy bar or dessert, the recipe for these delicious trail bars is courtesy of Mary and Jennie Sutton.
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Trail Bar (Makes 3 dozen)
In large saucepan, combine ¾ cup corn syrup and ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed. Bring to boil.
- Remove from heat, stir in 1½ cups chunky peanut butter until smooth.
- Stir in 1 cup each of skim milk powder, granola, natural wheat bran, raisins and, optionally, mini chocolate chips
- Press into 9 x 13 inch pan and cut into bars or squares (very rich, so suggest smallish servings).
- Refrigerate or freeze individually.
Enjoy!!
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The "Hooked on Hakai" team
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“Hooked on Hakai” at March Meeting
Six experienced SISKA paddlers spent 3 weeks kayak camping though the Hakai Conservancy on BC’s Central Coast in the summer of 2016.
It is indeed a very special place: a large marine archipelago, protected from development by the Heiltsuk First Nation, BC and Canada, a unique and varied coastal ecosystem in which the remains of previous indigenous settlement and use are still being catalogued today. No wonder Lynn Baier, Debbie Leach, Jennie Sutton, Alan Campbell, Morley Eldridge and John Minkley came back with so many stories to tell!
They had allowed plenty of time to wait out the inevitable west coast storms, so enjoyed exploring the multitude of channels and islands along the way, full of life on land, in the sea and in the rich intertidal zones. Archaeologist Morley and his eager assistants (!), found numerous remains of indigenous settlement and use from the ancient past, some never before catalogued: fish weirs, house sites, pictographs, culturally modified trees and more. [In fact, new research has just carbon-dated indigenous settlement at Triquet Island to 14,000 years ago – as old as any so far in North America!].
Jennie and the other keen naturalists were delighted with the diversity of plants and creatures to be found, particularly in an unexpected high coastal bog on north Calvert Island. There is much to see in the Hakai: from the tidal channels of Gale Passage to the sandy beaches of the McMullins and Goose Groups, hidden shelter inside the rugged Serpent Group, the dramatic coves of north-west Calvert Island, and the rich sea life of Cultus Sound.
The “Hooked on Hakai” group encourage others to visit the area themselves. Their positive experience showed that good pre-trip group preparation and ongoing discussions helped them overcome paddling/camping challenges and some hardships (bugs, rain…) to enjoy lots of good times on a coastal expedition like few others on our BC Coast!
Postscript: recent news in the Vancouver Sun about very recent archaeological work on Triquet Island showing that the site was used by indigenous people 14,000 years ago!
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The Hooked on Hakai route
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An enhanced pictograph seen on the trip
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Paddlers at Point No Point
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Meetup Paddle - Sooke to Jordan River
On March 31st a group of 6 SISKA paddlers paddled from near Otter Point to Jordan River on a SISKA Meetup paddle organized by Gary Weeks. This 25 km (13 nautical mile) paddle went around Otter Point, along Gordon's Beach (Orveas Bay) past Muir and Kirby Creeks to Sheringham Light. We stopped for a lunch break after Sheringham light and then proceeded past French Beach, Point No Point and Sandcut Beach to Jordan River where a few of us caught a couple of nice waves. We were aided by a nice ebb current until lunch time and were able to get to Jordan River before the flood built too much.
This paddle involved a bit of vehicle shuttling which was well-organized by Gary! Fishing lines were wetted at times but did not connect with their intended quarry! A few of us also played around in some "rock gardens" along the way.
This paddle was a great example of how we can use the Meetup site to organize a paddle that is not part of our regular paddle schedule. You can see a collection of images form the paddle in the Meetup Photo album for the paddle (although you probably have to be a member of the Meetup to view these).
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Our trip track
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Salish Sea Marine Trail Grand Opening
Update from the BCMTNA:
We're going to be celebrating the grand opening of the Salish Sea Marine Trail on the weekend of Sept. 16-17 on Newcastle Island, and it's going to be an event to be remembered. The BCMTNA will be challenging clubs and individuals to organize trips to converge on the island for that weekend in a great celebration on the Salish Sea co-hosted by the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
We have the group area booked so everyone is welcome. We want to get clubs involved and to host events that include the Salish Sea Marine Trail grand opening, so this could be day trips to Newcastle, overnight trips to converge on Newcastle or multi-day trips along the Marine Trail that includes Newcastle Island that weekend.
We'll have a bunch of events such as a race around the island, a group paddle, a barbecue lunch hosted by the Snuneymuxw and so on. Should be fun!
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Kayakable Birding
Birds are a fine feature of any kayak trip. But which is which? In each Newsletter, we’ll describe a couple of species that you are likely to see at this particular time of year.
Last month, we were into tricky stuff - mergansers in winter - so this month we'll cover a couple of easy birds.
The Osprey have just returned from a leisurely winter in Mexico. A fish-eating hawk, it hovers and then plunges head- and feet-first into the water. Note the long, crooked wings and white, gull-like underparts (except for those dark patches at the "wrists").
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A successful Osprey
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The brassy Belted Kingfisher, with its long, loud chattering call, is a year-round resident. It will fly along the shore, pausing on prominent perches to spot small fish. Like the Osprey, kingfishers hover over the water before plunging in. Whereas the female in most birds is usually dull, it is the lady that has the colour here - note the red breast stripe and sides, both absent in the all-blue male.
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Belted Kingfisher (female)
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