PaBIA's eBlast August 26, 2020

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Volume 12 No. 27

Greetings!

If you are an active member of PaBIA, on Monday you should have received a special email regarding our virtual AGM to be held on September 24^th. If you believe you didn't receive this notice, please let Nancy know ASAP.

After a few cloudy and cooler days that makes one think of fall, the sun has returned to PaB with the water still warm. But the rain this summer has kept many of the vegetation and trees green and healthy...except perhaps for those pesky gypsy moths that just don't seem to go away.

Janet Gilliam took this picture a week or so ago at her island. Mother Nature, in her cyclic fashion, is always there to remind us who is boss!

In this eBlast:

PaBIA Cottage Patrol Tags for Non Canadians FINAL CALL
PaBIA EdCom: Canis Pointe au Barilis
PaBIA's Photo Contest Ongoing throughout the Summer
PaBIA's Marine Patrol - Identifying Rattlesnakes
PaBIA EdCom: Is Georgian Bay TOO BLUE (part 2 of 3)
PaBIA's Virtual AGM - Speaker and Prospective Candidates
PaBIA Sailing Race in the Open this Weekend!
H₄H PaB Green Build Recognition and Yearbook
WPSHC Cyclist Fun(d)raiser - Check It Out!
Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels - August 24, 2020
Correction
Yearbook Update as of August 25

Of Interest

TO OUR AMERICAN &

OVERSEAS MEMBERS Winter Tags for our American and Overseas Members

This is the final week that PaBIA is offering the extra seasonal patrol check of our non Canadian members' cottages.
To REQUEST it, one must email Nancy by Friday.

For those of you who have already requested it, please understand that 'No news is good news', just like the regular patrols, with only problems found reported along with photos.

For those who have opted in to this offer, members will find an extra punch on their tags; so that if their 2019 - 20 tags are still attached to their buildings, by next spring there will be 7 punches: 3 from last year, 1 for this August visit and 3 for the '20 - '21 patrols.

US members who didn't request the special patrol, whose tags are still attached, will find 6 punches. Bruce will attach new tags to places where they are missing, as he usually does - he's paid extra for that.

Non-Canadians please remember to contact Nancy NOW to request a late summer cottage patrol!

Canis Pointe au Barilis

by Trudy Irvine, PaBIA Education Committee

Preferred habitat: Upholstered sofas and dry towels spread on docks and picnic rocks. Dog beds are a last resort, the former more appealing than the latter when individuals are wet and dirty.

Diet: Kibble, if desperate, but preferred foods include unattended picnic items, goose droppings and barbeque grease.

Communication: Can be loud and often- territories are defended from approaching boats and waterfowl. Often “bark chains” will be perpetuated, with individuals joining other members of the species on adjoining islands and resulting in a wave of vocalizations traveling for kilometers.

Morphology: Varies widely but has been found to be insignificant in conflict and survival - “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

Mating and Reproduction: Hopefully not.

Habits: Most of the day on the home range is spent in repose, with brief periods of exploration and eating. Frog hunting is a favorite activity but seldom results in any captures. Individuals will sometimes swim from their home range to nearby islands in search of food or companionship.

Bowel movements will often occur immediately upon reaching other properties. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced upon arrival at a marina parking lot, especially if human companions have their hands full.

Engages in games such as “keep-away” with fish bones and other dangerous or disgusting contraband, much to the chagrin of human companions.

Gives enthusiastic chase to rodents such as squirrels and chipmunks outdoors but coexists peacefully with mice indoors.

Have You Submitted your Picture(s) to PaBIA's Fun Photo Contest Yet -

It's for Everyone!

We've received pictures from many of you! Please know you are welcome to submit as many photos as you wish into the various categories and then share the story(s) that goes with each of the photographs!

Enter (please download the form to reference the information asked, then share by sending an email with the information and story while attaching the photograph and return it). Please put PaBIA Photo Contest in the subject line of your email and send it to Hilde. Please enter PaBIA's contest as often as you like - and please, don’t hold back - so we can together build a house of 2020 summer memories! You might even win a prize!!!

It was just a year ago that so many Islanders were building a unique Habitat house in Pointe au Baril alongside permanent residents and the Indigenous community. It is hard to believe that all went so well…with the house completed in time for our selected partner family to move in early April 2020. Thanks to so many of you for sharing time, talents and money to make this GREEN build a resounding success. Click on the H4H Green Build Yearbook (left) to download the book.

The overall reward is that we all became more a part of the community which included some permanent residents and some members of the Shawanaga First Nation, with whom we made new friends and learned new skills while experiencing the joy of building a future for Josh and Myesha and the 2 girls.

Our Green design and construction efforts has also brought us the recognition from Jonathan Reckford, CEO Habitat International, who sent a personal letter of congratulations…a rare recognition. This successful

build is also recognized by Built Green Canada, a national organization committed to sustainable green practices in the residential building sector. Our house was awarded the Gold level of achievement for all categories of the build. There will be a plaque affixed to the house - a real honor.

Additionally, our build was recognized by CMHC and awarded a $65,000 Innovation Fund Grant to Habitat Ontario Gateway North. The house plans will be used as a demonstration for CMHC’s Indigenous Community Housing Group’s Build Program.

MP Identifying Rattlesnakes Rather than Removing Them

The Marine Patrol would like to clarify and also apologize to all islanders for the previous eBlast message in which the MPs said they would remove rattlesnakes. Over this past week, the Marine Patrol team has gone over protocol and safety issues regarding the MP's role and learned that due to their threatened populations, MPs cannot remove rattlesnakes.

Upon request of an islander, though, the MPs can come and identify whether or not the snake is a rattler and can teach the islander family about safety and information about the snake as well as other species of snakes.

As previously stated, if the Massasauga Rattlesnake is spotted at your cottage, remember to:

Stay calm, they are more scared of you then you are of it
Wear shoes
Make noise when walking in the area of where the snake was found
Keep distance

The rattler has always been known for it being a gentleman’s snake because of the warning it makes with the noise of rattling its tail. Let’s be courteous back; respect their habitat and hope their numbers return, as they are a unique animal found only in our beloved Georgian Bay.

Is Georgian Bay TOO BLUE?

by Helen Bryce, the PaBIA Education Committee

Part One of this series introduced the specific problem with dock foam pollution in Pointe au Baril and all around Georgian Bay and encouraged our readers to get involved in a shoreline cleanup whether under the auspices of one of the GB4 or as a concerned property owner, cleaning up your own shoreline! Here in Part Two, we encourage our readers to educate others!

Educate others

What does the data say? Shoreline clean-ups are carefully and thoroughly organized both in terms of the safety of the volunteers, the appropriate disposal of the garbage collected and the data being collected. All garbage collected is counted and tallied by GBF and GBA participants as well as by other organizations and municipalities doing their own clean-ups.

The data tells a shocking story. Among the top 12 items found in GBF’s shoreline cleanups last summer, dock foam pieces were far and away the most prevalent item floating near the shore or blown up into the crevices - with a staggering 5000+ pieces, there were just too many to count. Second on the list was cigarette butts at around 1400 pieces. Dock foam takes the prize by a long, long shot!(Read more about this: “Top Ten Items You Picked up from Georgian Bay Shorelines,” GBF" Vol. 10, Issue 3, Fall 2019, pg. 5.)

So what is this pollutant called dock foam? The dock Styrofoam we see most commonly littering the shores of the Bay is extruded polystyrene (XPS). It is the recognizable blue foam used for flotation under docks. Polystyrene is largely inert, made from petroleum products and consisting of small polystyrene beads that are fused together.

When formed into dock billets, it is generally not protected so exposure to water and sun over time will cause it to break down. This process is frequently accelerated by muskrats who like to gnaw away at the foam and create a safe and cozy sleeping space for themselves. This releases thousands of pieces of various sizes directly into the water. As this break down continues, the pieces become smaller and smaller and are virtually indestructible.

They get covered by dirt and algae and animals confuse them for food. When swallowed by fish and waterfowl, they can clog their intestines, preventing digestion of food and leading to starvation. XPS is difficult to recycle and takes decades or longer to break down in the environment. Basically it will last for millions of years because it is not biodegradable (See Max Roman Dilthey's article, “How long does it take Styrofoam to Break Down?”, in Sciencing) and therefore presents a serious pollution and environmental harm.

What about the chemicals in the foam? No one yet knows what the impact of the chemicals in the foam will have on the animals that ingest them or the humans who eat the fish or drink water from the Bay. GBF has started the "Say NO to Foam” project and gathered the published science around the environmental distribution and chemical harm to wildlife from samples of various forms of foam, including dock foam. GBF report by Lisa Erdle

Stayed tuned for the third and final part of this series and learn ways to take action against dock foam.

Upcoming Events

PaBIA AGM

Notice of AGM

Change of date and venue

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2020

at 7 p.m. EDT, online.

The agenda and particulars for how to join our meeting virtually will be announced in forthcoming eBlasts so stay tuned!

AGM Speaker, David Sweetnam, with Latest on High Water Levels in Georgian Bay!

High water levels have been on everyone's mind this summer, given the very huge change from the low water levels of not too many years ago. Many of us have seen our stationary docks go underwater, our boathouses collapse, our shorelines eroding before our very eyes, the wetlands changing and our floating docks taking a beating with our high winds and storms that come at us from time to time.

David Sweetnam, Executive Director for GBF (Georgian Bay Forever) will be with us to share his latest insights on this issue!

Our Prospective GBA Representative

Mark Gwozdecky -

GBA Representative

In 2019 I retired after 37 years in Canada’s diplomatic service where I (Mark Gwozdecky) served in South Korea, the Philippines, Syria, Lebanon and Austria. My final posting was as Ambassador to Jordan and Iraq.

In 2015, after the death of my father, the family “camp” near Thunder Bay passed to someone outside our family and my wife Wendy and In went looking for a cottage of our own. We visited friends at their cottages all around the province but nothing came close to competing with where I spent every summer of my life or matched the grandeur of Lake Superior that was in my blood. Then we visited a friend at Pointe au Baril, and it was love at first sight.

My interest in GBA comes from a determination to do my part in protecting the astonishing natural beauty of Georgian Bay for future generations of my children and yours. I also believe that my long experience as a public servant will be useful in understanding and moving the relationships that GBA has with the various levels of government.

Wendy and I live in Ottawa but our 5 kids (and one grandson) descend on the cottage from wherever they happen to live - most recently Ireland, Toronto, Waterloo and Ottawa.

Our Prospective New Board Members

Mike Berton -

Director at Large

Having successfully passed his cottage test, Michael Berton has summered in Pointe au Baril for the last 28 years with his wife, Cathie Hurlburt, and three daughters. While he works as a Financial Planner most of the year, Mike likes to spend time at the cottage doing building projects, helping with the Ojibway Club Art Show, Regatta Photography, sailing, and playing his Bassoon. Having served for four years as one of PaBIA's representatives to the Georgian Bay Association (GBA), he believes he can contribute a strong regional perspective to the Board.

Cam Richardson -

Government Relations

Cam Richardson, married to Debbie Crossman, is a 3rd generation cottager in Pointe au Baril, with his children making it 4 generations and it is where we all call home. Cam has been involved with various Georgian Bay organizations whose main disciplines are to keep our Georgian Bay as pristine as when his Grandad first arrived in the 1920’s. Most recently he's served on PaBIA's Government Relations Committee for the Official Plan and subsequent CZBL.

In 1989 he started and subsequently expanded ITC Systems into a multi-national corporation by growing it both organically and through the occasional acquisition to ensure that the future of the company was robust and forward thinking.

His specialities are in negotiation, planning, crisis management and communication while his love of sailing never ceases! He looks forward to using his skill sets on the Board!

PaBIA Sailboat Racing in the Open This Saturday!

Open Course out Empress

This past Saturday, we moved the race from the Open to Ojibway Bay as a storm was on the way. As it turned out, we did not have a storm but we also had almost no wind. Even the mighty Vanderwal boat had to be towed home by the Marine Patrol!

Saturday August 29 we will try again to race in the Open out Empress Channel starting at 2 pm. If the weather does not cooperate, we will sail the Ojibway Bay course.

August 29 Sailor's Dinner at the Ojibway

The Ojibway Club has offered to host a Sailors' Dinner on August 29 as a part of the Club's Saturday night dinner program. Seating will be limited so please call the Club office @ 705 366-5085 before 5 pm Thursday to book your place.

Race Results Now Online

The 2019 and 2020 race results are now available on the PABIA website. We generally follow the scoring rules of World Sailing in the event of point ties etc. A big thank you to Andrew Vanderwal for taking on this important role.

$20 per Sailor for the Race Crew

As we have done in the past, please contribute $20 per sailor so that we can give the Race Committee a small token of appreciation for making our races possible. You can drop it off at my cottage or use my email address to e-transfer it to me using the password: Sailing

Bell Buoy Race and Awards Ceremony Labour Day Weekend

The last race of the season will be on Saturday September 5 at 2 pm starting near the Lighthouse as usual. We we will be holding a casual BYOB and BYOF awards ceremony immediately afterwards at the cottage of Jan and Andrew Vanderwal's (A510-33). A clean washroom etc. will be available. Remember to sail distance and bring a mask if you cannot always do so.

Calling All Trophies

Please return any trophies you may have from prior years to my cottage or bring them to the awards ceremony.

See you out there!

Stephen Griggs

Commodore PaBIA Sailing

Calling all Cyclists! Help Fun(d)Raise for

New X-Ray Equipment for WPSHC

John Offutt, a Lake Joseph cottager, avid cyclist and grateful patient to West Parry Sound Health Centre along with a friend, Harold Fisher, and Parry Sound Bikes are doing a cycling fundraiser to raise needed monies for new X-Ray equipment.

By clicking on the PSRide decal to the left, folks can log their kilometres and John will pledge 5 cent per logged kilometer.

If the cyclist wants to obtain other pledges, that too would be wonderful! With so many avid cyclists in PaB, WPSHC wanted to know if anyone was interested in participating!

Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels Aug. 24, 2020

To better read the charts, please click on the chart for the

Daily or Six Month Forecast Water level chart and the corresponding websites

Correction

In the announcement of the two potential new directors, Mike Berton and Cam Richardson, and GBA Representative up for election at our annual general meeting, Mark Gwozdecky's name was misspelled. Mark was very gracious and kind about it! But nevertheless, my sincere apologies!

Yearbook Update

With each eBlast, we will provide you a list of names for those who provided updated information. The details of all the changes since the Yearbook's came out in April is provided in a printable format for you to print out and insert into your own Yearbook copy!

Lani Broadbent (address change)

Rankin Carroll & Maryliz Ivan (addition)