We continue to be swept up in a wonderful web of water, friends, family and wild places.
Seems funny to have our life framed by the progress of a paddling centre, but then again – it
works. Maybe we really can paddle our way through life? Every morning we wake to a sea of
boats sleeping around our house – and a lake quietly waiting nearby. In winter the water
cheerfully freezes over and with early bush snows we can ski all day to avoid work. Come spring, the peepers in the swamp offer up a wonderful chorus reminding us to get out and paddle. And on it goes......
Digging in Canadian Shield country is an oxymoron, but that’s exactly what we’ve been doing on the outer islands through our SOD (Squallions Out Digging) Project. We dig holes for wilderness thunderboxes and clean campsites so that when you go, not only do you have somewhere to really go, but you’re likely to find a clean site. These aren’t just any old holes either nosirreebobdangeorge - they have to be carefully sited to work properly. You need your Level 3 in hole digging for sure. The result has been that we’re all able to camp on durable sites that can remain so for generations... provided we all keep doing our part. What encourages us is that there really have been no big messes to clean up. Travellers in this near wilderness mark their passage with respect – and that makes all the difference. When I was young my parents owned a little neighbourhood grocery shop. One of our jobs was to keep the store’s front yard clean of garbage – and I soon learned that if I took the time to pick up little bits as they happened – then folks were less inclined to throw more on the ground. Active stewardship means getting your hands dirty but the result is the next user is more likely to leave it clean. We want to thank the East Georgian Bay Stewardship Council, Georgian Bay Land Trust and the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Association for continuing to support our hole digging and garbage picking efforts. Most importantly, thanks to all of you who keep pitching in to help offset our costs.
Two pointy ends and a middle - I’m chronically bewildered with the endless change that occurs
when creative boat builders apply themselves. Valley Canoe is starting off 2011 with the new
“Etain” sea kayak. She’s 17’7” long and 21.5 inches wide – and, if you believe the superlatives, “an entirely new concept in British sea kayak design.” I’ve said a thousand times, ya gotta stop exaggerating! Always fun to have a new kid on the block, and we’ll have some around to put through their paces this springtime.
Teaching kids and teens is a huge part of life at the Squall. “Kids Kayakin” is our starter class and every one is different! Depends on the kids – the weather – the staff. One day it might be all about dragons on the water and the next could be super heroes or attacking pirates – I never know what to expect. After KK, we offer the K1 and K2 Skill camps – based on Paddle Canada’s national programme and designed to challenge young people in the ways of good paddling and leadership. For those wanting to get out on the Bay – we’ve got Youth Adventure and Quest programmes – 4 day sojourns in the 30,000 islands. The newest is our Sweetwater Expedition, a 7 day journey from Killarney to Byng Inlet. White Squall also continues a long tradition of school groups from Grade 5 to University and College classes. To see a youngster become the captain of their own ship makes it all worthwhile. A boat is a great teacher.
We’re honoured to be able to offer Squall resource trips again this year in photography, geology, ecology, yoga and astronomy. Our specialists are widely respected in their field as well as being paddlers with a wealth of experience. Most of all, they know the Bay and really enjoy sharing it. All of our trips are led by two experienced Squall Guides – and often an apprentice comes along to learn the ropes – especially how to get the morning coffee going! Our leaders are a diverse bunch with extensive training and experience. They offer their own unique interpretation of the coast while sharing a simple love of paddling.
Our certification courses in paddling are quite popular and provide opportunities for developing
sea kayak skills in a supportive environment. But some just want to get better without the
certification. So, we’re offering two Sea Kayak Skill Camps this coming season. The instructors get to focus completely on teaching – and you get to focus completely on learning and having fun. They’re designed for both strong beginners and intermediate paddlers, which means you can go at your own pace.
We’re recognizing one of our top staff this year on the front cover - he really wanted it to be
Rolling Stones magazine, but we told him this would have to do. Benji signed on over ten years ago without a contract - said he just needed food and unending attention. A fun kind of guy - ready to stuff his nose into the first pair of legs that walks down our path. He's especially good at conserving his energy but like a coiled spring, ready to burst into action should an interesting smell present itself. Years ago he fearlessly chased off a bear who was preparing to eat one of our chickens - yet will bark a welcome 24 hours a day to anyone who seems friendly and is not a bear. A big high four to Benji, our best buddy!
Until this fall, I had never heard about the settlement of Black Tickle. That was before four of our most stubborn staff decided to drive 2900 km (one way!) at the end of October to paddle and discover the Labrador coast for themselves. Two weeks later they came back, properly humbled and full of tales of a wild, unforgiving land – and a village that welcomed them like old friends. Imagine 3 degree water and gale force north-easterlies pounding a rocky shore with precious few options for landing. They somehow managed to stuff a canvas tent and a folding stove into one of their kayaks, and that little haven of heat at the end of each day kept them happy. The journey ended at Black Tickle, a village of a few hundred people perched on the open North Atlantic. Everyone knew they were coming - news travels fast, and our very cold and tired Squallions were immediately brought into the warmth of a family home with warm beds, hot coffee and plenty of food. They ended up staying a few days, as even the big coastal ferry couldn’t get there because of high winds and waves. Our merry gang were minor celebrities, as no one could believe they had made it in such wild seas. The land and waters were all new and immensely challenging for our intrepid voyageurs, but it was the people and their unending hospitality that left an indelible mark on them.
I would like to end this holler with thoughts taken from On the Loose written long ago by two
young adventurers Terry and Renny Russell. We’ve been able to get copies of this from Renny if you are interested. The book is a treasure, an unvarnished account of two brothers on the loose, close to the wild side of life. Their creed was simple – don’t plan too much or fret about if you have all the right gear. Go – and let the world teach you.
...well, have we learned our lesson? You bet we have. Have we learned to ask advice, to take care and to plan fastidiously and to stay on the trail and to camp only in designated campgrounds and to inquire locally and take enough clothes and keep off the grass? You bet we haven’t!...it’s a shame a race so broadly conceived, should end with most lives so narrowly confined. Why should we waste childhood on the children, poverty on the poor, antiquity on the antiquitarians, or woods on the woodsmen?....
We give it our best effort... but, seems all the best lessons are learned when we discover how
insignificant we are in the great outside.
thanks for listening and we hope you can visit!
whitesquall.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(705)342-5324
(please tell us if we don’t have your absolutely correct royal mail address, and most important – the highway is all new! You need to take Exit 247 which seems like forever and don’t be looking for Timmy Hortons cause it won’t be there)
|
