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!

Michael Jackson (SISKA president) 

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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

Oct 14/18 9:30 am - 3:00 pm Oak Bay Marina - Parking Lot to Gonzales Beach Paddle

Oct 20/18 9:30 am - 3:00 pm Whiffin Spit to Cabin Point Paddle

Oct 24/18 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Monthly Meeting : The Old Man and the Vulture
Come and listen to Pender Island’s own Dave Manning, a senior who became hooked on vultures when he stumbled upon a white fuzz ball of a chick peeking from its nest cave. His program includes the three Vultures of North America and follows one Turkey Vulture nest from mating to migration Dave is the author of “The Old Man & the Vulture” which is a journal of a birdwatcher and was created as a beautiful pictorial book chronicling the lives of these magnificent large birds

Nov 10/18 9:30 am - 3:00 pm Amherst to Tsehum Harbour Paddle

Nov 25/18 9:30 am - 3:00 pm Albert Head to Witty's Lagoon Paddle

Nov 28/18 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Monthly Meeting : Colombia – It is Not the Country You Think It Is!

Gail Miller & Fred Pishalski spent a month last winter touring all over Colombia. The country previously known as the bad boy of South America has gone through significant changes in the last few years. Their photo and video show will take you from the big cities like Bogota and Medellin to the high mountains and down to the Caribbean and yes there is even kayaking in the presentation

Kayakers crossing Colburne Passage NE of Swartz Bay and SE of Piers Island, pass Knapp island (shaped like a cashew nut). The island was named after Kemster Knapp (1858), an instructor aboard HMS America. It was also known, in the old days, as Mosquito Is. (presumably for good reason)

The island was owned by Joseph Quadros from the Azores, who also acquired Pym Is. in 1889. Subsequent owners included Hollywood film director Victor Fleming and a Texan multi-millionaire Guy Waggoner who built a luxury home and small boatyard. Entrepreneur Andrew Evans and his wife Ann, a Shinto princess, bought Knapp Is. in 1995 and built a Shinto shrine and a practice space for martial arts; the island is private. The Fulford Harbour ferry usually passes between Piers and Knapp islands, reminding us to be cautious. A beach at the southern end of Knapp Island provides a good spot to regroup before crossing Colburne Passage and evading the BC ferries.