Information/Reports

Parry Sound Power and Sail Squadron AGM – April 23, 2016

Events and Presentations, General/Travel, Information/Reports, ,

PARRY SOUND SQUADRON AGM

At our last meeting the bridge agreed to continue with the same members.

The following slate of officers will be presented at the AGM on April 23, 2016:

John Mason – Commander, Educational Officer

David Hardie – Treasurer, Past Commander

Horst Mattern – Administrative and Environment Officer

Lois Ritchie – Membership Officer

Josef Bossart –  Secretary, Communications Officer

Joseph Grasso – Supply Officer

Roger Alexander – MAREP Officer

Gerald Shipman – Port Captain

The Parry Sound and Voyageur District AGM is scheduled as follows:

  1. A Wine & Cheese reception at the Museum on Tower Hill, April 22, 5:00 to 7:00 PM.
  2. Voyageur District AGM, Saturday, April 23, 9:45 to 12:00, at the Stockey Center: 9:00 coffee and morning snacks.
  3. Lunch 12:00 to 1:00.
  4. Parry Sound Squadron AGM 1:00 to 2:00.

As a member of the Parry Sound Squadron you are welcome to attend. Please let John Mason, 705.342.1315 — masonj@vianet.ca, know that you will be attending the AGM to permit for appropriate arrangements.

John Mason

New Year, New Look

Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, ,

The last couple months have been a little bit strange around this part of Georgian Bay. We received the expected late November dump of snow, and then it disappeared. Well, that was pretty normal. But then temperatures were supposed to drop, delivering lake effect snow and cooling the Big Sound. So far it has been pretty much warm and overcast. There is some promise of lower temperatures in the coming days, and some snow as well. The big question though is when the Big Sound will freeze over. I don’t doubt it will, but will it freeze enough to allow for ice fishing and snowmobiling? If you can’t boat on it, at least you should be able to walk, ski or sled over it. The Big Sound and the South Channel are major highways in the winter.

If Mother Nature can change her look I figured we could do so as well. The Parry Sound Power and Sail Squadron webpage has been updated with a new template. All of the same information is here, and the posts are a little more attractive in my opinion. You just need to scroll to the bottom of the page if you are looking for the archives, upcoming events, or want to search the site.

Christmas Day, Looking Towards Parry Sound

Redwood1890-20151225-DSC_2059

JB – Communications Officer

State of the Sound Report – 2015-05-17

Environmental / Weather, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, , ,

Life is good, the water is cold but that isn’t deterring some boaters. We had a strange front roll in across the Big Sound mid-afternoon yesterday. The sky was partially cloudy and patches of blue showing through with a fog like condition hovering over the surface of the water. A few minutes later it passed; the sky didn’t clear up but the fog/mist lifted.

Boating into Mid-Day Mists.

Redwood189020150516-_DS61549_DxO-2‘Clic on the pic’ for a better view’.

 

 

State of the Sound Report – 2015-04-22

Environmental / Weather, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, , ,

Redwood189020150421-_DSC1007_DxO
Full speed ahead captain, we’re clear of ice.

Commander Mason, John Mason, was pretty much on the money when he predicted April 21st for the Big Sound to be ice free, although he did qualify it with a possibility of it being a week earlier or later. I haven’t seen anyone out on the water yet but the contractors will want to get started as soon possible with projects on the islands and areas accessible only by water.

JB – Communications Officer

State of the Sound Report – 2015-03-30

Environmental / Weather, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, , ,

Redwood189020150328-_DSC9047_DxOA familiar benchmark for the condition of the Big Sound, PS2 is now ‘bathed’ in ice rather than snow. We have had a few days a little above freezing followed by quite a bit more below freezing at night. Add in a little rain, not too much, and the Big Sound is turning into a skating rink. It’s been too cold to suggest there is much thinning of the ice, but the insulating layer of snow has been removed. It’s still weeks until boating season. The creeks and rivers are starting to open up so there will soon be some cold season kayaking possible.

State of the Sound Report – 2015-03-06

Environmental / Weather, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, , ,

Redwood189020150306-_DSC9432_DxOThe Big Sound still pretty much looks like Antarctica. We are expecting a few days of above freezing by the beginning of next week. It could be a cruel hoax, but the thaw has to arrive at some point. It promises to be a slow start to the boating season. Out at Hole in Wall last Saturday the ice was about 60 cm (24 in.) thick, great for sledders and skiers.

What I haven’t seen yet on the Big Sound is snow skiing, in the style of water skiing. Not only should it be possible it should be reasonably safe. A quick internet search turned up a couple of images of sled skiing but not much else. Hmm, I may need to make friends with sledders if the snow and ice insist on hanging around.

JB – Communications Officer

 

State of the Sound Report – 2015-01-28

Environmental / Weather, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area, , ,

Redwood1890-20150128-_1281700_DxOThis is a photo from the 28th. Clear skies, below average temperatures, and little snow have been the norm since the Big Sound and Georgian Bay pretty much froze over earlier this month. The Sound is basically ice with a bit of hard packed snow which makes it easy for walking, but perhaps not that great for X-Country skiing. I spoke with a fisherman today and he estimates the ice is 12 to 14 inches (30-35 cm) thick in the Sound. (January 2015)

Parry Sound Boat Launches – Introduction

General/Travel, Information/Reports, Parry Sound Area,

With Spring actually here, boats being launched, and the prospect of Summer, it’s perhaps worth providing an overview of the boat launches available in Parry Sound. Over the next couple of weeks there will be a series of posts providing information about the launches. This post provides a general overview of the launches.

The Town of Parry Sound provices the public with four no-fee boat launches. Not only can the boat launches be use at no cost, there is no charge to park vehicles and trailers for a reasonable length of time. Three of these boat launches provide access to Georgian Bay, via Parry Sound Harbour or the Big Sound, the fourth provides access to Mill Lake.

Here is a map of the area with the four boat launches marked in red. The roads on the map are a little misleading. All of the boat launches are easily accessed by all but the largest of commercial vehicles. In the next few posts we’ll take a look at each of the boat launches individually with attention to details that some may find important.

Parry Sound_Map_Labeled_2014-05-21

Click on the map for a larger version.

JB – Communications Officer