Hello Northern Paddlers

Hello Northern Paddlers

Welcome to a late fall Squall ramble about paddling and camping from the shores of mighty Cole Lake.  Random thought before we start - do you think Donald Trump has ever gone camping?  Justin's Dad - Pierre Trudeau,  famously said:

What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature.

Donald, Donald, Donald - go camping now - please.

We have lots to share so here goes:

2017 Trips, Lessons, Courses

We've figured out our life for next summer and hope you can be a part of it!  We promise a unique experience, because every one of us is singularly different and characters in our own right, but are all connected by a love of camping, paddling and sharing the hidden amazing places along the coast and islands of Georgian Bay

http://www.whitesquall.com/pdf/2017_Paddling_Season_Overview_November_2016.pdf

Send Your Favourite Person Paddling

It's easy.  Call the Squall Town Shop at: (705) 746-4936 or e-mail us at info@whitesquall.com for non-expiring Squall Gift E Certificates that can be sent faster than you can say "Say, now there's a dandy Christmas Gift Idea?"

Boats & Boards

We have bzillions of these little rascals, new and used - longing for a more interesting home. Why just the other day we unloaded close to a hundred more and every one comes with our 30 Day Best Dang Price in Ontario promise.  Plus, let's just say you want to surprise someone for Christmas, and you're not sure it's the right boat?  Pas de problem because we will extend our 30 Day No Guff Return Policy to next springtime when the boat can be thrust upon the water and put through it's paces.  Not up to the job?  Just bring it back for full refund or replacement.  For over 30 years our simple commitment is that we will get you the right boat at the right price.  Want to see the fleet? :

 http://www.whitesquall.com/index.php/sales/kayak-a-canoe-prices-a-inventory

Take Some Time For the Bay

"Striking Balance" is a TVO series on the Biospheres of Canada - and the one about our little corner of the world is worth a watch.  It should be mandatory viewing for every kid growing up on the Bay - cause it opens our eyes to the reason the United Nations declared it was worth shining a global spotlight upon the northeastern coast.  They've done their part and now it's up to us to watch and understand. 

http://tvo.org/video/documentaries/striking-balance/ep-5-georgian-bay

Hot Times in Temagami

A group of Squallions just returned from a late season canoe trip to the land of Grey Owl and Old Growth Pine.  For those who know Temagami, it truly is a magical place - different and apart from Killarney, Algonquin, Quetico - a land of deep waters, shattered rock and big northern lakes.  What made our journey and long nights all the more memorable was tucking into a hot tent with cookstove every night.  How did we do that?  Pretty flippin' easy - we just carried one and the extra load was about 40 lbs which is diddly squat in order to have a cozy place to warm up, dry out and sip a rum or two.  For those who don't believe - check out:

http://www.atuktents.com/en_index.php

Atuk Tents is a Canadian treasure - they make damn good tents and stoves that last - we've had ours for over 10 years and it's still trucking strong.  Funny thing too - it can be pouring rain outside, and good old canvas keeps you warm and dry.  No fancy goretex fabric or sprays - it's the ultimate waterproof/breathable born in the old ways - which are interestingly cheaper and dare I say, better.

Tim's Tip

Don't Be Lazy Like Me - stuffing your gear into the basement or cupboard for 6 months and expecting it to greet you in the spring all hale and hearty and ready to go is a fools errand.  Make sure your tent and tarp is completely DRY.  Get some 303 (a strong UV filter/lubricant) and wipe it on anything rubber like drysuit gaskets, water filter hoses and kayak hatches and then - have a go at wiping it on your PFD cause it will keep it healthy a lot longer.  Finished?  Ok - slap some on your boat, and any other gear that looks like it could dry out and when you're done - wipe some on your face, it just might help?   Ok, OK, just kidding - but it is non-toxic. Take your thermarest and let it inflate - then fold it away semi-deflated but not rolled up, so the air can get to it - same thing for your fancy sleeping bag.  It needs to breathe and be loosely packed - stuff it in a cotton pillow case in your closet.  The more you care for your expensive stuff - the less you are going to have to pay to replace it come springtime.

Thaaat's all she wrote folks - thanks for letting us into your world for a few minutes - tim

Final Fall Clearout

We're open all weekend including Thanksgiving Monday with Blow-Out Pricing on new & used kayaks, canoes, boards and gear.

Drop by and put your name in for a chance to win one of 3 outdoor gear prizes personally paw-selected by Charly

 

C'mon out and say hello for hot coffee and conversation with us or the chickens or Charly - the latter two will have all day to chat....

 

Final Fall Clearout

Final Fall Blow-Out at the Squallipop Paddling Centre

Sat. Oct. 1 through to the end of Thanksgiving Monday - all remaining boats and boards are now discounted for the final clearout.  We can take phone orders and if you have any questions - just give us a call at 705-342-5324.  The complete list is at:  http://www.whitesquall.com/index.php/sales/kayak-a-canoe-prices-a-inventory

As always - you can return any boat for a month after purchase no sweatsky gretsky. 

See our storewide sale on new and highly trained gear, just waiting for new adventures with YOU!

October Paddling

The Bay is still swimmingly warm and the crowds and bugs are long gone.  We happily rent through the Thanksgiving weekend and beyond by appointment.  Hope you can get out for another paddle before the winter winds whirl.

Thanksgiving Eve by Bob Franke 

(one of my all time favourite songs - I first heard Garnet Rogers sing this years ago and it stole my heart...)

It's so easy to dream of the days gone by

It's a hard thing to think of the times to come

But the grace to accept ev'ry moment as a gift

Is a gift that is given to some

What can you do with your days but work & hope

Let your dreams bind your work to your play

What can you do with each moment of your life

But love til you've loved it away

Love til you've loved it away

Thanks for listening.....peace out - tim

Hooting Out on Hot Summer Holidays

Hooting Out on Hot Summer Holidays

Summer has come on with all its glory.  Folks are seeming pretty chilled out as they journey north to the fair shores of Georgian Bay and Cole Lake…our Paddling Centre.  It gives us a lot of pleasure to see smiles on faces as they start their paddling journey whether on a trip with us, taking a new boat or SUP home or heading out on a weekend trip with friends – thanks for coming in and saying hi!
Trips are packing up but there are still a few spots left on the following:

Naiscoot & Painted Rocks – July 22-24, $569 2 spots left. This is a unique area of our coast with a mix of open waters and classic beauty of Georgian Bay rock combined with river inlets and channels to explore.  The Painted Rocks shows our cool geology in all its glory and exhibit the tremendous forces applied to our rocks in days gone by.

Youth Adventure – July 26-29, $429 – 3 spots left.  Calling all kids 13 to 16 years of age, join us for a boat load of fun traipsing around windswept isles, swimming and learning to kayak camp…there’s little better to do as a kid than muck around in boats.  Jump on in!

McCoy Islands Ecology – Aug 3-5, $569 – 4 spots left.  Join Gerard Courtin on this three day ecological journey.  Gerard can tell some good tales and teach you a whole bunch about our wondrous coast.

Summer Lollygaggers - Aug 12-14, $569 - 6 spots left.  This trip was designed for the folks who want to paddle and explore at a gentle pace.  It's all about taking the time to linger over coffee, or meander along the shores.

Coastal Photography – Aug 15-18, $795.  Thom Morissey is not only a consummate teacher, he’s also a great photographer who’ll have you learning and laughing.  From cell phone photography to Fancy Pants Photo’s you learn how to frame and shoot some awesome memories.  We’ll paddle and explore all kinds of environments to find cool spots and things to take pics of.

Paddle Canada – Kayak Skills learning opportunities.
We have some skills courses coming up through the summer.  Relatively new to paddling and want to spend a weekend growing your comfort level – have a gander at our Level 1 skills course – August 12eve til 14^th.

Our Level 2 Skills course (Aug 20-24) takes the next step to build your comfort in wind and waves from boat handling to rescues to navigation and safe tripping.  It’s a lot of fun and you learn tons!
Level 3 skills builds from the Level 2 but gets you learning through leadership scenarios to improve your ability to comfortably take out others on multi-day journeys.
Call us to chat about what course would best meet your needs.

Tim and Kathy are just about to return from a couple of weeks away – enjoying some east coast friendliness!...so here’s my Tim Tips for keeping cool paddling in this awesome summer weather.
Veggies and fruit keep ‘t’uber well when gently placed toward the bottom of your kayak when on the water.  When you get to land, gently transfer them into the shade and cover them with a wet towel hanging in the breeze…keep cool and learn a bit about latent heat of evaporation...all at the same time.

Just last week, I picked up my latest bit of gear - a summer buff…no not in the buff.  Now, I’ll confess, I look goofier than I already did, but keeping the ‘buff' wet with frequent plunges in the bay helps me stay cool.  And, when the sun is at its zenith I can pull it up over my ears and nose to ward off the rays.  My boys think I look like Sammity Sam….so I’m now donning a pair of water guns - and hey, that keeps other people cool.
Failing all that…if you’re super hot, well its a good time for some water play - get out there and practice your rescues!  See you under the drink!
Greg & the paddle gang at White Squall

GEORGIAN BAY’S NORTHEAST BAY COAST

There is a certain mystery to this wild corner of Georgian Bay, brought on by few roads, far too many islands for one short lifetime and sparkling reefs just waiting for a southwest blow. It’s a land that needs respect. Never a hub of commerce, there was a time a few short decades ago, when steel magnates dreamed and schemed for a “Pittsburgh of the North” to spring from its shores. Distance, weather and her own secret ways kept this human intervention from happening. It’s our blessed luck, because today this land of rock, trees and water has become a paddler’s dream.

Nobody has really said for sure, but the northeast seems to begin at Parry Sound. It’s a good place to start. Historic and deep, “The Sound” has been home to people for thousands of years. To the west are the Mink and McCoy Islands, ancient summer home and fishing grounds for the Algonqians, the first people of the Bay. In more recent times, the southern Minks were home to several families working some of the most productive fishing grounds on the Bay. Now, the islands are left mostly to themselves, with a few very determined summer residents. These rocky isles are some of the last as one looks to the open west. There is a special feeling to be camped out there and experience a westerly blow from a well-anchored tent! The Mink and McCoy group is lonely yet close. From Snug Harbour, a quiet cove north of Parry Sound, a three-hour paddle will bring you there. But those can be three long hours if the wind rises. Go with care.

Journeying north to Pointe au Baril, cottages, powerboats and summer people abound amongst the myriad channels. But for the intrepid paddler, a more solitary challenge awaits. Keeping to the outside, the Hangdog reefs guard the near wilderness of that place where Bay water meets shore. Once past the Hangdog, the coast becomes both quieter and tougher. Perhaps the most difficult piece in a southwesterly blow is the Head Island reefs. Innocent looking in a breeze, they need to be given a wide berth when things get wild. But the Bay gives back. The outlets of the Naiscoot River empty on this shore, and provide a wonderful refuge from Bay winds. You can spend days exploring these calm channels.

North and beyond lies Byng Inlet, the mouth of the Magnetawan River, and home to the villages of Britt and Byng Inlet. A hundred years ago, the people there thrived on trees. Logs, floated down the “Mag,” were gathered, milled, boomed and shipped to insatiable southern markets. Much quieter now, today’s residents are a friendly, community-minded folk who have made their own way with the rugged landscape.

Byng is a good starting point for the real northeast corner of the Bay. A few kilometres up lies Champlain Island, site of an old fishing station and dotted with excellent camping spots. Paddling north, the Churchill Islands and the One Tree Island group appear. The latter is well out and exposed to the open Bay, but affords spectacular vistas for the adventurous traveller.

In this corner of the Bay, Key Harbour is the last access on the east shore. Be ready though for a 13 kilometre paddle up the inlet to Highway 69 and the nearest road connection. This distance, and the lack of other access has been the single most important reason why the area hasn’t been overrun with boats and people. Simply put, it takes some effort and will to get here. It could have been different. The harbour of the Key was the site of iron ore loading docks back in the early 1900s. Huge deposits in northern Ontario were to be processed at the Key and shipped south. Some ore was transported, but developers finally realized the costs involved and shut it down, closing the door on a future of industrial development. For several decades afterwards, coal was shipped into the Key to supply rail operations farther north, but that activity too, quietly passed on.

Heading westward brings the Bay traveller to the French River delta. The outlets of this famous river of the fur trade and the labyrinth of channels and smooth granite could be cheerfully explored for a lifetime. Protection from Bay winds is gained here, and many a summer’s day can be whiled away in special spots, picking blueberries and swimming in the clear water. It’s a favourite place for boaters, but paddlers can escape by seeking the shallow channels and reefs where larger boats can’t venture.

The Bustard Islands offshore from the delta have been called the jewel in the crown of Georgian Bay’s islands. Once home to a flourishing fishing station, like other out-island communities along the Bay, the commerce has now gone. The islands beckon by seeming to be close, but many a paddler has been caught confidently heading out to them and having to turn tail with the rising wind. Once there, the possibilities are many. The east and south sides provide the most relief from powerboats, and with all the places to explore, a couple of utterly unproductive and perfectly lovely weeks could be spent here.

There is a sense of heading out when paddling westward from the Bustards. The coast is still friendly, but there are very few islands for protection. The big hurdle for paddlers has always been Point Grondine. Not a large obstacle, but what can make it nasty is the shallow reefs offshore in a southerly blow. It supposedly got its name from the fur-trading voyageurs who thought the rocks groaned from the voices of lost canoemen. One wonders if it was simply their groans from long hours battling a headwind. Whatever the reason, this spot can be gentle and calm … sometimes.

The reward farther along is an enchanting scatter of islets called the Chickens. They are a paddler’s delight with a maze of routes through low-lying rock and pine islands. Once through, heading west, a paddler comes to a decision point: Whether to be gathered into the bosom of welcoming Beaverstone Bay and the shelter of Collin’s Inlet, or to be the carefree adventurer and explore the exposed south shore of Philip Edward Island. The former has history on its side. The first people of the area, and afterwards the voyageurs, both chose the quietness of the inlet whenever the Bay looked threatening. But to take the exposed side is to laugh the adventurer’s laugh, face the wind down and carry on. Beckoning the stalwart forward are the Fox Islands, a grouping of high, pink, smooth granite with campsites one can only dream about. The white quartzite hills of Killarney are a striking backdrop to this wild waterscape.

Collin’s Inlet is framed by the north side of Philip Edward Island and the Killarney mainland. Deciding to paddle its narrow, sheltered water west takes the paddler past the historic mill town of Collin’s Inlet. In its day, the mill churned out hundreds of thousands of board feet of pine. A lumber schooner was reportedly constructed right there at the millsite. Farther along, native rock paintings give silent record to the passage of ancient canoes. At the westerly mouth of Collin’s Inlet is Chickanishing Creek. There is a road here and the creek gives access to both the inlet and the south side of Philip Edward Island. To the open west lies Killarney Bay, a large, exposed stretch of water. Once it is traversed, the paddler can escape to the Killarney village channel and a deserved stopover. The townsite was once a native fishing encampment, a fur trade post, more recently a fishing village and now home to a few hundred year-round residents. Thousands of summer vacationers visit Killarney by car and boat each year. This is the last major community in the northeast Bay before Little Current and the entrance to the North Channel. Between the two is an enchanting paddling area comprising Frazer Bay, Baie Fine and McGregor Bay. Cloaked by the Killarney hills, this area deserves exploring, with many opportunities for hiking the quartzite hills from water’s edge campsites.

A very special part of the Bay, the northeast coast is wild and gentle, travelled and remote. A place of contrasts, meant to be visited softly and with grace. A place meant for paddling people.

Tim

First World Problems……FWP’s – we all have them.  They fill our minds and hearts as being of the most importance.  And other people surely can’t have the depth of trouble we do.  But of course that’s nonsense, and all one need do is cast our eyes to other corners of this planet to realize both our good fortune and our utter arrogance.   I wrestle with that every day when someone worries about whether a boat has a rudder vs a skeg or if a particular colour clashes with their PFD.

Deriving happiness from paddling is pretty simple. I’m convinced you could have the most basic of craft (why even a 2x4 would work if you were light enough) and still embrace the joy and electricity of heading out into fresh air, waves and sunshine.  We ‘GET’ to do these things while so many cannot.  That’s a special entitlement and we need to pay that forward whenever we can.

A few weeks ago our dog Charly insisted that I take him on one last ski out on the Bay.  In case you think I’m a blithering idiot, you should know that on that morning, there was over a metre of clear blue ice out at Red Rock Lighthouse, so ol Tim figured we would be fine heading north in Shawanaga Inlet.  And we were!  The previous night’s snowfall had bonded down with the morning sun, and we were treated to a morning of perfect kick for skate-skiing on sparkling ice – flat and endless to the horizon.  Far out in the inlet, we discovered the track of an otter who had decided to kick and slide a distance of several kilometres right across the inlet.  Why would someone do that, but on a sun-filled, fresh morning, do you really need a reason?  If there is a church for wayward souls, this was it.  

We explored the outer islands and I shared my lunch with Charly on the porch of a Bay cabin in a t-shirt .  Charly took the opportunity to check out every nook and cranny of rock and snow chasing late-winter oak leaves as they skittered across the ice .  A few hours later, we’re heading home tired, happy and glad that there are wild places to explore out our backyard.

  

Life on the Edge

There is a world of difference between paddling from A to B with a neutral hull vs one that is taken up onto its edge.  The former is safe, more predictable and commonplace while the latter is for outliers and that’s where the fun is.

When you consciously put your boat on edge, you are introducing new possibilities to the water.  Instead of a long wetted surface, now those bored water molecules can interact with a shortened, curved and multi-dimensional surface.  All of a sudden the monotony of a hot afternoon gets all jazzed and crazy and you’re along for the ride.

Paddling on edge takes concentration and effort.  You want to focus on applying weight onto one cheek of your bummy-wummy down into the seat, while consciously letting the weight lift up and off the other one.  There is a corresponding pressure upwards in your alternate knee and thigh but that’s just a happy consequence.  Don’t focus on pushing up with the opposite knee because you’ll cause your lower unit to seize up and folks, do you really want a seized up lower unit – really?   You’re better off controlled and relaxed and that comes from the cheap trick – oops, I meant “cheek” trick.

The follow through is in the legs and feet.  Experiment with relaxing your ankle and relaxing your leg on the edged side.  Let it lie in the belly the hull along the seam.  If you are feeling rambunctious, , you can even take your foot right off, fully extending your leg and again letting it lie low on the seam.  That gives you more weight to the side of the hull, offering a more solid paddling stance with quite a noticeable change in turning ability.

Once you got that figured out, you have to address your upper body and best for that is remaining overtop the midline of the kayak looking end to end.  If you start leaning out – then it’s Good Night Irene, unless you have a decent brace. We want the centre of your weight to remain inboard.  As you get cockier and edgier, you can start to lean out onto your paddle, but that’s another trick. 

So why am I doing this Tim?  Well, it’s all about exploring the edges, and you’ll discover some interesting things about how your boat behaves under various degrees of tilt.  It takes  your garden variety afternoon paddle and turns it into a challenge with a darn good workout for your lower core.  By switching back and forth – throwing in some short power sweeps, maybe a diagonal draw or a cross bow rudder and you are now messing around.  And messing around in boats is so much more fun than just plodding ahead as if you’re on a treadmill.  You won’t go as fast, but you’ll have a ton of fun.  Give it a go, take chances and let your kayak take you for a ride on the wild side.

Tim Dyer