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Strait Ahead – A Sea Kayaker Challenges Himself Against the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Abandoned buildings on St. Paul Island
Abandoned buildings on St. Paul Island

by Serge Savard

The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi requires everyone at the end of his/her three-year outdoor leadership programme to undertake a major project. While looking at a map of the Maritimes, I had no hesitation in embarking upon a solo adventure that would take me across all of the straits on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait were two on the list, and they are not to be taken lightly. Both of them have a reputation that intimidates even fishers; one by reason of its distance, the other because of the huge volume of water it funnels through the narrow gap between Labrador and Newfoundland.

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Ungava Bay and Labrador

Abandoned Moravian Mission at Hebron (Photo: Tony Wright)
Abandoned Moravian Mission at Hebron (Photo: Tony Wright)

Nigel Foster

Three small wooden spoons sit on my bookshelf, crudely carved from driftwood found on Lacy Island, one of the Button Islands off the northern tip of Labrador. I carved those spoons after losing my cutlery landing in the dark having crossed Hudson Strait from Resolution Island. I planned to kayak Labrador from its northern tip as far south as Nain, but after two frustrating weeks of delays in Iqaluit it was really too late in the season to begin. It was almost September before I reached the Button Islands, perfect timing for the onset of autumn storms. Eight windy days later, near the deserted village of Port Burwell, I ran into an oil tanker and hitched a ride to Nova Scotia. That was 1981 and I have wanted to return ever since to complete the trip. That finally happened in 2004. This time I began at Kuujjuaq in Ungava Bay, northern Quebec, accompanied by the enigmatic ceramic artist Kristin Nelson, now my wife.

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Paddling the Rankin River

by Rob Muylwyk

Eagle on nest in Boat Lake
Eagle on nest in Boat Lake

The excellent “Bruce Peninsula Paddling Destinations” produced by the Georgian Bay Committee, originally published in Qayaq and available on our web-site, ignores one of the Peninsula’s worthwhile interior paddling waters. These are the inland lakes generally referred to as the “Rankin River Route”, consisting of Isaac Lake, Boat Lake, and the river that connects them, named after surveyor Charles Rankin.

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Rendezvous with Whales

The giants of Trinity Bay have come to play...
The giants of Trinity Bay have come to play…

Nick Donovan

The sound of beating drums drifts over the water. Soldiers dressed in crimson-red tunics, one bearing a large flag, dash up the hillside amid shouts and war cries. Rising Tide’s The New Founde Lande – Trinity Pageant is in progress. This re-enactment of a very early and tumultuous time in Newfoundland’s history creates a very appropriate backdrop as we paddle out of historic Trinity Harbour toward Fort Point.

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Paddling in the Wake of Stephen King

Start of the Storm
Start of the Storm

by Melissa Hachkowski

I remembered learning about Lake Nipigon in elementary school when we read Holling C. Holling’s book Paddle to the Sea. “Paddle” was released into Lake Nipigon, travelled the river to Lake Superior and then out the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River. Since I am addicted to Lake Superior, I thought Nipigon had to be just as good. A fifteen-hour drive from Barrie got me to the northern Ontario town of Beardmore, one of two potential access points along the entire 350-kilometre coastline. The alternate is the town of Gull Bay on the western shore. Parking at the Poplar Point Lodge trailer park, at the end of Highway 580, I quickly loaded my kayak and headed out in the early afternoon for a light 24-kilometre start. Within the first five kilometres, I saw my first bear and was excited by sight of wildlife. From then on, I lost track of how many times I saw bears wandering the coast. I soon stopped looking at the shoreline because I found it disturbing to see THAT many bears.

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GLSKA Waiver

RELEASE OF LIABILITY, WAIVER OF CLAIMS, ASSUMPTION OF RISKS AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT (hereinafter the "Release Agreement") BY ACCEPTING THIS DOCUMENT YOU WILL WAIVE OR GIVE UP CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO SUE FOR NEGLIGENCE OR BREACH OF CONTRACT OR TO CLAIM COMPENSATION FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

DEFINITION

In this Release Agreement, the term Sea Kayaking Activities shall include but is not limited to: all activities, events or services provided, arranged, organized, conducted, sponsored or authorized by the Releasees and shall including moving water, still water, lake and ocean kayaking; loan or rental of kayaks (hereinafter "the boats") and other equipment; orientational and instructional courses, seminars and sessions; all travel, transportation, and accommodation; food, beverage including water supply, use of equipment, and multi-day camping or overnight stays in the outdoors.

In this Release Agreement, the term "Negligence" includes the failure by the Releasees to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful guide, instructor, trip organizer or sea kayaking operator would use under similar circumstances, or breach of any other duty of care imposed by law.

ASSUMPTION OF RISKS

Participation in Sea Kayaking Activities involves various risks, dangers and hazards including the risk of serious injury, paralysis or death. Sea Kayaking Activities often take place in remote wilderness locations, where assistance, medical and first aid services and evacuation may not be readily available, and communication may be difficult or not possible. The risks, dangers and hazards that may be encountered include, but are not limited to: accidents which occur during transportation or travel to and from the departure point; slips and falls while getting into or out of the boats; overturning of the boats; loss of balance; impact or collision with objects; cold water immersion; repetitive strain injuries; dislocated shoulders; hypothermia; drowning; changing and inclement weather conditions including storms, high wind, high waves, and lightning; encounters with domestic or wild animals; infectious disease contracted through viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi which may be transmitted through direct or indirect contact; negligence on the part of other participants; and NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART THE RELEASEES. I UNDERSTAND THAT NEGLIGENCE INCLUDES FAILURE ON THE PART OF THE RELEASEES TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO SAFEGUARD OR PROTECT ME FROM OR WARN ME OF THE RISKS, DANGERS AND HAZARDS OF PARTICIPATING IN SEA KAYAKING ACTIVITIES.

Please refer to the GLSKA Risk Management Strategy section of their website for further information regarding the risks, dangers and hazards that may be encountered during Sea Kayaking Activities.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY, WAIVER OF CLAIMS, ASSUMPTION OF RISKS AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT (hereinafter the "Release Agreement") BY ACCEPTING THIS DOCUMENT YOU WILL WAIVE OR GIVE UP CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO SUE FOR NEGLIGENCE OR BREACH OF CONTRACT OR TO CLAIM COMPENSATION FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

I AM AWARE OF THE RISKS, DANGERS AND HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATING IN SEA KAYAKING ACTIVITIES AND I FREELY ACCEPT AND FULLY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, DANGERS AND HAZARDS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE OR LOSS RESULTING THEREFROM.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY, WAIVER OF CLAIMS AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT

In consideration of the Releasees allowing me to participate in Sea Kayaking Activities as defined in this Release Agreement, I hereby agree as follows:

  1. TO WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS that I have or may in the future have against the Releasees and TO RELEASE THE RELEASEES from any and all liability for any loss, damage, expenseor injury including death that I may suffer, or that my next of kin may suffer as a result of my participation in Sea Kayaking Activities, DUE TO ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR BREACH OF ANY STATUTORY OR OTHER DUTY OF CARE ON THE PART OF THE RELEASEES. I UNDERSTAND THAT NEGLIGENCE INCLUDES FAILURE ON THE PART OF THE RELEASEES TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO SAFEGUARD OR PROTECT ME FROM OR WARN ME OF THE RISKS, DANGERS AND HAZARDS OF PARTICIPATING IN SEA KAYAKING ACTIVITIES REFERRED TO ABOVE;
  1. TO HOLD HARMLESS AND INDEMNIFY THE RELEASEES from any and all liability for any property damage or personal injury to any third party resulting from my participation in Sea Kayaking Activities;
  2. This Release Agreement shall be effective and binding upon my heirs, next of kin, executors, administrators, assigns and representatives, in the event of my death or incapacity;
  3. This Release Agreement and any rights, duties and obligations as between the parties to this Release Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted solely in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and no other jurisdiction; and
  4. Any litigation involving the parties to this Release Agreement shall be brought solely within the Province of Ontario and shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario.

In entering into this Release Agreement I am not relying on any oral or written representations or statements made by the Releasees with respect to the safety of Sea Kayaking Activities, other than what is set forth in this Release Agreement.

I CONFIRM THAT I HAVE READ THIS RELEASE AGREEMENT, AND I AM AWARE THAT BY ACCEPTING THIS RELEASE AGREEMENT I AM WAIVING CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS WHICH I OR MY HEIRS, NEXT OF KIN, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, ASSIGNS AND REPRESENTATIVES MAY HAVE AGAINST THE RELEASEES.