Find us on Social Media


Volume 16 No. 14

The Junior Regatta was a huge success – thanks to Sophie Cooke, Georgia Dilay, Esmee Taylor, event chairs, the many volunteers, and Mother Nature who treated everyone to a perfect GB day – sunny and not too breezy! Congrats to everyone who participated!

Now Meghan Allen and Kate Pitfield are ready for everyone to come out and enjoy Senior Regatta! So get out and practice your swim and canoe strokes and perfect your diving technique! The fun is getting together and seeing your friends and family.

There is sailing on Sunday, then the very popular PaBIA Pancake Breakfast and AGM on Monday of the long weekend. Bert Liverance, the Reeve of The Township of the Archipelago, is uniquely qualified to speak to us about the developmental threats to our natural environment and the steps being taken to counteract these concerns.

May I also encourage you to read about the issues PaBIA is experiencing with our markers into and through Hemlock and going around to Mud Channel. Your safety is of upmost importance!


Table of Contents In this eBlast:

  • PaBIA Marker Issues out Hemlock and Around to Mud Channel
  • PaBIA Senior Regatta – 11 am on August 3rd
  • PaBIA Sailing 2024 – This Sunday, August 4, for August Series: 1st & 2nd Races, 2 pm
  • PaBIA Pancake Breakfast and AGM – 9 am on MONDAY, August 5th
  • Meet Will Lawler – proposed for PaBIA Board of Directors 2024-2025
  • PaBIA Naturalist – Sunday, August 11
  • PaBIA Film Series: GBF and Inspired Planet Productions: All Too ClearTuesday, August 13 @ 3 pm
  • Check out the August Calendar!
  • Ojibway Club Art Show – August 8-11
  • Ojibway Club Art Show – Calling for Volunteers
  • US Relaxes Requirements for Dogs Crossing Border After Pushback from Canada as of July 23
  • Pointe au Baril Library Book Suggestions
  • ToA Large Item Pick Up Day – Saturday, August 3
  • Arts on the Bay – Wednesday, August 7
  • GBA Update – late July edition
  • Georgian Bay Land Trust – Nature Walk on Friend Island – August 7
  • SFN PowWow – August 17-18
  • Yearbook Update – July 15, 2024
  • Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels – July 30, 2024

PaBIA

Missing/Broken Markers Contact Info

Should you find any 
misplaced, missing or broken 
PaBIA markers, please
email Tom Cavers IMMEDIATELY or
go to PaBIAi’s webpage!



I am sad to say that PaBIA is having a serious issue with marker damage out Hemlock Channel, including the key permanent marker at the entrance to Hemlock, and wooden markers around the front of Friend Island at “the dogleg”, around Carolyn Island, and beyond the Hot Dog Stand heading towards Frederick Inlet. 

Most markers out that way have been replaced once this year already and many have been replaced twice. As of Friday, all but one of a long list of damaged markers had been replaced and as of this Monday morning 4 more have already been reported broken or missing again. 

In addition to the increasing expense for PaBIA members ($200 per wooden marker), this distressing news has consequences for all boaters who navigate these channels. Desmasdons now has very few wooden replacement markers left in stock, and although they are working to build shallow water replacements, that won’t be possible for deeper water locations. If the excessive damage continues, PaBIA will no longer be able to replace the missing and damaged markers.

This unusual amount of costly damage was first experienced last summer, but we put it down to coincidence. However, it now seems that there is a pattern that would strongly suggest vandalism. It is troubling to think that anyone in our community would commit these acts, and it isn’t easy to think about the motivation. We continue to emphasize that boaters unfamiliar with the channels should slow down and proceed cautiously.

Please continue to report damaged or missing markers to Tom Cavers. I would personally welcome any insights from the community regarding the PaBIA marker program (positive or negative) that may shed some light on this situation.

Cath Fairlie, Director Member Safety



Join Meghan Allen and Kate Pitfield for this year’s 115th Senior Regatta with diving, swimming, and canoeing plus all the awards to follow! Come join in the fun for all ages!

Come see your friends, enjoy food on the Ojibway docks, and join in as you feel called!
Everyone is invited to participate – so bring all your friends!





Will Lawler has been acting as the Member Activities Director since last March and is now being proposed to become an official Director at this year’s AGM.

Will is a third-generation Pointe au Baril cottager who has been deeply involved in the island community his whole life. His passion for the islands stems from a lifetime of boating, participating in Regattas and the sailing community, making friends on the Ojibway Island docks, and enjoying the natural beauty of Georgian Bay. Will loves welcoming new cottagers to the island community and is a proud PaBIA member. This year he is excited to sit on the board as the Member Activity Director. 



PaBIA sailing races are THIS Sunday for the 1st and 2nd sailing races in the August series. Everyone is encouraged to come and join in. If you’d like more information regarding the sailing, and opportunities to join a crew, contact PaBIA’s Sailing Commodore, Andrew Vanderwal.

Should you wish to get weekly, more detailed information regarding the sailing races & rendezvous following each race, please email Andrew to be added to the list. The full year’s schedule can be found on PaBIA’s website!





with Producer Yvonne Drebert and
Director Zach Melnick

All Too Clear uses cutting-edge underwater drones to explore how quadrillions of tiny invasive mussels are re-engineering the ecosystem of North America’s Great Lakes at a scale not seen since the glaciers. The mussels are trapping nutrients, the building blocks of life, on the lake bottom.

In the exploration using an underwater camera, they found the Africa, a late 1800s ship that went down and had never been found until 2019!



PAB Community Centre: Monday & Wednesday: 9:30-11:30am

Oh, the anticipation of summer reading! A time to relax and enjoy books of our choice. For many readers this means a deep dive into the latest biography, historical inquiry or scientific investigation. The PAB Library’s recent acquisitions include David Grann’s The Wager and General David Petraeus’s Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine. Today’s eblast highlights three non-fiction books written by Canadians.

Canada’s Newfoundland writers are a national treasure and Michael Crummy is a foremost leading light. His novel The Adversary is a dark tale of brother and sister, Abe Strapp and The Widow, the ultimate sibling rivals, and their ruthless battle for control of the local fish and shipping trade. The book’s setting on the unforgiving northern coast of Newfoundland in the early 19th century intensifies the brutal nature of their destructive rivalry.

If you enjoyed reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, this new publication of six short stories is the perfect summer read. New York features in the first five of these beginning with a marvellous tale of happenstance that unfolds during the earliest days of the new Soviet Russia and ends in … well, you must read to find out. The sixth story, a dark novella entitled “Eve in Hollywood”, takes the reader through the movie sets, bungalows and dive bars of LA.

Knots: The Complete Visual Guide is a book the whole family will enjoy. Over 400 pages the book provides a practical step-by-step guide to tying and using more than 100 knots. The colourful illustrations provide clear and methodical visual imaging that reinforce the “under, over, looping, cross, bring together, and tighten” instructions that describe each knot. Kids will enjoy the section on braiding that includes True Lover’s Knot and Square Crown Sennit. This DK publication is a summer bestseller.

Of Interest

Our Art show website is now live! You can start making a list of your favourite pieces so you are ready to buy on August 8th when the shopping starts! Speaking of shopping our Marketplace details are now out!

Many of your favourite vendors are returning plus we are welcoming some new participants this year. Come shop for clothing, jewelry, pottery, woodwork, home accessories, fibre artwork, prints and cards. 

Many of the vendors are listed on our website HERE —

The MARKETPLACE kicks off on Friday August 9th at 5:00 pm with the Opening Night Reception –
all ages welcome to attend.
Hours are:
Friday Opening Night Reception 5-7 pm
Saturday 10-4 pm

Our annual Art Show Breakfast is hosting 3 amazing artists this year. Please join us on:
Saturday, August 10th at 9 am for a lovely breakfast with the following artists:
Christie Matheson
Kyle Sorensen
&
Peter Adams

Please contact the Ojibway Club office for tickets 



We are seeking volunteers to help at the Ojibway Club Art Show and Marketplace again this year. Many roles need to be filled to help run the show smoothly!

You can support the beloved Ojibway Club fundraiser by

  • Helping out in the gallery for a few hours,
  • Manning a vendor’s booth,
  • Helping at check-out for the Marketplace (if you are quick and precise with numbers)!
  • Boating artists and vendors to and from Desmasdons? 
  • Email Madeleine Arsenault about other opportunities where you could assist!

It is a great deal of fun, and we so appreciate any contribution of your time and effort.

Sign up by clicking on this: sign up volunteer sheet or contact via email: Madeleine Arsenault  directly.



The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has eased its requirements for dogs entering the country from Canada, following criticism from Canadian authorities, veterinarians and pet owners. Canadian authorities, pet owners, and veterinarians asserted that the previous requirements were too restrictive and would cause unnecessary delays at border crossings.

New Requirements:

  • Health certificates are no longer required for personal travel with dogs
  • Rabies vaccination proof is still necessary but can be in the form of a record from a licensed veterinarian (no specific timeframe mentioned)

These eased requirements should facilitate smoother travel for dogs and their owners between Canada and the US. 

Read more here.







In the late July edition:

  1. A UNESCO Geopark designation in Georgian Bay?
  2. There’s still time to email your MP about the capital gains tax changes
  3. TC Energy’s internal “playbook” video leaked
  4. What Transport Canada heard from you on VORRs and long-term anchoring
  5. Township of the Archipelago announces public consultations for Site Alteration and Tree Preservation Bylaws
  6. The summer edition of UPDATE is now online
  7. Could Our Lakes Benefit from an Annual Checkup?
  8. Don’t Miss the Premiere of All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes
  9. Are you the Georgian Bay Land Trust’s next Executive Director?
  10. Reminder – New Rules About Dogs Crossing the US Border Take Effect August 1
  11. Water Levels Report

Click on the logo or this link for the latest from the GBA



August 7th, 10 am – 12 pm

Join the Georgian Bay Land Trust for a naturalist’s tour of Friend Island, led by our Protected Areas Manager Aaron Rusak. You’ll learn the names of the flowers and other plants found on Pointe au Baril’s outer islands, and hopefully see some interesting animal life too! Register here.

Yearbook Update

With each eBlast, we will provide you a list of names of those members who have provided updated contact information. The details of all the changes since the 2023 yearbook came out in early May are provided in THIS  printable format   for you to print out and insert into your own Yearbook! Changes as of June 23 are below.

For reporting Markers’ problems
contact Tom Cavers by cell (pg. 267 in yearbook) or email

For contacting Secretary-Treasurer and Asst. Sec. Treas.
Nancy Rogers and Elise Findlay: contact.pabia@gmail-com

Water Levels

Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels July 23rd, 2024

To better read the charts, please click on the chart for the Daily or Six Month Forecast Water level chart and the corresponding websites


Please support PaBIA’s Yearbook Advertisers 2024

This site’s advertising feature was created to provide assistance for special local information & events for existing Yearbook advertisers only.