Safety Bulletin: advice from a Search and Rescue point of view

Submitted by Maureen B, SKABC Safety Officer:

In a recent conversation with a friend who used to serve on a Search and Rescue team, she highlighted the following:

It is a fairly common occurrence for a kayak to be spotted adrift in the Salish Sea. This initiates a search which is particularly stressful because of the of the likelihood that it is a recovery situation. If the call comes late in the day it results in a sleepless night with a scramble at dawn. In reality, quite often a call is made late morning to say the paddler overslept and is fine, with just their boat carried away by a high tide.

The first thing S&R try to do is discover who is the owner of the boat.

To lessen the stress and minimize the unnecessary waste time and resources, it would help if all kayakers marked their kayak withYour name and phone number, Your emergency contact's name and phone numberAnd make a habit of always informing their emergency contact of their trip plan.

It is club policy to create a float plan for every trip. Email this to your emergency contact and it should be an easy matter to contact someone in the group.

Paddle responsibly so we can all enjoy ourselves without causing undue stress to others.

Emergency contact numbers should also be on the welcome screen of your cell phone.

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Mercia Sixta has passed away

We've received the sad news that Mercia Sixta, one of SKABC's founders and long-time president during the early days of the club died July 2. Her family contacted us to let club members know about her Celebration of Life at Spanish Banks in mid-August. Do reach out to them through the contact info in the obituary if you plan to attend as there has been some discrepancy on the date.

Her obituary and a memorial page are here: Heather Sixta (Mercia) - November 6, 1943 - July 2, 2025. Mercia was an inspiration to countless kayakers in BC through SKABC, PIKA, and Creative Options for Recreational Kayaking, which created adaptive kayaking programs for persons with disabilities.

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Guest speaker links: The Intertidal Zone

Thank you to Georgia Hall for her presentation at our June meeting: "The intertidal zone: Where ocean meets land". Here are some resources and links referred to during her talk.

SKABC presentation links

Presentation: The intertidal zone is a weird and wonderful space. Often bursting with bright colours, unusual shapes, and surprising textures, the animals in the intertidal delight marine enthusiasts. This talk touched on the wild and whimsical creatures that call this unique ecosystem home, and also provided a high-level overview of some of the research that students are working on in the Harley Lab at UBC. We dove into the curious world of the intertidal zone and discussed how climate change is threatening and reshaping this fascinating habitat.

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Club positions where a volunteer is urgently needed

We are looking for dedicated SKABC members to volunteer for these roles. (Click each title to read a detailed description of what's involved.)

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[accordion-item title="Secretary- take minutes at Executive meetings and manage club records."]
This position is a director position as required by the the SKABC Constitution. Below is a detailed description of the duties of the club Secretary.

Executive Meetings
- Two weeks in advance of each executive meeting, the secretary emails notification of the upcoming meeting and requests that suggestions for agenda items be submitted to the secretary no later than 1 week in advance of the meeting.

- After receiving the new items for the agenda, the secretary prepares a draft agenda based on unfinished business from the previous meeting and the new items received from executive members.

- The secretary emails the draft agenda to the president.

- For virtual meetings, the secretary obtains a link to the meeting.

- The president reviews and modifies the agenda and emails it directly to all executive members. Executive members should receive the agenda at least one day prior to the meeting but, preferably, at least three days prior.

- The secretary sends a reminder of the executive meeting 2-3 days before the meeting. This should include the meeting link for virtual meetings and the agenda if it has been finalized but not sent already.

- The secretary records the minutes of the executive meeting, including all attendees.
- At the executive meeting, additional items may be added to the agenda, at the discretion of the executive members attending.

- After the meeting, the secretary sends a draft of the minutes to all executive members to review and requests that any errors and omissions be reported to the secretary within one week.

- After receiving comments, the secretary amends the minutes.

- The secretary sends the final version of the minutes to all members of the executive.

- After approval of the minutes by the executive (normally at the next meeting), the web manager posts the minutes on the SKABC website.

Directors Meetings
- A directors meeting may be called by the president or any two directors, usually for specific purposes.

- The duties of the secretary with respect to a directors meeting are similar to those for executive meetings, except that the secretary would not solicit additional agenda items, unless the initiators of the meeting so requested.

- If a confidential matter is discussed by the directors, the subject should be included in the minutes but no confidential details. If no decision is made, little information need be reported.

Club Meetings (except AGM)
No duties.

Annual General Meeting
- About 1 month in advance of the AGM, the secretary requests that annual reports be submitted to the secretary 1-2 weeks prior to the AGM.

- Three weeks in advance of the AGM, the secretary emails notification of the AGM to all members. Include any extraordinary resolutions in the notice. The procedure for emailing all members is described on the SKABC website under Exec: Website Procedures: Sending an Email Blast. By law, members must be given at least 2 weeks notice of the AGM.

- At least one week prior to the AGM, the secretary prepares a draft agenda and emails it to the president.

- The president reviews and modifies the agenda and sends it back to the secretary.

- The secretary assembles the reports and agenda and sends them to the web master, who posts them on the website.

- About 3 days prior to the AGM, the secretary emails a reminder of the meeting to all club members and, if it is a virtual meeting, a link to the meeting.
- The secretary records the minutes of the AGM.

- After the meeting, the secretary sends a draft of the minutes to all executive members to review and requests that any errors and omissions be reported to the secretary within one week.

- After receiving comments, the secretary amends the minutes.

- The secretary sends the final version of the minutes to all members of the executive.

- The web manager posts the minutes on the SKABC website labeled as a draft.

- After final approval of the minutes at the next AGM, the web manager re-posts them on the SKABC website with the draft label removed.

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[accordion-item title="Volunteer Coordinator- recruit and support club volunteers"]

This is a new proposed Executive role. The description below is under development.

- Attend monthly Executive meetings over Zoom paying attention to where our Executives need more support and initiate recruitment of volunteers.

- Chair Nominations Committee in September. Speak with current Directors and Executives about continuing in their roles. Ask in what ways they need support or if they are stepping down. Guide committee in recruiting volunteers for available positions using spreadsheet of members' volunteer preferences and their experience. With committee, propose a slate of nominees for the Annual General Meeting.

- Chair Silver Paddle and Orca Award Committee in October. Call for nominations from Executive for the Silver Paddle and from club members for the Orca Award. Choose and purchase the awards. Present awards at the Annual General meeting in November.

- Arrange for a short speech or other acknowledgement for an annual Volunteer Appreciation event.

- Liaise with Executive members – particularly the Training and Trips Officers – to find ways to develop, support and motivate volunteers. A suggestion for 2025 is to organize a skill development opportunity for leaders and instructors.
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[accordion-item title="Website Developer - troubleshooting on club's WordPress website"]
Work with current volunteer webmaster to troubleshoot and test Stripe payment gateway issue. Option to help in future with debugging coding glitches and hosting issues that may arise.
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To express interest or find out more, contact exec@skabc.org asap!

 

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Recap: 8 day Broken Group Island trip (May 31-June 7, 2025)

Submitted by Selena C

All I can say is, it was a fantastic trip! Just the 4 of us, but we clicked instantly, sharing laughter, learning and creating wonderful memories. The weather was PERFECT. The wildlife, sea life, and sights were breathtaking! We were all eager to explore as much of the Broken Group Islands (BGI) as possible, so we spent two nights each on three very different islands: Clarke, Gilbert, and Gibraltar. Our journey began at Secret Beach campground, where we were treated to an unexpected show—a truck stuck on a boulder, possibly attempting a wheelie. That night, we feasted potluck-style, fueling up for the paddling adventures ahead.

Day 2: We paddled to Clarke Island where we were greeted by crows that tried to steal our food or poop on us if we thwarted their attempts. These were VERY SNEAKY birds. Just like at Secret Beach, we were the only campers so we had our pick of sites with spectacular views. It was here I learned that the boom we heard was the sound of a whale breaching and not cannon fire from pirate ships! Kapila and I were thrilled to watch a whale spouting from the comfort of our camping chairs as Ken and Tim toiled away to build a fire.

Day 3: We circled Turret Island and stopped by Willis Island, only to find the campsite closed due to a fallen tree. Still, the outhouse was oddly picturesque! Tim and I were introduced to paddling with a Greenland paddle. It took myself some getting use to but Tim embraced it and absolutely loved that the paddle was easier on his shoulders and wrist.

Day 4: We paddled through the channel between Cooper and Howell Islands, stopping at Dicebox before setting up camp on Gilbert Island. The campsites were forested so the BUGS welcomed us with gusto. Arghh! When not paddling, we escaped to the beach, hiked, and explored. I learned how to do a bear hang and tie various knots. Around the fire, we swapped stories, kayaking tips and tricks, and debated the meaning of “White Rabbit.” Ask Ken, he will tell you more.

Day 5: We circumnavigated Effingham Island, searching for sea caves, arches, and fresh water, and had lunch at Effingham Bay. We raced back to our campground on Gilbert Island when we saw a horde of paddlers descend on our site. We were excited to catch up to the 12 paddlers from PIKA and had a fun social gathering on the water.

Day 6: We woke to fog and navigated carefully to Gibraltar Island via Island Harbour. Thanks to Kapila we found the private campsites overlooking the channel across from Nettle Island. That evening, we debriefed, planned, and geeked out over each other’s gear.

Day 7: Determined to make the most of our last full day, we paddled in search of the legendary cliff face on Reeks Island. Just as we were about to give up, Tim spotted it! We continued past Nettle, around Prideaux, between Jarvis and Jaques, and attempted to find fresh water on Gibraltar’s east side—but the choppy waters turned us back.

Day 8: We checked out the campsites on Hand Island before heading back to Secret Beach. Ken and Kapila were wonderful mentors who complemented each other. Given another opportunity, I would gladly go back to BGI with them. We didn’t make it to the sea caves on Dempster Island, so that’s definitely on the list for next time.

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