PaBIA eBlast July 4, 2018

Volume 10 No.9

Dear PaBIA,

For Americans, Happy Fourth of July! For Canadians, we hope your Canada Day was special, however you chose to celebrate!

So we have had a bit of everything this past week – fog, clouds, sun, thundershowers, wind, no wind…all but the hot heat of the city until Sunday! It got to 40 degrees C (that’s 97 degrees F!)

With so much going on in PaB, the eBlast will provide information by the week (Wednesday to Wednesday) with what events/programs are coming up!

Then don’t miss the Timely Topics that appear below the dated information – and of course, remember all those shortcuts that come at the bottom (for those on mobile phones!)

~ This Week • Beginning July 4 ~

(Wed to Wed)

PaBIA Sailing Race: SATURDAY July 7th!

The July series started in June this year, the fleet eager to get a jump on the season. After a tempestuous Friday night, the winds on Saturday where shifty and light under overcast conditions. The fleet managed to eke out 2 races in Ojibway Bay before the wind finally closed shop for the day. That unremarkable start was nicely offset by the largest Rendezvous of the season, as 300 of our closest friends joined we sailors at the Entre Amis. Thanks to Mark Gienow and staff for throwing the bash.

Next week we will be racing once again in Ojibway Bay, on Saturday at 2:00, and the Rendezvous will be held at the Schatz cottage, A-145, Nos Mados.

Ever Tried FlyBoarding?

Saturday July 7th

From 11:00 – 7:00 pm this coming Saturday, there will be a demonstration from FLYBOARD Wasaga Beach at the Ojibway! Come and watch! Come and learn!

Then if you would like to have instruction as to how to Flyboard, there is a fee involved – whether you are an Ojibway or PaBIA member!

The Ojibway welcomes all cottagers!

Come and watch! Come and try it!

Fishing Derby – Monday July 9th

Please let the Ojibway Club know if you are planning to stay for dinner.

~ Week BEGINNING July 11th ~

(Wed to Wed)

Mastering the Art of Docking Your Boat

Randy Johnson, PaBIA’s Chair of Boating Safety and Power Squadron teacher, will be hosting his first On-the-Water Maneuverability Coaching on Wednesday, July 11th from (9:30 – 11:00 AM) at the Ojibway Back Docks. Sign up either at the Ojibway Office or PaBIA Marine Patrol Hut. Come with the boat in which you would like to learn!

Contact Randy Johnson with questions. Please be advised that Randy will hold both of these opportunities only as his schedule will allow. So please check with the weekly sign up sheets.

Need Your Boater’s License Card?

Randy will again be providing a short seminar and then offer the Official Transport Canada Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) testing to anyone who still needs to obtain theirs. The first opportunity is on Wednesday, July 11 at 1 pm in the Ojibway Living Room. There is a fee associated with this testing.

Emergency Preparedness In PaB – 7/13

Do you know how to start a Wajax or Honda firepump?

Want to learn…just in case?

What’s to lose?

With our Fire Danger increased to HIGH because of the lack of sufficient rain over these past weeks, PaBIA wants everyone to be as prepared as is possible. Questions? Ask the Marine Patrol.

Please join

Randy Johnson, Chair, Fire and Boater Safety, Power Squadron Instructor of Instructors and the Marine Patrol

Friday July 13

for a fire pump demonstration

at the Ojibway back dock

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Ein Prosit on Saturday, July 14th!

It’s Oktoberfest in July!

A PaBIA First!!

Don’t Miss Out!!

Everyone is Welcome

PaBIA Members and Non-Members!

Only $10 per person.

Saturday July 14^th Sailing Race “Rendezvous”

at Dave and Stacey Sharpe’s Cottage M-137.

Succulent BBQ Sausages-Beef, Pork and Turkey

Fresh from a local farmer.

Homemade Salads and Ice Cream Treats!

And of course, Ice Cold Norse Brewery Draft Beer and Ale fresh from their Nobel brewery and pulled straight from the kegs.

And cold drinks for the kids.

Valet boat parking will be available.

All Oktoberfest ticket proceeds will be going toward your PaBIA services.

Give us an idea BELOW whether or not you can join us!

Please indicate:

Yes for 1

Yes for 2

Yes for 3+

Unfortunately No

Picnic and Painting Afternoon at Fairies Dancing (Rathlyn Island 79A)

July 16th 12 – 4 pm

Fairies Dancing (Rathlyn Island), Pointe au Baril

Bring your art supplies and join artist Gill Cameron as she hosts us for a picnic and painting afternoon at this beautiful property!

If you require boat transportation to this event, please contact Sarah at or call (416) 440-1519 x102. Please note that space is limited and advance notice is required.

The preferred meeting spot is indicated below, however, if it is a windy day we may have to moor in the back bay instead (see alternate spot on the map). Confirmation will be posted here on the morning of the event, and in either case it is a short walk across the island to the other spot.

~ WEEK BEGINNING JULY 18TH ~

(Wed to Wed)

Swim • Run • Paddle

Triathlon for ALL PaBIA Members

(know someone who wants to participate but not yet a member – encourage them to join!)

Saturday July 21st

9:00 am start

at the back Ojibway Docks

Only $15 to register

(First 30 are free!)

Celebrate being a racer with a

FREE Ojibway Club TRI-CONE

Prize for the winner!

PaBIA Naturalist – July 22nd

Journeying Across Georgian Bay

in All Seasons

Ojibway Movie Hut

10 AM to Noon

Scott Parent has crossed Georgian Bay on a paddleboard, a journey of 77 km and has also walked across on the ice, sleeping on the ice and waking up close to an enormous crack. He will be talking about what he has seen while out on the middle of the Bay.

Scott Parent

~ Timeless Topics ~

This Northern Pike fell for Evan’s white walleye jig

Summer Fishing Off to a Promising Start

Aline and I start each season with kayak and canoe reconnaissance trips around our part of Hemlock Channel to ‘check out the action.’ The shallow bays of the channel were teeming: we saw bass, gar pike, carp, a bowfin, a water snake, a snapping turtle and of course minnows everywhere – all promising signs of fishing action to come.

My soon-to-be-son-in-law Evan Anderson and I headed out to fish on a mirror-calm, warm and sunny late Sunday afternoon. He had proposed to my daughter Martha on Friend Island the previous evening, so we were both hoping both of our good luck would continue. We went after pike and walleye in Hemlock and further south in a couple of favourite spots. White-coloured lures seemed to bring the best action that day: Evan was using a white walleye jig with a white artificial worm, and a perfect two-pound walleye fell for that one, as well as a hammer-handle pike. I was trying a mix of lures without much success, but when in doubt I go to a gold or red-and-white Mepps #5. On the first cast an eight pound pike slammed the red and white one. After two hours of fishing we landed and released six fish. It’s good to see northern pike back in good numbers: a gentleman on the shore told us he’d caught and released a fifteen pounder the day before.

So, get yourself a fishing licence and get out there!

Your Marine Patrol

Dollars at Work!

Part of the job for Marine Patrol is finding and handling different invasive species. One of those species is Phragmites. A couple useful tips for dealing with Phragmites are:

How to Identify Invasive vs. Native Phragmites:

Colour: In August, the stems of the native, non-invasive phragmites are red in colour while the invasive phragmites are more of a tan colour.
Density: The invasive phragmites are very dense, meaning they’re many and are close together while the native phragmites are not as close together and allow for other plant and wildlife throughout.
Flowering Time: The invasive phragmites flower in late July or early August while the native phragmites flower in early July.

If you do come across Phragmites, we recommend leaving them be and reporting the sighting to the Marine Patrol. Please do not cut or pull out the phragmites as this could spread the seed of the plant to other areas of the Bay.

The Invasive Phragmites below – Note how dense the crop is!

Below – the Georgian Bay Forever Facebook page!

Thank You GBLT!!

PaBIA and the Marine Patrol wish to publicly thank Georgian Bay Land Trust for its willingness to work with, support and train our Marine Patrollers so they are well prepared to steward the 16 GBLT properties in the PaB area. Their contribution of $6000 toward the costs toward PaBIA’s efforts to continue its mission to protect, preserve and promote these unique and natural islands is critical in our ability to provide this service to the PaB area.

State of the Bay:

New Magazine Available Soon!

Do you ever wonder about the state of Georgian Bay? How is the water and habitat for wildlife and fish? How is climate change affecting the Parry Sound area? Using scientific monitoring programs, the first “State of the Bay” report was published in 2013 to help answer those same questions. Now five years later, a new edition is being released.

Using data from researchers, provincial and federal agencies, and citizen scientists, the report gives a snapshot of key issues on our coast. It looks at the shocking decline of nutrients like phosphorus, and the resulting impacts on the lower food web and fish communities. It explores the legacy of invasive Zebra and Quagga mussels, and discusses other changes invasive species may bring. Thirty years of data from the bay shows a warming trend that matches global climate change predictions and raises questions about what the impacts will be, and how we should respond.

Relatively lower development has made the UNESCO Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve an important place for species conservation. Learning about how our area supports globally rare species remind us that we all have a role in taking care of Georgian Bay for future generations.

David Bywater is the State of the Bay Project Manager for the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, a not-for-profit dedicated to environmental and community well-being.

Have You Noticed?

When you have an opportunity – look up into the pine trees. Do you see those long ‘candles’ that are at the tips of the branches?

Those long ‘candles’ are indicative of the past year being a healthy year for pines due to the moisture of last summer.

Thanks, Jim Rogers!

New Playground at the PaB Community Centre

The new playground at the Community Centre is now finished and open for everyone’s enjoyment! So bring the kids for an afternoon of fun and change of pace!

Yearbook Update

Each week, we will provide you a list of names for those who have provided updated information. However, the details of those changes is provided in a printable format for you to print out and insert into your own cottage copy!

Carly Chapple

John and Eileen Hutton