Introduction
Dear <<First Name>>,
Thanks again to the members who contributed photos and materials. After enjoying a SISKA event or paddle, please consider providing a short (100-150 words) summary article; for more information, contact one of us. And if you would like to start a regular column, please let us know!
You can find SISKA on Facebook at this link. SISKA also has a Meetup site for "impromptu" and other paddles organized by club members. (To join this, you have to be a club member.) For more details, go to https://www.meetup.com/SISKA-Meetup/.
Please also note that you can find archived newsletter articles in the SISKA newsletter archive page. These can be also be found via the members area of the website.
Michael Jackson (SISKA president) and Ben van Drimmelen (editor) |
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Some time sensitive items...
No June meeting
Since many of our members may already be out on trips and otherwise busy, we won't have a June meeting this moth. Next meeting will be September 27th!
SISKA Picnic June 10th
There is still time to register for the picnic on June 10th at Gyro Beach. Please go to the paypal link and register, as we need to know numbers!
Symphony Splash Volunteers
The Victoria Symphony Splash is still looking for volunteers for their annual Splash event on August 6th. Please contact the volunteer coordinator Della Preston.
MEC Paddlefest volunteers
SISKA is having a booth set up at the Paddlefest on June 18th and we would like to have a couple of members help staff the booth for a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon. If you are available, please contact our coordinator, Rod Steibel.
Regional Parking Committee
SISKA would like to pursue parking options more actively in the CRD, as many local municipalities seem to have quite restrictive parking regulations for people wishing to paddle. If you would be willing to help out in discussing the issue and/or contacting your municipality's council, please contact Tony Copping.
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Upcoming Events
June 04, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Cooper Cove to Sooke Basin Paddle (RELAXED)
June 10, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, SISKA picnic (includes a lesson in crabbing, with two hands-on sessions to be scheduled later) Gyro Park
June 11, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Willows Beach Intertidal Shoreline Paddle (RELAXED)
July 01, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, McNeil Bay to Finlayson Point CANADA DAY Paddle (RELAXED)
July 08, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Whiffin Spit to Otter Point Paddle (ENERGIZER)
July 08, 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm, Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf for Butchart Gardens Fireworks Paddle (ENERGIZER)
July 09, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Island View Beach to James Island Paddle (ENERGIZER)
July 22, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf to Mill Bay Yoga Paddle (ENERGIZER)
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What’s in a Name? Piers Island
- Vic Turkington
Piers Island is one of our favourite paddling destinations after launching from Amherst beach in Sidney. The island is just off Swartz Bay and is named after Henry Piers (1818-1901), who was the naval surgeon aboard HMS Satellite under Captain Prevost.
Piers Island was expropriated in 1932 and served as a federal prison camp until 1935 for 600 Doukhobors who had been convicted of public nudity. The one-square-mile island is now home to 131 private properties. While electricity and water services exist, there is no store, school or medical clinic. Residents must travel to and from the island by private boat.There is an emergency helicopter landing site and the fire hall is manned by volunteers.
Paddling under the many boat piers along the shoreline is always interesting and provides a close-up view of waterfront properties. A gravel beach with a private gazebo lies at the north end of the island, near Harry Point (see chart image) and provides a very convenient lunch spot. Clive Island, off the SE corner of Piers Island, makes a safe holding spot to dodge BC ferries on the return crossing of Gosse Passage to Knapp Island.
Some years ago while we were lunching at the gazebo, a large cougar suddenly appeared about 100 meters away, causing much anxiety (and indigestion). However, the cougar just eyed us for awhile; probably decided we were not tasty enough and finally wandered off into the bush. That cougar was later trapped and deported to the mainland.
Piers Island therefore makes a very interesting energizer paddle destination, even without the cougar.
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Cougar on Piers Island -Photo by Tony PLayfair
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Tips for Trips
- Debbie Leach
LEAVE A LITTLE TRACE
Use cup hooks (and, of course, remove them afterwards) to secure your tent/tarp guy lines instead of trying to wrap them around a beach log.
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Oak Bay Birding Paddle
- Ben van Drimmelen
Sometimes, prudence and patience are fully rewarded. So it was on the recent birding paddle off of Oak Bay. Originally set for a Sunday, predicted high winds resulted in rescheduling to midweek. This had two effects. Sadly, it eliminated many paddlers from this popular paddle. On the other hand, Thursday May 4 turned out to be as close to perfect as a paddle can get – sunny, rippled seas, 18 degrees and friendly tidal currents.
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Six of us first paddled among the Chain Islets. As usual, birder Daniel Donnecke identified many more species (50!) than the rest of us recognized (~30), but the group was able to stop, watch and discuss the more subtle differences between white-winged and surf scoters; among pelagic, double-crested and Brandt’s cormorants; and between least and western sandpipers. It was startling how a bantam-sized whimbrel could blend so well in a cobbled beach!
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Looks like a killdeer (especially a young killdeer), but that single stripe and orange bill make it a semipalmated plover
- Daniel Donnecke photo
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The only problem – where to rest for lunch? The Songhees reserves on Chatham and southern Discovery Islands are off limits; after some bad experiences, the Songhees have asserted that even the intertidal beaches and foreshore are within their reserve. And the park that makes up the rest of Discovery Island is still closed due to wolf-related concerns. Well, it was have a rest on shore or suffer afloat, so we discreetly pulled up below the high tide line on Discovery, enjoying the sunshine and our lunches while sandpipers and plovers were doing the same along the adjacent shore.
Then it was on to Chatham for more birding, plus the day's highlight – the so-called "Discovery Island" wolf was contentedly sunning on a rock along the shore of Chatham! We stayed well back to not disturb, but were nevertheless followed by lonely-sounding howls as we continued out into the current of Baynes Channel and home. A wonderful day all round.
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Galiano Ferry Caper
- John Minkley
Why not ferry out and paddle back? That seemed a workable option for a day paddle into the Gulf Islands. Nine of us decided to try it, including paddling through Active Pass.
At Swartz Bay, we wheeled the kayaks and gear through the bike entrance to a toll booth.It took about 30 minutes from arrival to tickets - parking, sorting, paying and wheeling to the dock for our 10:25 departure. We reached Galiano at 11:35 and took our boats to a beach on the west side of the ferry ramp and were on the water by 12:30.
We planned our route back to avoid crossing ferry traffic routes as much as possible. We stayed close to the west shoreline of Active Pass and crossed over to Prevost, then south across the fingers of Prevost and over to Salt Spring. We had a break just north of Beaver Point and continued to Eleanor Point where we crossed over to Portland, waiting in mid channel for a ferry to pass in front of us. We continued past the west side of Knapp Island and on to our landing spot, a beach beside the government dock off Barnacle Road next to the Seaspan Terminal at Swartz Bay, landing at 5:30. A stunningly fine 15 kilometre paddle!
Bottom Line: taking the ferry out and paddling back is practical, allowing us to reach areas too distant for a day paddle. We plan to do more.
For more information, the participants were Alan Campbell, Debbie Leach, John Minkley, David Maxwell, Bob Purdon, Elizabeth Rhoades (photographer), Willi Fast, Gerhardt Raven, Luc Courtemanche.
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Camp-suited Cookery
- Lynn Baier
Another great recipe from Rob Zacharias....
GREEK LAMB STEW
In large stew pot, brown 3 lbs of ground lamb in some oil, remove and sauté 2 chopped onions and 4 cloves of garlic until soft. Put the meat back in and add 2 cups of beef stock, 10 oz of tomato sauce, some salt and pepper and other spices - 1.5 tsp each of cinnamon, oregano and curry powders plus a tsp of ginger powder. Simmer about 1 hour, then add a cup of dry red wine, 3/4 lb of cut green beans and 3 cups of cubed eggplant and another 2 cups of beef stock. Simmer about another 30 minutes.
Whisk 1/3 cup of flour into a little cold water until fully dissolved, then stir into the stew and simmer another couple of minutes to get the thickness you like, adding more dissolved flour or water as needed.
This can be dehydrated. I have never measured how much water to add, usually starting with enough to cover dry ingredients and going from there. If you can, add the water in a sealed container early in the day; that requires just a few minutes of cooking. Without pre-soaking, assume about 30 minutes.
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Telegraph Bay - Discovery Island Paddle
- Sandy Senyk
Pretty much perfect! Those 3 words capture the May 21 paddle to Chatham and Discovery Islands - cloudless, with the lightest of breezes and almost no tidal current.With Jennie Sutton riding herd, fully 21 kayaks launched at Telegraph Bay for one of the most popular Energizers on the calendar. A sea lion checked out the flotilla as we left the bay.
We followed the shoreline to Ten Mile Point, then crossed to Cadboro Point light. Baynes Channel, which is notoriously tricky, was on its best behaviour, with only a bit of chop to keep things interesting. We paused to let the new V2V ferry roar past and enjoyed playing in the biggish wake. (This was my first outing to Discovery Island, so I was content not to face more challenging conditions.)
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- Debbie Chan photo
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As we approached Discovery, the resident wolf began a serenade; he howled nonstop from the woods as we tried to stay 100 metres back. He followed us around the point, watching from a ridge; only that tucked tail indicating possible discomfort. Jennie beamed with excitement - this was only the second time she had glimpsed the famous wolf.
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Discovery Island Park update
Here is the response from the Ministry of Environment to my email requesting an update on the park situation:
Dear Mr. Jackson:
Thank you for your follow up email of May 15, 2017, regarding overnight camping in Discovery Island Marine Park (the Park). As Assistant Deputy Minister for BC Parks, I am pleased to provide you with an update.
As you know, the Park was opened for day use activity on May 19, 2017. BC Parks is continuing to monitor the wolf’s activity and compliance with regulations by park visitors.
BC Parks has enhanced its efforts to educate and inform park visitors through additional information on the park’s website, additional signage, updates to commercial guides and the assistance of the Park Operator.
We are hopeful that the park will soon be available for overnight camping under appropriate guidelines that protect the park’s values. Any changes to the allowance of visitor activity in the park will be communicated through the park’s website. You may also contact Acting Area Supervisor, Mr. Allan Tichborne at 250 391-2312 or through email at Allan.Tichborne@gov.bc.ca for further updates and information.
We continue to appreciate the interest from the South Island Sea Kayaking Association. Once again, thank you for taking the time to submit your inquiry.
Sincerely,
Jim Standen, Assistant Deputy Minister
BC Parks and Conservation Officer Service Division
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Kayakable Birding
- Ben van Drimmelen
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.
This month, a couple of quite common species with somewhat subtle differences.
The Northwestern Crow is a slightly smaller coastal cousin of the continent-wide American Crow. They love picking around pebbly beaches and sometimes an unguarded kayaker's lunches. Crows gather into large communal night roosts; local favourites include Uplands Park and Chatham/Discovery Islands.
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And then there is their big cousin, the Common Raven. It is half again the size of a crow but size is hard to judge from a kayak, so look for the long, wedge-shaped tail or elegant aerobatics on flying birds. If the bird is perched, ravens show a large heavy bill and a shaggy goatee or throat. Another giveaway is the incredible variety of their calls, from the baritone "brronk" through high, bell-like tones.
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SISKA Buy and Sell?
We are thinking about tagging on a buy/sell article to the end of each newsletter. If you think this is a good or bad idea, please email newsletter@siska.ca.
If you have any items you'd like to put into the next newsletter, please email newsletter@siska.ca. We have not yet decided on the format, but are thinking that a sentence or two per member/item would be reasonable. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
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