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.

SUP Round the Rock Race coming up

Pretty cool news coming from Lake Washington this week... the first annual Round the Rock Standup Paddleboard race, and we heard about it from our new buddy Bobby Arzadon at Kirkland's Perfect Wave Surf Shop. Don't get distracted at Bobby's site by the Bikini of the Month, especially by Francesca modeling the Bending Branches WaveHound SUP Paddle...

...in fact you should go directly to the Round the Rock web site, and sign up for the race! Two courses, all ages and experience levels welcome, and, according to race director Jeff Underwood, plenty good schwag for everyone.

And stepping up big, with a sponsorship, booth on race day, and demo paddling for anyone interested in a test ride, is Tahoe Board Works' Ernie Brassard, who plans to race the event, along with my partner in Happy Paddlin', Ethan Ebersold who will be working the booth that day.

The big event happens on Sunday, September 27, and the long course goes the full 12+ miles around Mercer Island The 2.5-mile, out-and-back short course is for folks who are just getting into this incredible way to enjoy the water.

Get out there!