March Hoot & Blat: Willie P, Meteors, Kites & Tim’s Tips
We lost a dear friend Willie P. Bennett a short while ago. Many of you would remember him backing up Fred Eaglsmith at our spring gatherings and know what an incredible talent and special man he was. Willie was a legend in Canadian music and we were so very lucky to know him.
Meteorites and Kite Skiing
Big news around here this past week was a meteorite falling out of the sky west of the Limestone Islands. CBC phoned asking if we had a run on snowshoe rentals from folks trying to find pieces of it. I wanted to cook up a story for them about gangs of Parry Sounders running out over ten miles of the Bay icepack with their trusty snow shoes, but apart from the odd sled roaring out and quickly turning back part way, I think that was all the rise mr. meteorite got out of us. Talk at Horton’s was mostly round how hot space rocks melt into ice really quick huh? One of our friends did try to kite-ski out, but got turned back by bad ice. So….a bit of space history is lodged firmly out there in the big beyond. Speaking of being out of this world, the skiing on the Bay has been unbelievable these past few weeks. You can glide forever - and ever and ever. Read more about the meteor over Georgian Bay…
Tim’s Tips # 1
We’re coming into the early paddling season where the water is still icy cold. If someone suddenly dumps in cold water, one of the things you have to watch and treat for is Cold Shock. This involuntary inhalation of water into the lungs is not always easy to detect - and it can happen in conjunction with a severe cardiac and pulmonary response. So…treat every cold water dump as potentially serious and do yourself a favour - read the best article I’ve ever seen on this topic in the February 08 edition of Sea Kayaker magazine.
Tip #2
Before I zip up my map case for a trip, besides a compass, I always throw in a sheet or two of paper and a pencil. The pencil is kinda obvious, and sure-the paper is to write upon – BUT – the edge is also a really simple way to draw a straight line if ya don’t have a ruler-and by pencilling on the edge your start and endpoints-you can transfer that down to the map scale and measure out distance travelled really quick. You can also use that edge to walk a track or travel line over to a compass rose on a marine chart. So….we don’t need no stinkin’ dividers or parallel rulers eh?
