Deception Pass Dash has its own Blog

Pretty cool news, the 4th Annual Dash has a blog page where we -- the OAC Crew and Ruby Creek -- will be posting news, sponsor information, updates, racer data, and volunteer opportunities throughout the weeks leading up to the event. Take a look here:

http://deceptionpassdash.blogspot.com/

See you at the Dash! December 12, 11am start, at Bowman Bay.

Standup Paddling grows again

Just saw this link from Ruby Creek supplier Doug Erwin at Tahoe Board Works...

Check it out --

Sweet! Standup Paddle TV!

Green Travel Roadshow

Lots of stuff calling itself green these days. If you want to know what's really green, and if your business is into green, sustainable activities, and you dig travel, get yourself to the Green Travel Roadshow on the 11th - 13th of November at the Cave B Inn at Sagecliffe on the spectacular Columbia Plateau.
The event is presented by Evergreen Escapes, partners in urban ecotourism with Ruby Creek's good buddies at Seattle Paddlesports, and it promises some cool learning opportunities about:

• Why sustainable tourism is important to your success
• The financial benefit to your business of “going green”
• The myths & facts about sustainable tourism
• How to create a “Green Team” within your organization
• How to assess your businesses level of sustainability
• Three things you can do now to be a greener organization

...and even some very special sustainable tourism while you're there:

• Rock Climbing
• Wine Blending
  
• Kayaking the Columbia
  
• Wild Horse Wind & Solar Generating Facility tour

Cost of the event is $95 plus accommodations. Pretty reasonable for a profitable experience learning how to be responsible with your Earth and make a few dollars too. Get there!

Dealers & Suppliers come together for planning & partying

Our host gets set to grill up some of the 30 lbs of salmon provided by Don & Pam at Boston Harbor Marina.

Planning & partying...or was it the other way around? What a time at the officially-named "Pickin' & Paddlin' Retreat", and many thanks to my bro Ethan Ebersold for putting the whole thing together. Ethan's River House on the Cowlitz, which he maintains for events just like this one, served its purpose well for 5 solid days.

Training for a crucial boater skill... the 11-person shuttle in a 5-seat Land Cruiser.

Preliminary pictures are here (click to enlarge for a better look), provided by Tom "Big T" Strauss of Emotion Kayaks. Meeting Tom was a highlight of the event -- he definitely lived up to the hype -- and he was joined by industry giants Ed Vater of Aquabound/Bending Branches; Tom & Lisa Derrer from Eddyline Kayaks/Swift Paddles; Doug Erwin of Tahoe Board Works; and Stohlquist Waterware's Jake Wisse. Ethan's dad, Mike, helped out with grilling and general hospitality; and canoe instructor/Esquif pro boater Nick Jacob filled out the host crew.

This grin never left Big T's face.

Paddlesports dealers and outfitters from all over the Northwest and California joined in the fun for some dee-lectable food, two nights of rockin' to the Moon Mountain Ramblers, paddling in the unseasonably warm fall weather on the Cowlitz, and some gittin' down to business in the Ebersold showroom, all tricked-out in the garage.

Zack and Elizabeth from Bellingham's LFS Marine find shopping for paddling gear can be pretty fun when you bring along Big T.

If you were there, thanks for coming! If you missed it, enjoy the pictures (click any pic for better detail; more to follow) and stay tuned for the next River House function.

New friends, a festive beverage, and an awesome view of the river... yeah!

Ethan proves Tahoe Boards are rock solid!

Emotion's new Mojo, rockin' the eddies on the Cowlitz. Comfy and ultra-stable, even for a big dude. The 2010 version includes the integral seat back and a tad more width and a harder chine. Check it out.

Insane off-topic Husky victory

OK so this blog is all about kayaking and outdoor stuff, and I'm using it to promote the Ruby Creek family of brands... but oh boy what a ballgame. My Huskies, who just last week broke a 15-game losing streak reaching back to 2007, pulled out a nailbiting, last-second freaking insane victory over the USC Trojans. From our seats high in the upper deck we screamed our way through the game and cheered our team and fellow fans as they celebrated on the field after the game.

As I left, I thought to myself, it's all worth it. All those games feeling like I was the only one cheering for the Dogs in my section, staying til the last play of every hopeless game, 15 straight losses and I can't count how many straight losing seasons, I'd sit through all of that again just to see another game like this. Drama this sweet, well, some people never get to experience it. How lucky we Real Dog fans were to be there... and how lame a hell of a lot of fairweather, stay-at-home-til-the-bandwgon-starts-rolling fans will be in years to come when they CLAIM they were there! Go Dogs!

Bark for Sark!

Be Sark-astic!

Dig the new Eddyline Shasta!

Last week we hit the water in the new open tandem from Eddyline, the Shasta. Tom and Lisa Derrer, 30+-year owners and founders of Eddyline Kayaks, are still designing innovative boats after all these years, and this one will hit a sweet mark for people looking for something versatile, that does a little bit of everything while delivering the light weight, sleekness, and easy handling that everyone wishes for.

The boat was a comfortable, nice-gliding cruiser with a big fella in the stern seat and lightweight Lisa in the bow...

Or with two beautiful ladies powering past the camera...
Or with the designer himself paddling solo on the adjustable seat, throwing some fine strokes.

The new boat is 16 feet long, 28" wide and will be officially unveiled to your Eddyline dealer at the beginning of October. Take a look at the video Tom put together after he and Lisa invited my wife Cathy and me out for the christening, and hurry over to your dealer next month for a test paddle.

Hurricane Jimena Close to Home

For many of our sea kayaking friends, the Baja Peninsula is a sweet place of refuge from the hurried pace of paddling in and near our US cities. It's also a place where sea kayaking has become a big part of the local economy, with paddlers coming from all over the world to enjoy the waters. Last week Hurricane Jimena, a seemingly mild Class 2-3 storm, devastated a large part of the peninsula, knocking out roads and bridges and leaving thousands of people homeless. This youtube video gives a quick glimpse of some of the wreckage...
Click here for youtube video

and our friend Joe Dryden, who lives in Alamos Mexico, in the mountains across the Sea of Cortez where his little town was crippled by storms less than a year ago, sent us this link to an article listing ways you can help out.
http://www.mexidata.info/id2402.html

Joe commented that "Baja's kayak touring businesses may be in for a quiet season this winter. The highway is totally gone in many areas and most all bridges are destroyed.", he says, so please keep an eye on the situation and help if you can, through the Red Cross or wherever you're able. The impact of the storm on the local economy is yet to be determined, but it's certain to be severe when local residents are left isolated from help, and without food or water or shelter.