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Volume 18 No. 14
Even the two inches of rain overnight last Thursday didn’t change the fire rating – now listed as HIGH. Click on the flame to learn what is or is not allowed. The smoke from the Canadian wildfires rolled in last week, reminding us all of the issues related to fire. But a very interesting article below shared by a retired forestry expert gives a great explanation about these fires and the massive area in which these fires are burning.
Table of Contents In this eBlast:
PaBIA
- PaB Passions – Scott Weir – Wednesday July 29
- PaBIA Senior Regatta – Saturday August 1 @ 10 am
- PaBIA’s Sailing Race – SUNDAY, July 26
- PaBIA Annual Mtg Speaker, Monday Aug 3
- Keeping Fire Ready
- Yearbook Update – July 20
OF INTEREST
- Raise the Roof Community Gathering & Announcement TODAY 3 pm PaB Community Centre
- [Is There] Forest Management Neglect?
- Ojibway Art Show – Volunteers Needed!
- GBA Update – July 2026
- Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels – July 20, 2026
PaBIA
Whenever Possible please sign up for events (Optional)
to make planning the food and beverage easier.
PaBIA Boater Coaching for July 8 and July 15. Sign Up Here with the Ojibway Office
PaBIA Presents Naturalist: Living with Bears in Cottage Country Sign Up Here for July 15
GBLT Ecologist Talk Corridor Project for July 10. Sign Up Here
John MacKinnon, Guest Speaker for the Annual Meeting on August 3rd
John MacKinnon, Chief Administrative Officer for the Township of the Archipelago
John McKinnon joins our Annual Meeting to update us on his time at the Township of The Archipelago where he is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
In municipal government, the CAO acts as the most senior administrative official. Sometimes known as the city manager, the CAO’s duties include:
- turning Council’s Directives into actionable services through policies, bylaws, and programs;
- providing staff leadership through management of the day-to-day operations; and
- making recommendations to elected officials on emerging civic issues, trends, and operational costs.
John has been the TOA CAO since February 2025 and is based fulltime in Parry Sound. He comes to the TOA after ten plus years as Deputy CAO of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nove Scotia and Director of Technology. He is a Member of the Ontario Association of Municipal Administrators. John has a Bachelor of Engineering, Civil from Lakehead University and is licenced as a Professional Engineer in both Ontario and Nova Scotia.
We look forward to hearing from John on the day-to-day challenges of managing the TOA and what keeps him up at night!
Senior Regatta 2026
Meghan Allen and Kate Pitfield are looking forward to everyone joining them for PaBIA’s Senior Regatta on the Ojibway front docks on the Saturday of the Long Weekend! There are tons of events, with each participant angling for the award as the prize for first place – anywhere from swimming to diving to canoeing – with all configurations in play.
But perhaps the best part of the Senior Regatta is seeing your old friends and making new ones! What a great way to celebrate mid-summer in Pointe au Baril. Everyone is welcome to participate ages 15 to 105!
But it takes a small village to put the regatta on – so thank you in advance to the many volunteers, the co-chairs and Will Lawler, PaBIA Director of Member Activities.
So please come out to participate and/or cheer on those that are!
PaBIA’s 4th Sailing Race of the Season
Junior Zests are Welcome!
Course: Middle Reach
When: Sunday, July 26, 2:00 pm
Format: Switching Week (explained below); two races
Rendezvous: Rainer Kaufman and Madeleine Arsenault, A96-81
Junior Series: If we have Junior sailors out in Zests, they will be starting five minutes after the regular start. Please be conscious of the smaller boats on the course.
Keeping Fire Ready
Over this past weekend, Ed Kernaghan, Director of Member Safety, shared that Hugo Duras and James Fagan visited and tested all five of the PaBIA fire pumps. Here is Hugo Duras checking out PaBIA’s newest pump at the Lighthouse.
All five of the pumps were in good working order. They will do another visit and test mid August, as is the practice every year to ensure all is functional should the need arise.
Do you know where the other four firepumps are located? Which one is closest to you should the unthinkable arise? Do you know how to operate one of these?
Of Interest
[Is there] Forest Management Neglect?
by Retired Forestry Expert in the Hudson Valley Weather
To understand this question, you have to understand where these fires are burning. Below, in green, is an area known as the Canadian Boreal Forest. It’s massive. In the second image is the location of active fires across Canada. As you can see, most are burning within this region.
Why is this important? This forest is massive—on a scale that most of us can’t begin to comprehend. It is the largest intact forest ecosystem on the planet.
Please click here to read the entire article shared by a retired forestry expert. It’s long but well worth the read.
Art Show Volunteers Needed!
Want to be a part of the Art Show and Marketplace?
We are looking for volunteers to help with the club’s biggest fundraising event of the year on
Friday August 7th and Saturday August 8th.
Signing up is easy. Just click on this link to view the list of jobs and timings, provide your name and contact info and we will be in touch with further details.
Tasks/activities we will need help with include:
- Marketplace cashiers
- Boating artists to/from Desmasdons
- Young volunteers to help boaters dock at the Friday night party
- Staffing vendor tables
If you have any questions or trouble accessing the sign-up sheet, please contact Madeleine Arsenault.
The Marketplace will be open on Friday Aug. 7th from 5 – 7pm and Saturday Aug 8th, from 10am – 4pm, including an unmissable opening party on Friday evening (no tickets required – open to all ages).
Twenty-five outstanding vendors will offer handmade and unique goods, including prints, jewelry, ceramics, woodwork, clothing, and much more!
More details to follow, so stay tuned and follow us on Instagram for updates: @ojibwayclubartshow
- Upcoming session: Insurance Insights for Georgian Bay: Expert Webinar with BrokerLink
- Action required: verify your municipal voter registration before August 12
- Runaway vessels, tragic fatalities, and close calls: a grim week on the water
- Hydro One transmission line project: Round 2 open houses announced
- A $5,700 lesson: why ‘pouring water on it’ isn’t enough
- Nominate your 2026 Champion of the Bay
- Quick tips for safe and responsible personal watercraft riding
- Regalia: Indigenous Pride photography exhibit now on at Parry Sound Friendship Centre
- New digital licensing system for fishing and hunting coming in 2027
- Things to do around the Bay this summer
- Water levels report
Yearbook Update
With each eBlast, we provide with a list of members with updated contact information.
The details of all the changes since the March 15 deadline for the 2026 yearbook are provided in THIS printable format
for you to insert into your Yearbook! This is the full list until after the new Yearbook is published
For reporting Markers’ problems
contact Tom Cavers by cell (pg. 266 in Yearbook 2026) or email
To contact Secretary-Treasurer
Elise Findlay: contact.pabia@gmail.com
- Beam, Charlie & Lisa (addition)
- Gellner, James & Elizabeth (addition – new member)
- McCoy, Peter (addition)
Water Levels
Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels July 20, 2026.
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 2026
This site’s advertising feature was created to provide assistance for special local information & events for existing Yearbook advertisers only.
Emergency
• PaB Nursing Station
• Canadian Coast Guard
Search and Rescue
800-267-7270
• PaBIA Emergency info