Introduction
Dear Tony,
Thanks to those members who contributed photos and materials. After enjoying a SISKA event or paddle, please consider sending 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!
Alan Campbell (SISKA president) and Tony Playfair (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.
PPPS: You can find the SISKA newsletter archive here: http://goo.gl/VUkafR |
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Upcoming SISKA Events
Saturday, January 09th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Relaxed Paddle - Telegraph Cove to Cormorant Point Paddle
Saturday, January 09th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Currents Clinic
Sunday, January 10th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Esquimalt Lagoon to Millstream Falls Paddle
Thursday, January 14th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Cadboro Bay to Uplands Tour Paddle
Sunday, January 24th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Relaxed Paddle - Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf to Mackenzie Bight Paddle
Thursday, January 28th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf to Todd Inlet Paddle
Saturday, January 30th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Energizer Paddle - Cadboro Bay to Chatham and Discovery Islands Paddle
Saturday, February 06th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Amherst to Tsehum Harbour Paddle
Sunday, February 07th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Energizer Paddle - Albert Head to Wittys Lagoon Paddle
Thursday, February 11th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Spirit Bay to Becher Bay Tour Paddle
Thursday, February 25th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Cooper Cove to Roche Cove Paddle
Saturday, February 27th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Energizer Paddle - Spirit Bay to Cabin Point Paddle
Sunday, February 28th, 2021 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM - Telegraph Cove to Chatham and Discovery Islands Paddle
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Community Events of Interest
These events are not formally supported by SISKA, but considered to be of interest to a significant number of our members.
Any member may request an event to be included in this section by sending a note to chairperson@siska.ca.
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Siska's January 2021 General Meeting Info
by Fred Pishalski
Please come join us by Zoom on January 27, 2021 for our first SISKA monthly meeting of 2021. Our speakers will be Ian Graeme and Janice Mason (Team Oaracle) and they will share their adventure story of competing multiple times in the Race to Alaska (R2AK). They will share a few stories and learnings from their five years of participating in the race by different means kayaking, rowing and sailingand what keeps drawing them back.
The Race to Alaska is a 1200 km, non-motorized, unsupported boat race along the spectacular and remote BC coast from Port Townsend, WA (stop in Victoria BC) to Ketchikan, AK. The rules are simple. No motor, no support, through wild frontier, navigating by sail or peddle/paddle for the full distance
Janice Mason is an Olympian, world champion rower, mother and physician. Ian Graeme is a forester, avid outdoorsman, paddler and sailor. After completing the Race to Alaska on different sailboats in 2015 and 2016, Ian and Janice joined forces in 2017 as Team Oaracle, to become the first team to complete R2AK by oar power alone (tandem rowboat). And if that wasnt a big enough relationship test, they returned in 2018 to complete the race facing forwards, in their tandem kayak. https://r2ak.com/2020-teams-full-race/team-oaracle-4
Here is the link for our Jan 27th SISKA Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84074609376?pwd=SWxWZC93QjBERHMwY2VTTTdHVnZMZz09
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President's Message
by Alan Campbell
January 2021 – This New Year is Particularly Welcome!
Not many of us will be sad to see the end of 2020, a year dominated by a pandemic that continues to limit social, community and economic activity throughout the world.
Happily, sea kayakers, in safe “bubbles”, were able to maintain distance and contagion control and still enjoy physical exercise in our beautiful local waters.
Throughout 2020 we have had to adapt to the evolving crisis, even though Vancouver Island fared better than most regions. The restrictive public health orders issued in December continue right through the holiday season to at least January 8th, cancelling festive gatherings and events that normally lift our spirits during this grayest time of the year.
But now that the winter solstice is behind us, we can look forward to Spring with its longer daylight hours, warmer temperatures, and new growth of all kinds.
Hopefully, if our Covid cases stay low, we will be able to resume club paddling in small groups soon, and with vaccinations continuing for those in greatest need we can expect less sad news as 2021 progresses.
Spring Training 2021 workshops, beginning in mid-March, will give us all plenty of opportunities to refresh and hone our paddling skills for the prime kayaking season ahead. And Zoom sessions, with some of our more experienced members and partners, are also planned to inspire our future kayaking and tripping ambitions.
So, let’s welcome 2021 with all the enthusiasm we can muster and make it a year to remember for all the right reasons!
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Siska's Spring Training 2021
****THIS IS ADVANCE NOTICE ONLY - REGISTRATION STARTS JAN 4, 2021****
By Alan Campbell
I think we all agree that sea kayaking is a fantastic sport, and Vancouver Island is definitely the best place in the world to paddle!
But…in order to enjoy this amazing experience along our ocean shores, each one of us must be well prepared every season to get out there (and back again!) safely.
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Read more at https://mailchi.mp/287725776f8d/plan-ahead-now-for-spring-training-2021
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Port Hardy to Tofino: The Best of the Wild West Coast
by Alan Campbell
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Yves Aquin & Patti Stevens, Go Kayak
We could only accommodate 100 on our Zoom call that evening, but if you missed the Zoom presentation December 9th by Yves Aquin and Patti Stevens of Go Kayak, you’re in luck!
You can still enjoy their kayaking adventure at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwccgtw4bR0&feature=youtu.be
Go Kayak is one of SISKA’s partners, offering customized paddling skills and Paddle Canada courses. Check them out at https://gokayak.ca/ .
They will be offering a number of instructional workshops as part of SISKA’s Spring Training program March-May, 2021
https://mailchi.mp/287725776f8d/plan-ahead-now-for-spring-training-2021
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Membership Coordinator Report
by Dave O
2020 was a challenging year for all of us and had an impact on activities sponsored by SISKA. But even with the reduced number of paddles and clinics our membership increased from 338 in 2019 to 372 for 2020.
Our coordinators are already working to put paddles, clinics and workshops together 2021. Our first on water for 2021 filled up almost immediately and registration for our 2021 Spring workshops will be opening soon.
I'd like to remind you that our memberships run from Jan 01 to Dec 31 and that in order to take part in any clinic or workshop you will need to be a member for the year that the clinic or workshop takes place. To renew you membership for 2021 go to https://siska.ca/prod/membership-information/online-registration
To take part in any SISKA sponsored clinic, paddle, or workshop all participants are also required to have a signed waiver on file. Covid has necessitated the rewriting of our waiver. All members will need to electronically sign the new waiver. All reference to the the old waiver will soon be removed from our records. You can sign the waiver at https://waiver.fr/p-Lax5v.
You will also need to have signed a new waiver before your membership renewal can be processed.
If you have any questions about any of this please contact me.
Dave Ostapovich
Membership Coordinator
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SISKA’s Zoom Fun and Games
by Alan Campbell
With no SISKA Christmas Party this year, a Fun and Games Night by Zoom was held Dec 17th. Debbie Leach, Quiz-Meistress Extraordinaire, successfully perplexed most of us at some point in the 7th annual Heads and Tails Quiz, with 3 members eventually winning $25 MEC gift cards for their superior knowledge and/or luck! Covid kayaking tales were told and accolades received from fellow members online. Willi Fast, SISKA’s Christmas troubadour, played and sang his updated SISKA Sea Shanty and the 12 Days of Christmas – SISKA Style, created by Beth Haysom and Heather Jones. With everyone muted by the magic of Zoom, we could sing our hearts out at home and still enjoy Willi’s tuneful renditions of these timeless SISKA seasonal classics!
https://youtu.be/81o7VWkV3Qk
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Coming in January: SISKA Online Discussion Groups
by Lisa Lasagna
January 25th, the topic will be "Which garment is better for paddling??"... a guided introduction to the wet suit vs dry suit debate in sea kayaking.
Editor Note - Or a Tuilik!
The answer depends on the paddler, intended uses, weather and sea conditions as much as any suit's technical merits.
Alan Campbell will show what he has and share his experience of both on day paddles and expeditions.
If you are satisfied with your own personal paddling gear solution, join this forum and pass on your experience too!
Zoom link to follow. We will also be offering discussion groups on "Tips for Paddling in Cold Weather" and "Buying a VHF Radio". Dates and Zoom links for these to follow as well. Watch your email, and we will also be posting in the SISKA calendar.
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What’s in a Name? - Rum Running
Rum Running on Vancouver Island
by Vic Turkington
The US National Prohibition Act was officially declared in January 1920, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, export or delivery of intoxicating liquors. The Act was eventually repealed fourteen years later in 1933. A similar bill had been tried in BC in September 1917, which banned the sale of unauthorized liquor. However, the restrictions were extremely unpopular and mercifully the bill was abandoned in 1920, in favour of the Liquor Control Board (LCB). (now Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch - LCRB).
This timing coincided with the imposition of the US Prohibition Act (1920). Not surprisingly, a lucrative rum running trade to the alcohol starved US developed. Enterprising mariners, who owned a small boat with a powerful engine, could make a profitable living by running liquor to the US. Even larger boats, such as the 247ft five-masted auxiliary schooner Malahat (capable of carrying 60,000 cases of liquor), served as a mother ship in international waters. Cases of booze were down-loaded to smaller craft and then ferried to US customers - a sharp eye was always needed to evade the US Coast Guard. It was estimated that by 1924, five million gallons of liquor had been smuggled into the US and millions of dollars in profit earned. (Bootleggers and rum runners, no doubt, felt they were merely providing a service (humanitarian) to their deprived neighbours!).
The southern tip of Vancouver Island was ideally suited to this endeavour, due to the maze of remote islands and secluded coves in Haro Strait. A number of our present day kayaking beaches on Sidney, D'Arcy, Gooch, Portland, Pender and Prevost Islands were used as rum running launch and distribution points. In particular, Rum Island was only ¾ mile from the US - Canada border and conveniently near to Stuart Island in the US. Furthermore, the islands of Chatam and Discovery, across from Willows beach, were well suited to this task, being remote, secluded and only minutes from US waters by fast boat. East Point on Saturna Island was also used as a base for rum running to Sucia island in US waters (fabulous kayak\camping marine park). Locally, Maynard Cove at Cadboro Point (near the green-top navigation marker) and the cove near the Kitty islets (east end of McNeil Bay) are both frequently referred to as “Smugglers Cove” - what's in a name?
So, as we launch our kayaks from these beaches, we can easily imagine rum runners loading cases of rum and whisky into their small boats, for a daring trip across Haro Strait to the US under the cover of darkness.
Cheers – Happy New Year
Editor Note - I was told a few years ago by a park ranger that the Gulf Islands are today monitored by satellite tracking for any speeding boat during night hours and they will send out their speedboat and find you!
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Tips from the trips
by Debbie Leach
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Park and Pack. Use your kayak to anchor your tarp which keeps things dry if you need to pack in a downpour.
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Kayaking Klips - Valet Kayak
by Debbie Leach
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"Valet Kayaking" with help from a 12 inch bungee loop around the empty boat's toggle
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Paddle Canada courses in 2021
The club will be offering Basic and Level 1 Paddle Canada courses in both the Spring and Fall of 2021. When these will start is dependant on the Covid regulations and SISKA guidelines... as they evolve with the vaccines arriving.
If you have any questions you can contact me at instructordevelopment@siska.ca
Our local commercial companies are also putting on these courses. See end of newsletter for their links.
Jennie Sutton
SISKA Instructor Liaison
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OLD ENGLISH FRUIT CAKE
by Lynn Baier
This idea comes from the Purdon’s. Thank you to them.
Desserts are wonderful when you’re out there for weeks, but often they are bulky and don’t travel well. Fruitcake does! If you have any left from the holidays, soak it in a little brandy and take it along.
Here’s my recipe. It makes a lot!
2 cups of butter
1 pound of brown sugar
12 eggs separated
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons each cinnamon, mace, and cloves
1 teaspoon each allspice, nutmeg and salt
1 pound mixed candied fruit
1 pound candied cherries
1 pound seeded raisins
1 pound seedless raisins
1 pound currants
1 pound chopped pitted dates
1/2 pound chopped citron (optional)
1 pound broken walnuts
1 cup rum or brandy
1/2 cup double strength coffee
Grated peel and juice of 3 oranges and 1 lemon
Brandy or rum
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add well beaten egg yolks and stir vigourously until smooth and creamy.
Sift flour, measure, and sift with spices. Combine candied fruit, cherries, seeded raisins, seedless raisins, currants, dates, citron, and walnuts, and mix lightly with one cup of the spiced flour. Add remaining flour to batter, blending alternately with mixture of rum, coffee, and fruit peel and juices. Add fruit and nut mixture and mix well.
Beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, then fold into batter.
Butter four loaf pans (5” x 9“ size), line with brown paper, and butter again. Spoon in batter. Bake in a 250° oven for about three hours, 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in centre of cakes comes out clean. Have a shallow pan of water in the bottom of oven.
Set cakes in pans on wire racks to cool; remove from pan. Wrap each cake in a cloth moistened in brandy. Wrap individually in two layers of foil, sealing to make airtight. Age at least one month. Chill before slicing. Makes four cakes.
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Safety Tip
by Lynn Baier
Does your kayak know who it belongs to?
Mistakes happen. Kayaks have been know to slide down a gravel beach or be carried back in by a rouge wave. If you do become separated from your kayak, especially if you are wilderness camping, make sure that it is identified with all the pertinent information: your name, phone number, email address, and street address. Make sure to include an emergency contact who will have your float plan.
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West Bay Sea Star on Relive!
by Julie Deans
Julie recently did a very imaginative Christmas paddle. Check it out.
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West Bay Sea Star
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Kayak Glamping on Cortes Island
by Jennie Sutton
This was trip #4 for me during the Covid Summer of 2020! As Cortes Island has a smaller population, accommodation is limited and most are quite expensive. There is at least one campground but this summer was about “glamping” and not camping!
Kayaking possibilities:- I was given some good information by Barry Copeland who has camped on Cortes and done some kayaking and hiking there.
Launch sites:-
1. Coulter Bay - is on the West coast with good road access, the last section being gravel. It has an easy launch site, with some mud at lower tide heights. Parking is along the road, and there is no through traffic.
2. Cortes Bay - the best launch site is at Blind Creek boat launch on Cortes Bay Road. There is very limited roadside parking for maybe 3-4 vehicles.
3. Squirrel Cove - is on the East coast and has a very easy launch with lots of parking. A great place for heading to the Discovery Islands, Desolation Sound, Copeland and Savary Islands. There is a grocery store there with limited supplies.
Three of we ladies stayed at the Cortes Island Motel near Mason’s Landing, in a basic one bedroom self-contained unit. Due to Covid, we were the only guests there! It was a short walk to lovely hiking trails in Kw’as Regional Park.
Day 1 - Getting to Cortes via Quadra Island takes most of a day from Victoria and one needs to time catching the two ferries!
Day 2 - Launching at Coulter Bay we paddled North along the shoreline on a falling tide. Between Quartz Bay and Van Donop Inlet the intertidal life was amazing and highly recommended! …millions of small green urchins, the most purple sea stars I have ever seen, red sea cucumbers, leather stars and some giant plumose anemones. We had fun playing in the rapids at the entrance to Von Donop Lagoon. There is not enough water to paddle into the
lagoon unless at a higher tide. We had lunch there, amongst 3-layer deep oyster beds! After exploring into the inlet, we headed back…a 14 n. mile paddle on glassy seas! We could see the wildfire smoke haze building to the south and it was starting to create overcast skies locally.
Day 3 - Launching at Cortes Bay, we again enjoyed some nice intertidal life as we followed the shoreline out of the large bay and paddled south. We circumnavigated the Three Islands which were an obvious seal haul-out, with lots of Oystercatchers and Surf Scoters. Crossing to Twin Islands, we explored the shoreline and had lunch at a small bay East of Echo Bay. The famous Twin Island Lodge where Queen Elizabeth II has stayed is very low key, sprawling wood structure. Would love to see inside! Cortes Island Museum did have a 3 day kayaking trip available through Misty Isles Adventures, staying at the lodge.
http://www.cortesisland.com/tideline/go9548a/Twin_Islands_Kayaking
We could not find the designated campsite on the small islet north of Twin Islands. This 10.5 n. mile paddle had lovely vistas of both the Coastal Mountains and the Vancouver island mountains. The summer smoke haze created high overcast skies and eerily glassy calm seas.
Day 4 - Hiked in Kw’as Park, visited Mason’s Landing and Hollyhock. At a non-Covid time, there would be Farmer’s markets and more stores open to explore.
Other things to do:-
1. Hiking - lovely trails in Kw’as Regional Park, with lake views, a trail to the summit for vistas. There are many springboard cuts in old logged tree stumps throughout the park. One can purchase a trail map for $3 at some stores or at the campground store at Gorge Harbour.
2. Hollyhock Learning Centre is a world-renowned complex with accommodation, meals and courses on self development, health, etc. The facility was closed but we managed to get permission to visit the gardens where they grow a lot of the food. https://hollyhock.ca
3. Eating out- The Floathouse Restaurant has good food and lovely views of Gorge Harbour. When open, the public can also eat at Hollyhock.
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To Buy or Sell
If you have any buy/sell items that you would like to post in the Newsletter, please send a short description and your contact info to newsletter@siska.ca.
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SISKA’s Kayak Skills Course Partners
There are some fine discounts available from our kayak skills course partners for SISKA members who sign up for their skills training programs; have a look at https://siska.ca/docs_public/SISKAsKayakSkillsCoursePartners2020.pdf
Our partners are:
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