CASKA: Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association

Gear Recommendation: Contact Tow/Mini-Shockle

From Tom Bamonte:

Over the past few weeks I've needed to employ a contact tow on a few occasions. I've been using something called the Mini-Shockle and it worked very well. You can find it here:

http://shockles.com/products06/minishockle.cfm

The Mini-Shockle is a dressed up firm bungee cord with carabiners on each end. It is easy to deploy and
seems strong enough for contact tow purposes. The Mini-Shockle is handy to have around. When I had to drag my kayak through some shallow water I just clipped it to my bow toggle and I was set to go.

 

Thanks to Jim Tibensky for the tip.

Call for research volunteers: Montrose, 10/29 - 10/30

Anyone paddling @ Montrose Beach this Sat. or Sunday? A group called CHEERS is running a study of how the quality of water affects water recreation.

CHEERS is  looking for more kayakers to participate in this study. They will be at Montrose Beach this coming Saturday and Sunday (10/29 - 10/30) from 10am - 5pm.  There is some compensation for those who contribute. Download the flyer below for more information:

Download Field_Handout-LEONE_v2.doc

Trip Report-- Crossing the Cheddar Curtain

We came down to the Windy City today to launch from 12th StreetBeach for paddling Navy Pier/Chicago River.  Little did we know that the Bears were playing at Soldier Field today and the parking lots around Adler Planetarium and Northerly Island are completely pre-sold for the event. I now have another reason to dislike the Bears and the Chicago Park District.

We ended up paddling in Sterling Lake, which is in Van Patten Woods, a Lake County Forest Preserve.  The lake is 74 acres, and once beyond the weedy launch area, proved to be deep & crystal clear with water temperatures in the seventies. It was a great opportunity to practice leans, braces, and various turning strokes. My quest to stand in my Nordkapp was finally fulfilled with a solid 15-second balancing act before I went head over heels into the drink. A fine way to end a beautiful day on (and in) the water.

~ Russ Johnson ~

 

Last Summer Saturday Paddle Trip Report

Tim Philosophos and I (where was everyone?) launched at Montrose at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning.  We paddled north under sunny skies into modest wind and waves to Gilson Park, where we took a break.  The trip back was a breeze, with a slight following wind and non-breaking waves.  Back at Montrose, we played around for a bit, practicing rolls, rescues and paddling strokes.

Tim and I were a bit rusty.  He hadn't paddled since finishing 10th in the Chicago Shoreline Marathon two weeks before. I hadn't paddled since returning from a Georgian Bay trip.

Along the way we got a chance to get acquainted and to share our most embarrassing learning to kayak stories. Both of our stories occurred in the stretch of water we were paddling.  We'll be happy to share them to whoever buys the first round.

What I can say is that if you don't have an embarrassing learning to kayak story (or stories) then you are either a natural born kayaker or too easy on yourself.  For both Tim and I, the embarrassment spurred us to step up our efforts to learn basic kayaking skills.  We both believe that our mentors also learned that they have to do a better job of screening out kayaking chuckleheads before inviting them out to paddle in even modestly challenging conditions.

Tim hit a nice roll for real while we were paddling near Gilson Park, making good use of his training.  A wave sideswiped him unexpectedly and he took a spill. He took the time to set up perfectly and executed his roll smoothly.  The Brits who made his P&H kayak would be proud.

I had a humbling experience when we were back at Montrose.  My cockpit was full of water from practicing Joe Chan's super self rescue technique without a paddle float.  I went over again to practice the rescue technique where Tim lays his paddle across my upturned hull and guides my hand to the shaft. Worked fine.

Then Tim flipped so I could practice that technique on him.  I found it very tough to maneuver my kayak back to Tim's upturned kayak.  When I reached my paddle over to his hull to try to scoop his boat, I almost tipped over as the water in my cockpit sloshed to one side. 

While I was flailing around, Tim was using a hand roll technique to push himself up for a few quick breaths.  Poor guy.  I finally got my kayak, which felt like it weighed a ton, into position and executed the rescue. Tim was awfully gracious not to conk me in the head a few times with his paddle.  I'm certainly going to work on boat control and maneuvering with a cockpit full of water this winter at the UIC pool sessions.

Tim also tried the new Bow Roll Rescue that local paddler John Martin invented and described in the current issue of Sea Kayaker.  Tim had practiced it a bit on dry land.  It didn't work out the first time he tried it in the open water, but we will both be working on it in the future because it looks so promising. 

We called it a day about 2 p.m.

~ Tom Bamonte ~

Trip Report: Saguenay Fjord and Marine Park

At the end of August - beginning of September I paddled with five other people in the Saguenay fjord in Quebec. The fjord is about a hundred miles long. We paddled from a town with the charming name of La Baie des Ha! Ha! (honest!) to L'Anse de Saint Etienne, which is about ten nautical miles from mouth of the fjord at the St. Lawrence River. (Nautical Charts 1202 and 1203 in Canada).

At Le Baie the fjord is 120 meters deep, at places underway it was 300 meters deep. The cliffs on shore are sometimes 400 meters high where the fjord is half a nautical mile wide, so you can imagine how spectacular the scenery was.

This is what Quebec calls a "national park" (it is not a Canadian National Park), so permits are required and campsites are assigned. We saw one other kayak and shared a campsite with that kayak, a double, only one night. Very quiet. Each campsite that we used has six tent platforms, each of which can hold two 2 man tents and even three if you don't mind crossing guylines. No stakes are needed - each platform has wire cables around the perimeter to attach lines to. Each campsite has an outhouse too. I have camped in some really nice places on kayak trips. These campsites were among the most nicely placed I have ever seen. The view from the platforms was obviously chosen with great care - great views of the fjord.

There are bears in the area, but we never saw any signs of any and never hung our food in the trees. The best thing about the fjord is that it is a sanctuary for beluga whales. We saw minke whales as well, but the belugas were the stars of the show. At L'Anse de St. Etienne we literally had our kayaks bumped by them as they swam under us looking up right into our eyes.

The winds were epic for the whole trip. Fortunately, they were generally behind us, but they caused the less experienced members of the group some anxiety. One day we went downfjord from our campsite to look for belugas in a bay that they are supposed to always be in. Of course, they weren't. We had to paddle upwind to get back to our camp. The twenty minute outbound trip took ninety minutes back. At one point I had to tow one of the doubles because they were making no headway against the tide and wind. The marine radio said the winds were 35 knots. It was a good learning experience for me. I had never paddled a fully loaded boat in winds that strong before. I discovered that paddling up against the cliffs (sometime with closed eyes, Tom) is no different with a loaded boat than an empty one. Same with hand paddling and reverse paddling. The biggest difference was towing. That was just harder, not  otherwise different.

We spent six nights in the fjord. After taking out there we went to the town of Les Escoumins and spent three night in the cottages there rented by L'Essipit, the commercial enterprise of the local tribe. These cottages are simple A-Frames right on the St. Lawrence. This part of the St. L is a marine sanctuary. About a quarter mile off shore it gets to be almost 300 meters deep. This canyon attracts whales like crazy. We saw belugas, humpbacks, fins, and minkes while were sitting on our front porch. Blue and sperm whales sometimes stop by, but we didn't see them. We didn't see any whales when we padled out to find them, but the high winds made water-level visibility pretty bad. The town of Les Escoumins has a choclatier and some really nice restaurants. Seafood is great and I learned to like the local dishes as well.

This was a really nice, easy trip. It's pretty tricky to travel in Quebec without speaking French. We found that when we would attempt to speak what little French we knew, the locals would have pity and speak English. But if we started with English, no one knew English at all. The signs in the park were in English and French but the English was translated by an illiterate. For instance, one of the rules on the sign in every campsite says that "All rubbishes must be brought back." If you read the French equivalent, it says that you have to pack out trash.

If you don't mind a 22 hour drive, this is a nice paddling destination. Whales, tides, seals, salt water, wind, loons, foreign languages. All the stuff that makes sea kayaking seem like kayaking on the sea.

~ Jim Tibensky ~

Georgian Bay 2007 Trip Report

GEORGIAN BAY 2007 TRIP REPORT
Byng Inlet to West Fox Island
Tom Bamonte

Pat Lutsch and I recently spent 8 days paddling in northern Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. This trip from Byng Inlet to West Fox Island and back stretched our paddling skills and was a great adventure. This report describes the Georgian Bay paddling environment, summarizes our trip and outlines some lessons learned.  Links are at the end.

Georgian Bay Paddling Environment

We left Chicago on the morning of Thursday, August 30 and drove for about 12 hours through Toronto and then north to Parry Sound, the largest community on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. The next morning we stopped at White Squall, one of the two well-known kayak outfitters on this stretch of Georgian Bay, for some last minute gear shopping. We also stopped at Rob's Smoked Fish and were very glad we did (ask locals for directions).

Our put in was in the small town of Britt, on the north side of Byng Inlet about 30 miles north of Parry Sound. Georgian Bay Cottages, an exceedingly modest resort and campground, offers a nice beach and a place to park for about $35 a week.

Britt is the last road access to Georgian Bay for about 60 miles. The Bay extends north from Britt for about 10 miles to Key Harbor. The north side of the Bay then extends westward for another 50 miles to Killarney at its tip. There is a smattering of cottages, but for the most part this is wild territory.

The area is full of old, heavily glaciated and sculpted rock. There are literally thousands of islands and hundreds of inlets to explore. The islands tend to be low-lying. The larger ones have pine trees, but many are just rock and lichens. 

The 15 mile wide delta of the French River dominates the east half of the north shore of the Bay.  This area is full of channels, marshes, rapids and dead ends.  The La Cloche Mountains overlook the west half of the north shore and can be seen for many miles. They appear to be snow covered because they are composed of striking white quartzite.

The water is shallow and full of reefs. Breaking waves are common and all over the place when the weather picks up. In some areas you must be more a half mile offshore in order to be in reliably deep water. There are almost no beaches. The shoreline is rock, which makes landing and launching challenging. The underwater rock is covered with extremely slippery moss. In some areas it was almost impossible to walk on this rock without falling. Indeed, while inching down to a natural rock bathtub at the edge of the water one day I slipped and almost squirted out into deep water. Had I not been able to pull myself back up with my fingertips on dry rock I might have had to have swum around the island to a rare cobble beach in order to get back to dry land.

We were told and certainly noticed that the weather and waves can kick up quickly. Marine radio coverage is somewhat spotty. Boat traffic is light. Several days we saw not a single person or boat.  Water temperatures matched those in Lake Michigan.

While complicating navigation, the many islands can provide back routes that allow one to escape the worst of bad wind/wave conditions. On frequent occasions we were able to paddle in calm waters a few hundred feet from churning, windswept water. You learn quickly how rock can be your friend and foe in these waters.

Camping sites are plentiful, although in some stretches finding a landing or a flat spot for a tent can be a challenge. Camping on rock is great: No sand grit or lumpy cobble. Just make sure that you have a good sleeping pad. Mosquitoes are plentiful, so camping in windy areas is advised, except when gales are predicted.

Trip To West Fox Island

We put in on Friday afternoon, August 31st, and paddled out of Byng Inlet north into the open Bay. It was sunny and temperatures were moderate. Given a favorable long-range weather forecast we decided to proceed along the outer line of islands, saving the more protected inner route for our return. We paddled to the west side of Champlain Island and made camp in time to catch the sunset over of the Bay.

The next day conditions were equally favorable. We continued paddling north to the Churchill Islands and stopped for a break in a protected bay formed by several islands. Here we saw evidence of the fishing industry that thrived in the Bay until the collapse of the fishery in the 1950s.

We had planned to continue paddling due north, but the Bustard Islands several miles to the northwest beckoned. We headed northwest across open water miles from shore and passed behind this heavily wooded and slightly spooky group of islands to the Bustard lighthouses before we landed for lunch. This was one of several significant crossings that we did on the trip. From the Bustard lighthouses we continued northwest to the mainland and found a campsite in the Bottle Islands.

We woke to stiff winds from the southwest, our direction of travel. We managed to find a course through the backwaters to the Western Channel of the French River. We went up the river on the east side of Green Island and then turned west on the Voyagers Channel. The French River was a key route for Voyager canoe trade and was the interstate of its day. Now, the channel has weed-filled stretches and is as quiet as can be. We paddled out of the river into the headwind and slogged across several miles of open water to our campsite near Point Grondine.

The next day started with moderate winds, although the water was still stirred up from the previous day's blow. We passed Point Grondine and then headed out about a half mile from shore in order to avoid the reefs and a maze of small islands called the Chickens. We traveled about 3 miles to Beaverstone Bay and continued on across the mouth of the Bay to a well-deserved break on Hamilton Island. This was great open water paddling, with the La Cloche Mountains as a backdrop.

The winds began to pick up at mid-day, which is typical on the Bay. East and West Des Jardin Bays offered limited shelter so we just gritted our teeth and paddled into a headwind. You would think that CASKA's own Jim Des Jardins’ relatives would have been more thoughtful of the needs of kayakers! 

Our goal was a group of islands 1-3 miles offshore. We finally settled on a wonderful campsite on West Fox Island, about 8 miles east of Killarney. The Island gave us 360-degree views of the mountains and the sweep of the Bay.  It was full of kettles, depressions created when rocks swirl around in a confined area. These kettles were up to 50 feet above the water level. Little clumps of moss, flowers and rocks, which looked as carefully put together as Japanese Zen gardens, filled many of them. We stayed two nights on West Fox Island. While Killarney with its "world famous" fish and chips was a temptation, we opted to use the second day as a rest day. We explored every nook and cranny of the island and relaxed, knowing that the paddle back to Britt might be demanding. Turns out we were right.

Trip Back To Britt

The winds had shifted to the southeast when we launched Wednesday morning for our return trip to Britt. Kayakers luck at work! We decided to do a 3 mile crossing while we were fresh and because of the limited opportunities for shelter in the nearby bays. After a break behind Hamilton Island we started looking for back channels that would shield us from the wind and waves. At several points, we had no choice but to proceed through the churning water in exposed stretches.  Due to the stiff wind, which the weather service said was rising to gale force by evening, we camped on a point of land at the head of Sugar John Bay. We were shielded from the coast by a stretch of land a half mile wide, but could hear the crashing waves all night.

The next morning we faced brisk winds and choppy 2-4 foot waves. We exited Beaverstone Bay, rounded Popham Point and ducked into the Chickens to get some shelter. We got nearly lost in the tangle of islands and scraped bottom repeatedly in the shallow water. When we reached the end of the Chickens we were faced with navigating our way through a mile and a half of shallow, open water that was full of unpredictable breaking waves in order to get around Point Grondine.

This turned out to be the pivotal moment of the trip. When we were 25 yards beyond the rocky shore break a wave that broke suddenly over a shallow rock shelf knocked Pat over. In fine CASKA fashion she speared the rock shelf with her paddle like she was harpooning a whale, successfully pushed herself upright and paddled out of immediate danger. Pat's prompt and effective response spared us a very tricky rescue in breaking waves just yards from a hostile shore. 

That afternoon we took advantage of a wind shift to the southwest to paddle across most of the French River delta to a protected campsite near Claw Island, just south of French River Island. It was tough finding a campsite in this area because the islands were high and rounded.

The next day, the wind had shifted to the south and picked up. We followed a well-marked channel through the back islands, but finally had to paddle straight into the wind in order to access Dead Island Channel. When we got to Dead Island (named because it was a burial ground) we were about 5 miles due west of Key Harbor where we would turn south into the home stretch back to Britt.

As we did another crossing, this time to Bigby Island, we noticed that the wind was picking up. When we stopped for a break on the north end of that island we checked the marine radio and found out that a gale was on its way. We considered paddling another couple of miles into a stiffening head wind, but correctly concluded that it made more sense to set up camp and get prepared for the blow.

Blow it did. I was in the more exposed tent and spent most of the night with my clothes on watching the howling wind pummel my tent, cutting the living space in half. I thought that at any minute the wind would rip the fabric or snap a tent pole and I would be facing a long, cold and wet night chasing the dry bags stored in the tent around the island.

Of course, it might not have been such a bad thing to wander around the campsite all night providing some security. During the gale we had an ursine visitor who broke into my back hatch and swiped the sealed drybag containing our breakfast food. The bear also broke into Pat's kitchen bag, slurping up all of the oils. Amazingly, the bear took a rock off of a pot lid, removed the lid, ate the left over tortellini in the pot--and then put the lid and the rock back on.

Pat got a good night sleep in her sheltered tent. This meant that she was able to wake me up bright and early, just as I had fallen into a slumber after a rough night. By the time we hit the water the gale had disappeared. The sun was out and there was a breeze from the north.  We got a nice and in our opinion well deserved push south to the Byng Inlet and then up to Britt. We unloaded our boats, had a late lunch, and hit the road by 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 8 (unfortunately missing the Chicago Shoreline Marathon). We were back in Chicago within 24 hours, after stopping for the night in St. Ignace, Michigan.

It was a glorious, challenging trip.

Lessons Learned

This trip pushed expanded our limits as paddlers. Here are some things that that we learned:

Rough Water: It is essential to get comfortable in choppy, unpredictable water. Practicing in the surf is a good way to start. Paddling in unsettled conditions near piers and seawalls is also good practice. We both remarked that when you relax and work with your kayak it really does want to stay upright.

Navigation:  I used a large chart case on my deck and was glad to have a wide expanse of chart available.  Every evening I plotted likely courses for the next day and penciled in the compass readings on my charts.  These directions were handy, supplementing real-time tracking of our course by use of visual references (e.g., points and high islands). 

Pat used a GPS unit.  This gave us precise location information, which was useful when we got tangled up in bunches of small and identical looking islands. The GPS unit provided guidance as to whether the immediate course we were following would lead to a dead end. The downside of the GPS is that its display lacks the wealth and breadth of visual information contained on a chart. Until the displays on GPS units match what the eye can see on a chart, having both charts and a GPS unit is the way to go.

Organization: We traveled 7 of our 8 days on the water. Each traveling day requires a substantial investment of time and energy in breaking and setting up camp. In many paddling environments, including the Great Lakes, winds pick up in the afternoon. Thus, we found it made good sense to get up at dawn and get out on the water by no later than 8 a.m. We tried to find a campsite by about 4 p.m.  This allowed us to set up camp, clean our clothes (and ourselves) and cook dinner while there was still sunlight.

This regimen is not for everyone. Groups planning a trip need to have a very clear shared understanding before they depart whether they are going to follow our somewhat puritanical early bird approach or a different approach. Throwing together early risers impatient to get on the water with late risers content with lollygagging is a recipe for incessant group conflict. 

Nutrition: Keeping oneself adequately fed and watered while traveling by kayak is both challenging and essential. Dehydration and hunger cause performance to plummet, especially later in the day, when conditions are often their most challenging. You help prevent a nutrition deficit by eating at least three hearty meals each day. What's an example of a hardy meal?  For breakfast I would start with a couple servings of dried fruit. I would then fill a large bowl with at least a cup of instant oatmeal and 4 to 5 tablespoons of dried milk.  After dousing these in hot water, I would add plenty of granola and 1-2 tablespoons of Nutella (a hazelnut/chocolate spread). I would supplement this breakfast with a handful or two of gorp when putting in for the morning. Extrapolate from this breakfast to the other meals.  And then be sure to have seconds.

Snacks are essential. Pat and I were eating two energy/nutrition bars apiece daily. We also munched on gorp and had a candy bar and a shot of hooch before turning in. After 8 days of eating like horses we were still ravenous for several days after getting off of the water.

On these trips you often develop a craving for oils and other fats. This trip we took ghee, which is clarified butter that you can find at Indian grocery stores. It is compact, does not need refrigeration and tastes great. We added ghee to sauces and spread it on crackers. Ghee and Nutella liven up your field pantry and add needed fat to your diet.

Gear: This trip only reinforced that good gear is worth the investment. When a 50 mph wind was pummeling my tent I was very thankful that it stayed in one piece. Fast drying paddling clothes and socks are very helpful. Without a functioning radio we never would have known that our windy day was turning into a gale. Good footwear is essential because slippery rock at landings and around camp pose a major risk of injury. If you keep yourself and your gear relatively clean (see below) you need less gear and this frees up storage space for other things.

Cleanliness:  Maybe it is just the folks I'm been privileged to kayak/camp with over the past two years, but I'm impressed at the level of cleanliness we've maintained. Daily washings of gear and self are standard, as is changing from paddling clothes to dry camp clothes when setting up camp. These rituals of bathing and washing provide a big psychological boost each day. They also help stave off skin irritations and infections.

Final Note

By true expedition standards this was a modest trip. We averaged 15 miles per paddling day and for all of its challenges Georgian Bay certainly is not as tough a paddling environment as say the south coast of Iceland. Yet, it is very possible to have an enjoyable kayaking camping adventure at a far more moderate pace than our trip. Base camping is a great option because it eliminates several of hours of camping and packing work each day. 

Use this winter to get prepared to go on your own "expedition" next summer.  I’m already thinking ahead to my next trip and Pat has her eyes on an adventure next summer in Lake Nipigon. Pat is a kayak camper extraordinaire. Any of you interested in venturing out on a kayak camping adventure for the first time should to contact her and learn from her. CASKA has many other experienced travelers who will be happy to take you under their wing if you just ask. 

Trip Photos:

Tom Bamonte's photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172731056/a=106455686_106455686/t_=106455686

Pat Lutsch's photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=159547904/a=106455686_7612192/t_=106455686

Links:

White Squall (outfitter/store): http://www.whitesquall.com
Killarney Outfitters:  http://www.killarneyoutfitters.com
French River Provincial Park:  http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/fren.html
Killarney Provincial Park:  http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/kill.html
Georgian Bay Cottages (Britt):  http://www.georgiancottages.com
Charts (CN 2204 Byng Inlet to Killarney):  http://www.mdnautical.com/canadian_hydrographic_service/chs_georgianbay_northchannel_lakehuron.htm
Natural History of Northern Georgian Bay:  http://www.whitesquall.com/pdf/naturalhistory03.pdf
Short History of Georgian Bay:  http://www.whitesquall.com/pdf/bayhistory.pdf
Kayaking Georgian Bay, by Jonathon Reynolds:  http://www.amazon.com/Kayaking-Georgian-Bay-Jonathon-Reynolds/dp/1550462806
Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association (CASKA): http://www.caska.org/home.htm

Study Looks at Health Effects of Contact with Area Waters

Wet guinea pigs wanted!

How does the water quality of Chicago-area waterways affect the health of paddlers and other recreational users? A new study aims to find out, and you can sign up to be a test subject!  Look for survey recruiters at the Sept. 16 Flatwater Classic.

Fox River, Flood Stage

Jim Tibensky paddling near the dam at Geneva Kayak Center....the Fox River at flood stage: