The SKABC Newsletter August 2006 SKABC: To promote fellowship, safety, the exchange of information and skills; to encourage concern and respect for the environment, and above all to enjoy sea kayaking. "Earl and The Girls" Do Dionisio Inside this issue: - submitted by Shayne le Poer Trench Kayak Cuisine Trip 2-3 Early on during our trip, when a volunteer was sought by our enthusiastic and talented trip Letter from the Editor 2 organizer, Maureen Benzon, to do a write-up on our adventure, I figured this would be fun and easy to do. However, having over-used every possible superlative in the dictionary and thesau- Gulf Islands Trip 4 rus, I am finding it a little harder to properly describe what an amazing trip this was, but here goes anyway .. Saturna Winery 5 In a nutshell, 5 of us crammed at least 10 days' worth of fun, excitement, camaraderie, ad- venture, adrenaline, relaxation, friendship, and wow! factor into 4 gloriously sunny days, and Dionisio Point Trip 6-10 there was an endless surplus of B*G's (Big - your choice of word in here - Grins). Bob Salo had planned to join the trip but very sadly he was given a date for knee surgery Chicken Chow Mein 11 that would not allow sufficient recovery time to safely put his knee through the rigors of a kayak trip. I fear that Bob may hate me for ever as I was the lucky soul who got to take his Whale Sightings 11 place! If you read this article Bob, please know that I had more than enough fun for both of us, and I truly hope that your knee appreciates the sacrifice you made and rewards you with a bet- Trips ter-than-new recovery. 12 Right off, the four "girls" Maureen, Marjo, Gretchen and myself, want to commend Earl for ICE 13 bravely staying on as the lone male - we're sure he must have experienced major trepidation, but throughout the weekend we all felt that the group "gelled" extraordinarily well, with very compatible skills and experience levels, as well as the equally important melding of personali- Upcoming Events 14 ties and building of friendships. Sunscreen Protection 14 Next Meeting: Aug 1, 2006 6 ish BBQ and picnic (bring your own everything except the BBQ) 7:30 Meeting Come out and expand your kay- aking knowledge, leadership decision making prowess and basic first aid response. In small break-out groups, we will dis- cuss various challenges that kayakers have actually faced at one time or another - some life threatening - and propose possi- ble solutions or responses for a positive outcome. Continued on pages 6 to 10... Location: Locarno Beach Page 2 PADDLE the SKABC Newsletter Upcoming Meetings: Kayak Cuisine 2006 Meetings begin at 7:30 pm Sept 5, 2006 submitted by Kathleen Cunningham Oct 3, 2006 On June 3rd, nine enthusiastic paddlers gathered at Porteau Cove for the legen- Nov 7, 2006 dary annual Kayak Cuisine weekend. In spite of the dire weather forecast, the water Location: was calm and there was blue sky with just enough cloud cover to keep the air cool (for a while anyway). After some discussion about where to park and whether the Vancouver Museum parking tickets are actually enforced, Tony told his story of the lost kayaker who was Main floor meeting room abandoning his Alaska adventure after losing his tent in a recent storm. Clearly our 1100 Chestnut Street SKABC group was more prepared, even if we were only going out for 2 days! As we set out on the 3 nautical mile crossing to Dommet point on Anvil Island, there was barely a ripple on the water and we made great time. After a brief snack Check out our Yahoo while admiring the dramatic cliffs at the point, we continued on 2 more nautical Group! miles to our base for the weekend Douglas Bay. We could hear the machinery clearing the land for more homes on Gambier, but our beach was as it always has New on our website... been a great camping area surrounded by trees, lots of beach at low tide and many Planning a last minute trip? Looking for a log for resting against and, of course, to cook on later. kayaking buddies? Go to the member s area of our site: www.skabc.org, and link to the Yahoo group. This allows you to post messages and respond to messages that others have posted. You can also use this area to get information about paddling destinations, paddling equipment, buying, selling, etc. Membership Year: April 1 to March 31. The fee is $45.00 for The refreshing Gambier Creek was just a few steps away. one year. The day remained calm. After setting up tents and the tarp (just in case it should SKABC Mailing Address: rain!) most of us set to relaxing and enjoying the view. Liz had a swim, others slept Box 751, Station A in the sun and others were amused by the marine life. Highlights included seals, Vancouver, BC mergansers, eagles and even some loons. V6C 2N6 The serious part of the day began late in the afternoon when Tony explained the Register online at history of the Kayak Cuisine weekend and what motivates him to continue. And, he WWW.SKABC.ORG Letter from the Editor Good thing there was one rainy weekend in July, otherwise there may not have been an August newsletter! This month I ve had many submissions from fun trips: Dioinisio Point off of Galiano Island, the Saturna Win- ery Trip, Simone s adventures in the Gulf Islands. I ve only put a sampling of photos in the newsletter, check- out the web site for the Photo Galleries Nick has posted: Currents Weekend, Saturna Island, Blackberry Point. If you ve got great pictures of your trip, please send the best ones on to Nick Jones at [email protected]. Gayla Shulhan This month I went sunburn free you ll find some practical advice on applying sunscreen on the last page of this edition. Please document your whale and porpoise sightings for the BC Cetacean Sightings Network more information on page 10. Enjoy your paddling in August and keep me posted on your adventures at [email protected]. August 2006 Page 3 Your Executive & doesn t disappoint. Four 3-course meals were en- trusted to us for preparation: one Chinese, one Thai, Officers one Mexican and one Indian. And then there was Tony s treat a pot full of mussels cooked to perfec- President: tion with his secret recipe! Roxanne Rousseau [email protected] Each meal was full of variety and flavour. Tony s objective was met we too can prepare a tasty meal Vice President: any day on a trip! We can even serve up crème cara- Bob Shields mel! Of course, [email protected] we all ate too Treasurer: much. But that s okay we could paddle it off tomorrow. Rob Leeson [email protected] Secretary: Graham Clowes The weather did turn during the night and we woke to a [email protected] light rain. The tarp served its purpose and kept us dry through breakfast. In spite of the wind warnings on the Membership: radio, we had a dry and calm morning paddle along the Edwin Bussey shores of Gambier and out to Pam Rocks. There, an Eagle [email protected] watched us from on high as we drifted through the islets Conservation Liaison: and the colony of seals. I m not sure who was more curi- Elisa Kreller ous, the seals or us. But they were definitely more enter- [email protected] taining. Not far beyond was Christie Islet where we found the nesting cormorants on the northern cliff amidst many Outdoor Recreation Council: seagulls and numerous red-beaked oyster catchers. Still to Tony Clayton be determined: are the cormorants Brandts, Pelagics or [email protected] Double Crested? Training: After a much needed lunch at a small sheltered beach on Sophie Chenier Anvil Island we headed back to Porteau Cove to complete [email protected] Trips: Shelley Lear See page 11 for the Chicken [email protected] Chow Mein recipe Safety: Bob Maher [email protected] our 8 nautical mile day. With the wind at our backs, we made good time. And, thank good- ness, we never experienced a Squamish . Programs: Heather Hamilton-Wright [email protected] We were a curious bunch. Post trip learnings that circulated to answer our musings include: Social Director: From Alice: The breeding place for seals is a rookery; a group of young seals is a pod. Sue McLeish From Gail: a link to the Anvil Island Bible camp for the history of Anvil Island. It was the [email protected] location of the Anvil Island Brick Company, and had an apple orchard that once boasted Library: an award from the Chicago World Fair in 1933. The camp began in 1941. Ray Saadien http://www.anvilisland.org/aboutus_history.asp [email protected] From Ann: Captain Vancouver named the island and was inspired by the shape of the Webmaster: Nick Jones [email protected] Newsletter: Gayla Shulhan [email protected] Page 4 PADDLE the SKABC Newsletter Gulf Island Trip submitted by Simone Avram This trip started with every kayaker's worst night- mare. The carpool driver drove her vehicle, with boat on top, to pick up her first passenger. As she drove, she noticed her 12 year old shiny cedar strip kayak shifting positions. As she quickly pulled over and put on the brakes, her kayak torpedoed into the rear window of a parked mail truck.