Season End Picnic - Sept 25, 2021

Approximately 20 Slo-Mo paddlers and spouses attended the season end picnic on Saturday, Sept 25. The picnic was held at the Parksville Community Park, under ideal sunny skies. The event began with a presentation by Jeff Burdison, a very experienced local kayak guide who gave a talk on what supplies are needed for day and multi day kayak trips. He had his equipment on display and he shared useful tips for a safe and enjoyable day on the water. Jeff is interested in offering workshops on a variety of kayak-related topics and information about these will be posted to the members.

 

For the remainder of the picnic, the attendees spent time enjoying their picnic lunches, socializing with their fellow members and playing games of Bocci.

 

This was a great way to bring an end to a successful Slo-Mo Paddlers’ season. I would like end off by thanking Jim Powell for all of his work on helping to organize this event. 

Write up and photos by Jim

Spider Lake Report - Sept 21

 Once again the weather favoured our group, with almost no wind and a beautiful mackerel sky. 

We met on the beach at Spider Lake and noticed that the lake’s water level was much lower than in recent years. 

 

We were a small group for the final Slo-Mo paddle of 2021, with ten paddlers and ten boats.

 

Royston Wrecks - Comox Harbour - Goose Spit Report - Sept 7, 2021

 The weather favoured our flotilla of small watercraft once again. Calm conditions prevailed under sunny skies and mid-20s warmth. There were 22 paddlers, 14 single and two tandem kayaks, and two tandem canoes. We assembled on the gravel beach on the Royston waterfront to offload boats from our vehicles. The tide was moving out rapidly requiring us to reposition closer to the water's edge before launching.

The low tide level allowed us to explore the rusting hulls of a few ships sunken to form a breakwater to protect the log boom area of Comox Harbour from the sometimes stormy sea roiling into the bay.

 

Union Bay to Sandy Island Trip Report - August 24, 2021

 It was a beautiful sunny morning when 20 kayaks and 2 canoes set out from the Union Bay boat launch looking for an adventure and a destination new to the group.  The skies were bright and blue, not a cloud in sight, the waters fairly calm with a light northwest wind keeping the air cool. 

 

 

Heading northwest from the launch we paddled  toward the seal islets just a little west from our main destination.  Although we had the wind and small waves in our faces, the tide was with us, ebbing, so it wasn't difficult or a struggle to make good progress across Baynes Sound. 

Horne Lake Trip Report - August 10, 2021

 Ten paddlers showed up for the Horne Lake paddle. When we arrived the water was calm and we thought we would have a windless day on the lake.

 

Not to be, as, about 20 minutes prior to setting out, the wind picked up and changed the  plan to paddle north around the shoreline.

 

Nanaimo Harbour Trip Report - July 27, 2021

 It was a nice warm sunny day.  We weren’t able to paddle around Newcastle Island and the narrows, between Protection & Newcastle Islands due to the 13 km winds.

 There were twenty-three (23) of us in  twenty-one (21) kayaks: (Pat Ashton, Isy Azzopardi, Mariane Cardiff, Eileen Edwards, Cormack Gates, Bruce Gilbert, Lil Harm, Linda Hays,  Walt Ilenseer, George Mosley, Norm Patzer, Michelle Patzer, Penny Vanson, Linda Watson, Jo Winner, Linda Winner, Liz Campbell, Gord Ball, Shari Ball, Tom Corsie, Peter Law, Mila Wendt and myself). 

A Commercial Barge approached the Brechin Point Launch just before 10:00 am.  Thanks to our punctual group, we were ready to paddle before 10:00 am to be out of its way. 

 

We cruised north by the Departure Bay Ferry, to admire the Rock Formation around the Northern tip of Newcastle. We had to turn back at Shaft Point due to the rough waters.

Deep Bay Trip Report - July 13, 2021

 A total of 21 adventurous paddlers launched from the the Deep Bay Spit, 10:00 am sharp, with the goal to circumnavigate Chrome Island and explore the southern coastine tip of Denman Island.

 

Ladysmith Paddle - June 29 Report

 

It was a very hot day (27 degrees) and there were 22 souls that decided to brave the heat. We set off at the usual time and made way for the gap between the Woods Islands. On our way we passed the marker for the 49^th parallel.

 

When we got through the gap, we came across not just huge log booms (which we were expecting), but also a few boom boats that were actively pushing and sorting logs, to the left and right and it seemed everywhere.

 

So, not trusting the logs to remain calmly in place, we decided to backtrack and go around the front of the Island. It was a little shadier along that shore. At the tip of the island there were submerged rocks that a couple of us got stuck on. It took a bit of teamwork to free the 1st kayak and a second kayaker got stuck but managed to free himself. Eventually we came across more logs, but managed to tuck in behind Dunsmuir Island, which is owned by the Seattle Yacht Club.  

Cedar Paddle - June 15 Report

 

Cedar Paddle – June 15, 2021

The weather was forecasted as “iffy” but that did not deter 16 PGOSANs setting off from Cedar Boat Ramp and experiencing an adventurous paddle. 

 

The sun shone as we left the boat ramp and headed out to Round Island

 

 where many cormorants were standing on the rocky outcropping, sunning themselves on the south side of the island. 

Sproat Lake Paddle - June 1, 2021

 Sproat Lake Trip Report – June 1, 2021 – Jim Swanson

At 10 a.m. 22  Paddlers headed out to explore parts of Sproat Lake. 

Getting ready to launch the kayaks

 

Our pre-trip meeting

We started out from the Boat Launch area at the Provincial Park in 17 kayaks and 2 canoes. 

 

First off, we headed in an easterly direction to view the petroglyph carvings near the eastern boundary of the park. It was amazing just how close we could get to these carvings.