Introduction
Dear <<First Name>>,
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! If you want to see back issues, they are archived at: http://goo.gl/VUkafR.
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 SISKA Events
March 5, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, How to Plan for a Lengthy Kayak Trip - David Maxwell & John Minkley
March 10, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Amherst to Coal Island circumnavigation Paddle
March 14, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm, Tides & Currents with Anne Graves
March 25, 9:15 am - 3:00 pm, Whiffin Spit to Cabin Point Paddle
March 28, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Monthly Meeting
April 8, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Spirit Bay to Becher Bay Paddle
April 17, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Injury Prevention in Kayaking - Keeping You on the Water with Jennie Sutton
April 22, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf to Spectacle Falls and McKenzie Bight Paddle
April 25, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Monthly Meeting
(Sneak preview) May 5, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm, Level 1 paddle Canada course
For more details, go to the SISKA website
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Community Events of Interest
If you are aware of an event that should be included in the next Newsletter, please email Alan Campbell at alanglencampbell@shaw.ca.
March 5, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm, Islands Fed by the Sea - UVic
March 6, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Hudson Bay Trail - Robinson's Outdoor Store
March 6, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Climate Change, Water and Governance - UVic
March 7, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Is Apathy about Climate Change the Greatest Threat to the Planet? - UVic
March 9, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm, Shakers, Breakers and Craters - UVic
March 20, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Tsum Valley/Manaslu - Robinson's Outdoor Store
March 26, 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm, Marine Night: Stories from the Intertidal - Victoria Natural History Society
March 29, 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Reel Paddling Film Festival - Ocean River Sports and SISKA - Roxy Theater
April 3, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, "Another Season" - Fly Fishing Photography with David Lambroughton - Robinson's Outdoor Store
April 18, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, West Coast Trail - Robinson's Outdoor Store
April 30, 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm, Marine Night: Gorge herring, Victorian native oysters, and Seaquaria - Victoria Natural History Society
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What’s in a Name?
- Vic Turkington
Juan de Fuca Strait
The Juan de Fuca Strait lies between Vancouver Island and Washington's Olympic peninsula. It was named after the Greek master mariner Juan de Fuca (aka Apostolos Valerianos), who worked as a pilot for King Phillip of Spain. He discovered and explored the Juan de Fuca Strait in 1592 but the old sea pilot was generally disbelieved on his return and his claims were discredited by geographers of his time. However, records in 1625 showed that the Viceroy of Mexico (Spain) had sent him on a voyage of discovery in search of the North West Passage to China.There, he found an entrance to a body of water at Cape Flattery and sailed down what is now known as the Juan de Fuca Strait. Almost 200 years later, Capt.Charles Barkley of the Imperial Eagle recognized the strait described by him and named it the "Juan de Fuca Strait", in his honour (1787). (Apparently Capt. Cook had missed the entrance to the strait on an earlier voyage in 1778, due to bad weather.)
The international boundary with the US lies down the middle of the strait. Juan de Fuca is also remembered as the name of our local regional park, recreational centre, swimming pool, library, 47 km hiking trail and our offshore tectonic plate!
The strait is also infamous for the westerly gap winds that whistle past Race Rocks and influence our local paddling area. While unavailable to Juan de Fuca, nowadays we have Environment Canada marine weather forecasts for the West, East and Central sections of the Juan de Fuca Strait, providing us with predictions of the winds and our local paddling conditions.
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Tips from the trips
- Debbie Leach
ON YOUR KNEES
A gardening pad is handy for protecting your knees at your kayak and tent door, serving as a sit-upon (protecting your drysuit ,too) and fanning campfire embers.
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Camp Cookery - Shepherds Pie:
by Lynn Baier
This is a standard for me. It packs down to nothing, is really quick to put together, and is really tasty and filling.
At home dehydrate frozen peas, carrots, and corn. Dehydrated onions and garlic are a good addition as well. Dehydrate extra lean ground beef that has been well cooked and any extra fat absorbed into paper towels. In camp rehydrate all, along with beef bouillon, and bring to a boil. Let it sit for an hour, then bring back to a boil. Thicken as needed-you want it to hold together. Serve with instant mashed potatoes. One envelope is good for two people. Instant mashed potatoes are very easy to pack along and taste much better than they ought to.
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February 11th Relaxed paddle - Oak Bay
13 paddlers had a nice day's paddle from Oak Bay to Cadboro Bay. Below are some pictures from the Facebook posts. Photos by Mark Byrne (paddle leader), Ben Fast and Gary Jacek
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BC Coast Explorer
As you probably already know, John Kimantas’ BC Coast Explorer Vol. 1 covers some of our best coastal kayak exploration, from Port Hardy down the outer coast of Vancouver Island to Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands, including Cape Scott, Kyuquot, Brooks Peninsula, Nootka Sound, Clayoquot Sound and the Broken Group Islands.
John advises that the new edition of the Discovery/Desolation mapsheet is now available, and the new edition of the BC Coast Explorer Vol. 1 has gone to print and will be available shortly. In addition, the lineup for 2018 will be as follows, released in order:
- Broughton Johnstone mapsheet.
- Sea to Sky Marine Trail/Howe Sound mapsheet
- Deep Cove/Indian Arm mini mapsheet
- Strathcona Provincial Park mapsheet
The last should be available April-May.
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Billeting, please?
Ocean River Sports has stepped up to host the next Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC Guide Exchange. The Alliance is a non-profit society which upholds high standards for professional sea kayak guides and operators in BC.
The Guide Exchange starts on Friday April 13 and runs over the weekend with the wrap-up on Sunday. Ocean River expects some 100 guides and is looking for accommodation for April 13-15. If you are willing to billet a guide or two, please contact Brian Henry (bigkahuna@oceanriver.com).
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Kayakable Birding
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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Paddling Workshops
As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations, SISKA is organizing a series of on-water paddling workshops before the 2018 Pacific Paddling Symposium which runs from May 25-27. (The symposium sold out in less than an hour this year; if you’re lucky enough to be one of those attending, you’ll have a great time!)
We have arranged with three of the coaches coming to Victoria for the symposium to each offer a day paddling workshop for our club members. On Sunday, May 20, John Kirk-Anderson of the Kiwi Association of Sea Kayakers (KASK), New Zealand will be instructing. On Wednesday, May 23, join Blair Doyle of Adventure and Safety Atlantic, Nova Scotia. Then on Thursday, May 24, Jarrod McQuillan of Cloud 9 Adventures, PEI will run the workshop. You can find out more about each of them at http://www.pacificpaddlingsymposium.ca/Coaches. (And thanks to Stohlquist Canada (www.facebook.com/Stohlquist/), which has also been very generous to us in the past, for supporting our clinic by sponsoring Jarrod McQuillan to teach us.)
More information will be coming in the next few weeks with the details about registering for one or more of these courses, including locations, timing, structure and fees,
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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
Michael Egilson and Jo Nicolson are offering a Paddle Canada Level 2 Skills Course, a four day course - April 7 - 8, and April 21 - 22 (includes overnight camping trip). Location still to be determined. Cost will be $400; a prerequisite is a Paddle Canada Level 1 course or the equivalent plus time on the water. If interested and wanting further details please contact Jo Nicolson freya1333@hotmail.com or Michael Egilson michael.egilson@shaw.ca.
There are also, of course, some fine discounts available from our other kayak skills course partners for SISKA members who sign up for their skills training programs; have a look at http://siska.ca/docs_public/SISKAsKayakSkillsCoursePartners.pdf.
Our partners are:
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