Introduction
Dear <<First Name>>,
Here is the next (3rd!) edition of the SISKA newsletter. We hope you enjoy it.
We also hope that members will send in a couple of photos from our various paddles or maybe the odd 100-150 word article; if you can, please contact one of us.
Advance notice: our Annual General Meeting will be our April 27th monthly meeting - more details to follow.
Gary Jacek recently sent out an email about overdue DVDs from the club library. If you have any of these, please get them back to him as soon as possible. Thanks.
We are still looking for some volunteers to help out with the May 14th SISKA BBQ and the June 25th MEC Paddlefest. If you are able to help, please contact Alan Campbell
Michael Jackson (SISKA president) and Ben van Drimmelen (editor) |
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Membership Renewal
Ah, March. Last call to renew your club membership. If you really have still not done so, please go to the membership renewal page and renew.
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Upcoming Events
March 23, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Monthly Meeting - Cook's precursors in the Waters of Nootka
For details such as locations and instructor/leaders, go to the SISKA website
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What’s in a Name? Rum Island
This is the third in 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!
Rum Island
Rum Island lies only about 1 km from the US-Canada border and supposedly served as a staging point for liquor smugglers crossing the border to Stuart Island during the Prohibition era. Renee Nelson bequeathed the Island to the Province in 1978 with the specification that it be called "Isle-de-lis" (the name of the marine park) for the wild lilies that bloom there in the spring. The Coast Salish name for the island is Xelexátem meaning "crossways".
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Gooch and Rum Islands near the border
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Weather sites
(By Michael Jackson)
I am often asked about which sites I use for planning paddles. This is particularly important when planning a club paddle as weather conditions can easily change or cancel a club paddle. I am going to break these down into two groups: the forecast sites and the current weather sites. The official “go-to” weather information is of course the weather report on the marine VHF and the Environment Canada website. but there are many others that I use. I am going to focus on two areas that affect most of my paddling: Haro Strait and Juan de Fuca East.
For forecasts, my go-to site is Big Wave Dave, and there are several specific pages that I look at. The first is “Predicted1” which is the model-based prediction using the University of Washington model. It is broken down by hour during the daylight hours and you can click on any square in the table to get a map of predicted conditions for that time. You can also go ahead several days (up to a week), though the forecasts become less reliable as one goes further into the future.
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BigWaveDave's Predicted1 display for February 28
Plenty of wind predicted for Willows Beach!
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This is the noon BigWaveDave map for February 28th
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My second one is “Predicted2” which is based on the Environment Canada models. It is only for the next 48 hours and has some sites which are not in Predicted1, such as Pat Bay. If these two pages agree, then I am reasonably confident in the predictions. Since I paddle mostly in the Oak Bay/Cadboro Bay/ Discovery and Chatham Islands area, I focus on the “Willows Beach” prediction.
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BigWaveDave's Predicted2 table for February 28th.
Similar to Predicted1...
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On the day of a paddle, and sometimes after a paddle, I look at several sites that show current weather conditions. One of these is the BigWaveDave 24 hour plot for Discovery Island which shows the automated reports from the Discovery Light together with the two model predictions.
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The 24 hour plot for Discovery Island - Feb 28th
Note forecasts and reports are plotted
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In addition to the Discovery Light reports, I now make use of several of the sites on VictoriaWeather.ca. This network of school and other weather stations can provide up to the minute reporting from weather stations all over town (and around the Island). I focus on 3 sites: Trial Island Lightstation, Royal Victoria Yacht Club and Ten Mile Point. On each of these pages, you can see graphs of the current weather conditions, most importantly the wind speed and direction.
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Victoriaweather RVYC wind speed for Feb 28th
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Victoriaweather RVYC wind direction plot for Feb 28th
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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.
In March, you will encounter small flocks of Black Brant resting along pebbly beaches such as Whiffen Spit near Sooke or Island View Beach as you launch or beach. These small dark geese have a white necklace and white rump.
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Black Brant are migrating through
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American Wigeon have been around all winter, preferring shorelines along sheltered bays. The males have a white hip patch and black tail; the head has a distinctive white or buffy forehead. You'll hear their quiet whistley, sneezy call.
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American Wigeon, female and male
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Rum Island Paddle
February 7 looked to be a gloomy day - cloudy, 30% chance of showers. But the tidal currents would be modest and the winds NE 5-15 knots, so seventeen eager kayakers took to the water at the Amherst launch site for a 10-mile cruise to Forrest, Domville, Gooch and Rum Islands.
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Sheep Island, where $1.8 million will include this fine outhouse.
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The route to Rum took us between Sheep, Domville and Brethour Islands. A long-time caretaker on the dock at Sheep Island gave a couple of us some history of Brethour Island. It might still have some introduced California bighorn sheep and several buffalo; once it also had emus and an assortment of other weird beasties. The house there was apparently built like a bunker back in the nuclear-spooked 1960s, with very thick walls and bullet-proof glass.
After a leisurely lunch on Rum, we worked our way back as the wind eased and the sun (sort of) emerged. Not a drop of rain! Once again, Environment Canada's prediction had been on the pessimistic side.
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Practice, practice, practice....
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William Head Quarantine Station
Vancouver historian and author Peter Johnson's slideshow and talk at our General Meeting on Feb 24th about the Quarantine Station at William Head (1872-1959) gave us all more to think about while paddling in that area, now the site of the William Head Penitentiary.
The federally-operated Quarantine Station was set up to ensure that those arriving at Victoria by ship were not carrying infectious diseases. After a slow start, it became very busy; in 1917 alone, almost 100,000 Chinese workers were cleared through William Head to support the British war effort in Europe. The quarantine process reflected the times, with a limited understanding of diseases and treatments, continuing class and wealth distinctions and racist attitudes.
Peter illustrated his thought-provoking remarks with fascinating archival photographs of the William Head facilities and personnel, as well as those on D’Arcy Island and Bentinck Island, many taken more than a century ago.
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The CPR steamer Empress of Japan at the Quarantine Station at William Head (Library and Archives Canada)
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Ogden Point Master Plan - have your say
This group of SISKA members enjoyed a beautiful day paddling offshore on February 18th, and then attended the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority's information session on the Ogden Point Planning Process at Pier B on their return.
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SISKA paddlers at Ogden Point
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Paddlers would like to have a small, safe beach for launching and landing in windy weather, so have suggested improving part of the foreshore for that purpose inside the Breakwater. The Authority’s long range plans envision multiple uses, including the marine terminal and heliport plus related services, technology, offices and storage. There might be a mix of retail, commercial, institutional and hotel facilities and services plus public amenities and First Nations activities.
SISKA members can have their say about what they would like to see at Ogden Point online at http://ogdenpointmasterplan.mindmixer.com
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A rendition of the Ogden Point proposals
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Level 2 Course
What: Paddle Canada Level 2 Skills Course, for those with Paddle Canada Level 1 wanting to progress through the next level OR for those who already have the prerequisite skills through other courses. Sheila Porteous and Jo Nicolson will be the instructors, For more information on the skills covered in this course go to Paddle Canada http://www.paddlingcanada.com/sea-kayak/868-sea-kayak-level-2-skills.html.
When: Four day course - Sunday, May 8, Sunday May 15, and Saturday and Sunday May 21 & 22 (includes overnight camping trip)
Where: TBA
Cost: $400
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