Interim Board Member Election Results

In June the TCSKA Board voted for AL Kasinskas to fill the open Board Member position. Al has been involved with the club since 1995 and has been active with participating and organizing club trips and activities. Al's term will end with the up coming annual election at the end of January 1999, providing the earth does not come to a stop with the Y2K crisis. In January we will have three Board Member positions opening up for the election.

Sauna tour '99
by Sarah Ohmann

This summer several club members and I decided to search out and test the saunas on the Canadian shore of Superior. These saunas have been built on Crown Land by Thunder Bay boaters and are available for anyone to use. Most are mentioned in Bonnie Dahl's cruising guide The Superior Way. The Border Islands (my personal name for them) extend in a line from just north of the border to Pie Island. Saunas are one reason to go, but the other is the excellent scenery and good accessibility from Little Trout Bay or Squaw Bay. There are a total of 3 saunas here ranging from ramshackle to deluxe:

Flatland Island: water is low this year preventing boaters from getting into maintain this one, but on the other hand it means that kayakers will likely have the place to themselves until the water level goes up another two feet. There is a nice big grassy area for tents and a leaky shed in addition to the sauna, which is an older building, but still perfectly functional.

Spar Island: This one is a little tricky, since it was built on public land but for private use. We didn't stop here since we were told that the "owners" did not welcome visitors. Rumor has it that there is a trail up tothe top of the big cliff on Spar which has an excellent view.

Thompson Island: This one is the most deluxe of all of the north shore saunas, and the most heavily used. You will almost certainly find some of the Thunder Bay boating crowd here, but don't worry they are extremely friendly and helpful: they told us lots about the islands. It is not the greatest for tent sites however, though you can camp on the beach on the other side of the point and take a very short walk to the sauna from there.

St. Ignace Island area: further north is another fantastic trip, this time more remote but also with excellent scenery. If you stop in at the sauna you will find other boaters, but if you would rather have a quiet trip it'svery easy to avoid people altogether.

CPR Slip: on the south side of St. Ignace Island, this is another luxury establishment, including not only a sauna, but a bug-tight, new cabin. Demand for cabin space is high, but there is an open area for tents.

Loon Harbor: Loon Harbor is a very pretty spot located on the south side ofBlack Bay Peninsula. The "Bahia Espana" is located in the narrow channel on the east side of Spanish Island, on a small island. It is painted with camoflage paint and may be hard to see. The island is very poor for camping and does not have a great supply of wood.

Swede Island sauna: Just south of Loon Harbor is Swede Island, another popular spot for boaters. It also has a cabin that is used by travelers, just ignore the mining claim sign, it is supposed to placate the Ministry of Natural resources and disguise the fact that it is actually just a sauna.There are good tent sites here, but the sauna is a little small and won't hold a crowd.

The only rules for using these saunas are: keep them clean, sweep them out when done, contribute to the wood supply, and don't forget to go jump in the lake!

Squaw Bay Sea Cave Trip
by Norton Johnson

Our trip started with easy group of six people. The forecast called for 80o F and SW winds building to 15 kts; however there were 3 kt north winds on the north shore which sort of put the So. winds into doubt. After a brief description of where we were going, what to expect and etc., we left the Meyers Road sand beach in near calm conditions, just enough ripples to give voice to the sea caves. Low water levels on Lake Superior offered entry into caves we've never been in before, including an 80-90 foot long passage from the large 'auditorium' cave west to another cave. Awesome! Vonnie was hesitant about entering the caves at first, but quickly adapted to kayaking in sea caves. Jackie was determined to fit her plastic boat into any opening that promised to fit her boat. Only a few caves or arches refused her passage with lots of grinding and scraping noises. An effective and audible test as to whether the rest of us in our composite boats would attempt those portals she entered. Heavy rains Thurs & Fri. offered plenty of water or "rain" curtains and waterfalls to cool off in under the cliffs. Gene wore his 5 mm wetsuit, which was prudent as the water temps were still just above 40o F. His relaxation was to slowly run his kayak through every waterfall to cool off and for a thorough cleaning. We found the "kayak washes" didn't do very good wax job though. We watched cliff swallows reducing the insect population and diving from their mud nests on a sandstone cliff. We also discovered two raven nests, one with four very large fledglings crowded onto their narrow ledge. Another highlight was paddling through a sea arch in a haystack, or tall rock sticking out of the water. This also was not accessible last year! With time for six boats to clear every cave--and more were accessible than usual, we took longer to reach the rest stop beach. Everyone agreed we were not in any hurry to return, so again we took our time returning through the caves and hitting most of the waterfalls. Unfortunately, upon returning we found the light breeze has collected great expanses of pine pollen on the water along the takeout beach, so all the kayak cleaning we did was for nought. All in all, a great trip with summer conditions! The wind never materialized, the rain curtains, the low water allowing access to more caves...ideal conditions. Except it was almost too hot! Everyone seemed to have a great time. We'll do it again.

Our Youngest Member by Don Dimond

Paddlers joining in on Wednesday night paddles in August may have noticed a very young paddler sharing the lakes with us. Her name is Emma Ware and she is six years old, although it is rumored that she will be turning seven soon.

The Cussing Canoeist by Don Dimond

The Canoeist from Michigan who was issuing Profanity on a river was fined $75.00 and issued a few days of Community Service.

Wave Height Estimation by Don Dimond

If any of you are interested in knowing how high a passing wave is you can try this method. Bring a tape measure or a yardstick with you when you paddle and hold the measuring device vertically next to your side. Place the beginning of the measuring device on the surface of the water and look at the horizon on to your side. Determine the number on the measuring device that lines up with the horizon. Then the next time you are paddling and a wave crest lines up with the horizon you will know exactly how many inches the wave is. Waves that match the horizon for me are 2 feet and eight inches.

TCSKA Calendar
Events with TCSKA next to the date are official club trips, which follow ACA/TCSKA guidelines.

9/08 Wednesday night paddle at 6pm at North Beach of Lake Calhoun.

9/09 Board meeting, 7pm at Bill Newman's house (open to all).

TCSKA 9/10 Night Paddle on Lake Calhoun at 8:30pm. FMI call Don

9/11 Squaw Bay Day Trip. FMI call Norton Johnson

9/15 Last Wednesday night paddle, 6pm at the North Beach of Lake Calhoun.

9/18 Sea kayak modification and gelcoat repair party at Bill Newsman's house.FMI call Don Add foam or knee tubes to your kayak.

9/18 Unofficial Race and Roll Event, 6pm at Thomas Beach on Lake Calhoun FMI call Don Dimond

TCSKA 10/01-03 Outer Island Trip SK IV - V, FMI call Don Dimond

10/01-03 Rock Island Rendezvous in Door County. FMI Life Tools

TCSKA 10/9-10 St. Croix River Trip SK II-III, FMI call Don Dimond

10/09-10 Lake Superior Water Trail Association Annual Meeting FMI call Norton Johnson

10/22-24 Eagle Mountain Hike/Backpacking FMI call Don Dimond

10/28-31 Gales of November Rendezvous. FMI call Don Dimond

12/06 Board Meeting, 7pm at John Ware's house (open to all).