[Admin S. Jensen]

This season we relaunched the Short Notice Paddle forum. In case you couldn’t find it earlier, is now under the Forums menu and is visible to all members. Go to the skabc.org, log in, navigate to the forum and click “subscribe”.

FYI, here is the info and guidelines for this forum:

Interested in an informal paddle with other club members? Check out the topics in this forum. Want to invite others on a short notice paddle?  Create a new topic. To learn more about using this forum and to subscribe, see the information at the bottom of this page.

Note that all activities arranged through this forum are unofficial paddles neither organized nor led by SKABC, and are not covered by club insurance. Participants are responsible for their own safety at all times.

When you join a short notice call-out paddle, you are responsible for your own preparedness. Contact the organizer ahead of time to find out details. Be honest about your paddling abilities and make sure the other participants will be at a similar paddling level. Ahead of the paddle, check the weather and conditions. Make sure you have all Transport Canada required equipment. Also, bring a chart or equivalent map. Be prepared to suggest a Plan B just in case.  See the Trip Planning Page page for resources on equipment, safety and preparedness.

The beginning of the season is a great time to make sure you’re subscribed to the Short Notice Paddle Forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to get this going again.

[Quirine Schuyff]

I’m very interested!

[Ken Bigelow]

Have you ever wanted to visit every Howe Sound Marine Trail site in one shot?

Well… here’s your chance.

3 Days / 2 Nights
6 Marine Trail Sites
1 Bonus Card
Best poker hand wins.

At each site everyone draws a card from the deck.
One bonus stop could completely change the game.

This is not a race, just a fun multi-day paddle through the Howe Sound with good people, coastal camping, questionable luck, and hopefully decent weather.

Expect:

Big scenery
A moderate group pace
Lots of laughs
A bit of strategy
And a very real chance your perfect hand gets destroyed at the final stop.
More route details to come once weather is locked in.

Let’s go do something different.

Launch Location: Porteau Cove
Launch Time: 9:00 AM
Trip Class: 3C

[Ken Bigelow]

Looks like a great time. I will put my name down for this also.

[Quirine Schuyff]

Our insurer wants participants on our trips to be members. If we hold anything where non-members attend, we need to inform them. (ie. Holiday Party).
So while it is possible that we “could” in theory welcome guests, we would need to check with the insurer first and let them know the type of event.

[Maureen Benzon]

Hi Theresa,

Decades ago, guests were permitted on club trips if they signed a waiver. This was problematic, as it was a paper waiver and soon lost. Now we have moved on to electronic waivers, so even that is not possible.

The reason that we require participants to be members is for the comfort and protection of the trip leaders. We owe our volunteers a huge thanks. Without them, we would have no club

🙂

[Theresa Davies]

Got it- thanks, Kevin.

 

[Kevin Amos]

Only Members are allowed on club trips. This is something I have discussed with the Exec in the past.

About our Trips

[Theresa Davies]

Any rules regarding known, competent non SKABC members joining a club day trip?

[Sandra Waddle]

Hi Helen,

There is a boat launch. It’s meant for cars to back in boats in tow. However, we backed in with our boats on until it was feeling like it was getting too steep. We took off the boats, unloaded gear, and then organized on the side to allow others to launch. The boaters were friendly and nice.

There is paid parking as well.

The campground we stayed in was nice but I’m sure the others are too.

while you’re there check out the visitor centre and museum, if you have time. Also there is a cafe with a craft/art store upstairs with wonderful local wares. Great for gifts.

another piece of information, we found that the wind forecast was a little bit stronger than what we experienced on the water. Perhaps God‘s pocket shelters things a little bit. We wanted to cross the first day to avoid having to deal with bears. So we took a look, saw the water was calmer than the forecast suggested, and went for it. It got a little wavy in the middle, but we were fine. we had a couple of fairly new paddlers with us, in a double. so we were particularly cautious. Anyway, another thing we did was bring rope in case of fog. Sometimes there can be quite a bit of fog there. We didn’t run into that, but we did run into a lot of overcast cool weather. Even though just a little bit south it was sunny and hot, we wore all our clothes that week!

another pointer, on the right side of Nigei Island we saw loads of humpbacks and a herring ball. It was quite the amazing site. We heard wolves but never saw them. We also saw ocean otters, mink and goose neck barnacles

 

[Timothy Lim]

someone is selling a hullavator pro for $700, that’s a good deal.
Here is the link if you are interested.
https://www.facebook.com/share/14aEpQfzAcw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[Helen Roberts]

Thanks for responding. Yes, we saw Bear Cove marked as a launch site on the BC Marine Trails map, but were a little reluctant to launch from farther east than Port Hardy and increase our distance/travel time to the islands.  Do you remember how long a paddle it was for you?

[Helen Roberts]

Hi Sandra,  Thanks for your response.  It’s good to hear we can launch from the marina – is there an actual boat launch (BC Marine Trails only shows a launch from Bear Cove), or did you launch from a dock?  Thanks also for the tips re the Masterman Islands and Carrot Park.  We are looking at either the regional campground or the Port Hardy RV Park/campsite.

[Helen Roberts]

Thanks for responding.  I’ve done the trip before, but it was in 2015.  We were also disappointed to hear that Vansittart is closed.

I was more focused on finding out where we could launch, camp and leave our cars in Port Hardy.   The campsite we stayed at no longer seems to exist.  Did you launch near the marina or near the ferry terminal?

[Monica Nolan]

Hey folks,

Due to my participation in tomorrow’s BMO half marathon, I am not able to attend the Spring Fling.  It is unfortunate as I was hoping to meet others, learn about the club and how to get involved.

[Author]

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