John Winters

OK, I don’t keep any notes, don’t take any pictures, don’t leave anything but footprints, and suffer from a mild case of Alzheimer’s; but I promised to write about the rendezvous and I will.

I think the decision to meet at Britt for a second year in a row worked out well. Fewer people got lost trying to find it. There were three members there when I arrived Friday afternoon, who had already been paddling. (We need some kind of award for serious paddlers like Vic Helmuth, and Rudy Rauch.).

By Friday evening the best campsites had tents on them and people talked or paddled as suited their fancy. Interesting watching a crowd of people trying to put up a new tent for the first time.

"HMMM. Let me see, put this pole here, that pole there, no, that won’t work."
"Why don’t you read the instructions?"
"What for?"
"That looks good"
"OOPS. Guess it doesn’t work that way either"

Finally got it up and it did look good.

Saturday, morning things got serious. The Coast Guard arrived to tell us about the new safety regs. One of the better presentations on this topic I have heard. Lots of solid stuff and realistic thoughts on safety plus some useful handouts. Their self-righting patrol boat (big air bag mounted on a framework above the boat) impressed me almost as much as the people giving the presentation. We managed to get one of them out in a kayak to convince her of the safety and fun of sea kayaking. From her smile she looked converted. They took some of the members out in their boat patrol boat and from their smiles, they were converted too.

There were lots of workshops on just about everything one needs to know from food to folding kayaks. We also had the usual rolling clinics for those who haven’t yet mastered staying upright. And then we went paddling. The serious paddlers, led by Wolfgang Kushke and Hart Haessler, took off for parts unknown, got lost, found themselves and came home. Not sure who led most of the time as these fellows paddle with passion.

The wusses paddled out to a rock I found Friday evening with a nice bed of wild flowers. Kind of amazed me that I found it again, as all those rocks look the same to me. Broke my nice home made lightweight paddle on the way out (back to the drawing board). Fortunately some people carry spares and saved me having to do the single paddle routine which, incidentally, actually works even if slower.

The annual potluck was a smashing success. As before the food exceeded the capacity of the diners although there were some heroic efforts. The raffle for the benefit of the Georgian Bay committee came off well (I won something for the first time in my life) and the Ivens family owns everything else. Was the fix in?

At night some went to the slide show and some went for a night paddle up to Britt. I miss a lot of slide shows but the night paddle seems like such a nice relaxing way to end the day.

Three cheers for Bill Lanning for organization and Don and Donna Smith for running the show.

Laverne Eye

Italy was the choice venue for the Symphony of Fire paddle this year. The fireworks were spectacular, and it was a very clear, warm, calm evening – great for night paddling. The boat traffic wasn’t too congested by all those motors and sails and very accessible and safe for kayaks and canoes. The only glitch in the evening was that we were unable to watch the fireworks from the beach were GLSKA normally views from, due to an over-zealous coast guard, but we still has a great front and centre view.

I had never seen the Symphony of Fire show and when I found out that GLSKA was doing an evening paddle at this event, there was just no other way to experience this event.

We were only two, where were you? This is definitely the way to spend a night in Toronto and experience amazing fireworks. Hope to meet more of you next year.

Bill Lanning

Despite early morning rain, twenty-two paddlers descended on Snug Harbour on Saturday September 11. Doug Cunningham and GLSKA’s Georgian Bay Committee, had to act as traffic cops in order to get all the kayaks and canoes through the launch site. After breaking the group into three "work parties" (emphasis on the latter), and distributing garbage bags to all, five enjoyable hours later, the east side of Franklin Island was cleaned up for a second consecutive year.

High winds and potential awkward loads made cleanup of the west side of the island a decision of safety first, and a good excuse for some paddlers to return at a future date. At day’s end over twenty bags of garbage were removed and disposed of. A vast array of lawn and card table chairs, milk crates, broken glass and even a small TV antenna makes one marvel at both the ingenuity and the thoughtlessness of some of Franklin Island’s users.

Thunderboxes installed at several campsites over the past year have proved their worth, and popularity! Latrine work carried out at other well-used campsites, indicate the need to locate additional boxes. Doug Cunningham stated that "campsites this year seem to be in better shape and generally, are cleaner than during last year’s cleanup." Hopefully, this is a sign that people who use the Bay are starting to understand its fragility.

Back to Top

[Past Trip Reports from the Archives]   [Current Trip Reports]