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!
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
Siska 2019 Picnic (Clinics and Gear Swap)
by Jane Jacek
Saturday June 15th
Cadboro Bay Beach Gyro Park
Bring your own lunch
Coffee, tea and goodies will be supplied
Prizes, prizes, prizes
Registration: Cost $5
Required before event at PayPal link: https://bit.ly/2KIPU7c
Gear Swap 9am-12pm
Looking to buy or sell kayak gear and/or a kayak, then this is the event for you.
Selling: Please label items with your name and price.
Clinics: Morning 10am-12pm
Clinics requiring sign up morning of June 15th at Cadboro Bay, limited group size:
1, 2 ( sign up begins at 9am at Cadboro Bay Beach, day of event)
1. Kayak Fitting: Dorothea Hoffman
Are you connected to your kayak? If you paddle in rough water, want to learn to roll, improve your edging and bracing. or kayak comfortably
while touring, kayak fitting may help you. The instructor will help you adjust your kayak and insert foam to help you fit your kayak better.
2. Navigation Exercise with Chart & Compass: Edgar Hulatt
After a brief review of latitude & longtitude, true & magnetic north, and plotting lines of position and fixes we shall go onto the water and perform a navigation exercise in the bay. Please bring chart 3440 Race Rocks to DâArcy Island, and a compass.
Open to all: no sign up required: 3, 4, 5, 6
3. Crabbing with Mike Jackson former Siska president:
Learn what gear is required using your kayak. Find out how to identify the crabs you can keep.
4. Kayak Camping:
What does one need to take for a 4 week kayak trip? How does it all fit? Club member John Minkley will bring his kayak and gear/food he is planning to take on a 4-week trip from Coal Harbour back to Victoria this July.
5. Meet Up Summer Kayak Trip:
Wanting to do a multi-day kayak trip or over night camp out and looking for other like minded paddlers? Siska member David Maxwell will host a Meet Up for people looking for others to kayak trip with this summer. In the morning look for the Meet Up poster.
6. TRAK Kayak demo: 11am
Meet TRAK Pilot Al Quan as he demonstrates the TRAK Kayak. Watch this easy to assemble Sea Kayak come together right in front of your eyes. Learn about the innovative materials + unique carbon fibre frame system. Watch the only sea kayak that can adjust its rocker, and learn how this feature allows for you to adapt to any type of water condition. The TRAK Kayak is also extremely portable, and easily can fit into the trunk of a supermini-sized car. Test paddle opportunities will be available, along with a special offer exclusively for SISKA.
Clinics: Afternoon 1pm-3pm
Clinics requiring sign up morning of June 15th at Cadboro Bay, limited group size:
7, 8, 9, 10 ( sign up begins at 9am at Cadboro Bay Beach, day of event)
7. Towing : Mike Jackson
This is a skill that many of us do not practice often enough but is an
important safety skill. In this clinic we will look at some of the equipment
that can be used for towing, some of the techniques that can be used and then get a chance to practice those skills on the water.
8. Forward Stroke: Greenland paddle or Euro blade: Dorothea Hoffman
Want to improve your forward stroke, then this session is for you. It will begin with demonstration and coaching on the beach. Once on the water, the instructor will stand on the edge and observe each paddlerâs stroke and offer individual tips.
9. On Land Weather Clinic: Edgar Hulatt
We shall determine the weather forecast for the next 3 days using the Environment Canada VHF weather forecast, the Sailflow app and synoptic charts. Please bring a notebook and pencil, as well as your VHF radio if you have one. You are encouraged to load the free Sailflow app onto your smart phone prior to the clinic.
10. GPS: Karen Stefanyk
If you took the Siska intro GPS course then this session is for you. Participants are required to bring their own GPS. The focus will be on navigating to a waypoint and track logs.
Open to all - no sign up required: 11
11. Relaxed Paddle
Join paddle coordinator Gary Jacek in a relaxed paddle exploring the nooks and crannies of Cadboro Bay. Usual guidelines for Siska paddles apply. i.e. dress for immersion.
Throughout the day: Try out a range of kayaks others have brought
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More Siska Events -
Saturday, June 01st, 2019 - 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Oak Bay Marina - Parking Lot to Oak Bay Foreshore Intertidal Exploration Paddle
Saturday, June 08th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Basic - 5 OF 8 SPACES LEFT
Saturday, June 08th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Level 1 - Day 1 of 2 - FULL
Saturday, June 08th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Level 1, Extra Course - Day 1 of 2 - FULL
Sunday, June 09th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Basic - 8 OF 8 SPACES LEFT
Sunday, June 09th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Level 1 - Day 2 of 2 - FULL
Sunday, June 09th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM - SISKA SPRING TRAINING: SISKA: Paddle Canada Level 1, Extra Course - Day 2 of 2 - FULL
Sunday, June 09th, 2019 - 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM - World Oceans Day - Fisherman's Wharf
Friday, June 14th, 2019 - 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Island View Beach to Crabbing paddle- come catch your lunch! Paddle
Saturday, June 15th, 2019 - 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Siska 2019 Picnic (Clinics and Gear Swap) Cadboro Bay Beach Gyro Park
Sunday, June 16th, 2019 - 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Willows Beach to Oak Bay Foreshore Fathers Day Intertidal Explorati Paddle
Friday, June 21st, 2019 - 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM - Sechart Lodge to (FULL-TAKING WAITLIST) Barkley Sound/Broken Island Paddle
Saturday, June 22nd, 2019 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM - Cadboro Bay to Chatham and Discovery Islands Paddle
Saturday, July 06th, 2019 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM - Oak Bay Marina to Tentative Intertidal Exploration Paddle
Saturday, July 13th, 2019 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM - Brentwood Bay Ferry Wharf to Todd Inlet Nocturnal Pyrotechnic Observation Paddle
Sunday, July 21st, 2019 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM - Island View Beach to D'Arcy Island Paddle
Saturday, July 27th, 2019 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM - Amherst to Portland Island Paddle
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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.
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MEC Paddlefest Victoria 2019
by Fred Pishalski
Date:Saturday, 06 July, 2019
Time: From 10:00 am to 04:00 PM PDT
Organizer: MEC Victoria
Address: Willows Beach
2740 Dalhousie St
Victoria, BC
Come down and check out a boat, take a short course, see if you can find anything in the gear grab and say hello the folks in the combined SISKA/BC Marine Trails tent.
More Events -
Friday, May 31st, 2019 - 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM - Pacific Paddling Symposium
Sunday, June 02nd, 2019 - 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM - World Oceans Day - Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea
Tuesday, June 04th, 2019 - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Leading Roles: A Discussion on Female Southern Resident Orcas
Thursday, June 06th, 2019 - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - R2AK Stage 2 Race Start
Saturday, June 08th, 2019 - 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM - World Oceans Day - Esquimalt Gorge Park
Friday, June 14th, 2019 - 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM - BC's Family Fishing Weekend
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News from our Librarian
by Heather Jones
Just In Case you Didn't Know!!
Our Library not only has books to borrow but we also have various DVD"s. We even have DVD's which are of some of the presentations Siska has put on for it's members.
We also have a Greenland paddle which can be borrowed.( It is currently being borrowed by a member.)
As well as that, we have a couple of drysuit gasket repair kits!... The kit has the forms required to stabilize the gasket assembly as well as sharp scissors and sand paper. You only need to supply the gaskets and a tube of aquaseal to do this repair yourself. If you wish to borrow the kit, just contact me and we can make arrangements for you to pick it up from my house... or at the next meeting.
G askets can be ordered from http://www.seaskin.co.uk/ unless needed urgently, in which case they are available locally through MEC and ORS but at a significantly higher cost.
Motionize Kayak Tracker
SISKA also has a “Motionize” kayak tracker unit for loan, currently stored with John Abercrombie and accessible by contacting him at j_r_abercrombie@telus.net .
The Motionize is a small electronic unit that attaches to one’s kayak, and links with a paddler's compatible smartphone to analyze his/her paddling mechanics including stroke positioning, length, propulsion and symmetry in real time.
Enjoy a fun summer of paddling!!!
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SISKA’s Spring Training a Huge Success!
by Alan Campbell
Congratulations, everyone! For the past month, and continuing for the next two weeks, SISKA has organized inexpensive kayaking skills refresher and training courses for members that have been almost fully subscribed. 10 clinics were delivered in conjunction with Dave Nichols of Blue Dog Kayaking, Yves Aquin of Go Kayak, JF Marleau of SKILS and EJ of Pacifica Paddlesports. In addition, 5 Paddle Canada Basic and Level 1 courses were delivered by our own SISKA instructors, Jennie Sutton, Michael Egilson, Jo Nicolson, Willi Fast, Edgar Hulatt and Mike Jackson. Just over 100 clinic/course spots were booked – a very impressive feat for a club with about 300 members! Feedback received from those attending via our online event feedback form has been extremely positive, and our kayak skills partners are delighted to have been able to participate in this timely summer paddling preparation program. Go Kayak has even extended their special discounted course offers to SISKA members with more clinics scheduled through them in June and July. Most importantly, many of you are now much better prepared for the warm weather paddling season. You will certainly enjoy your time on the water that much more as a result. There were a few administrative challenges putting this all together, but we had lots of timely assistance from Mike Jackson, Dave Ostapovich, Roger Botting and Delcie McLellan. We’ll review the program later this summer and see what more we can learn about doing this kind of focused training, but it would be great to repeat it next year and perhaps see it evolve into an annual tradition to promote safer paddling among Club members!
Happy and safe paddling this summer!
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Tips from the trips
by Debbie Leach
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