FREE Movie premiere: "This is Canoeing"

Justine Curgenven ("This is the Sea" series) brings you a brand new take on paddling adventure movies with "This is Canoeing". Sponsored by Esquif Canoes, Justine's newest film covers the world's greatest paddling destinations and shows an amazing variety of paddling skills, from graceful ballet to hardcore slalom racing.The Northwest USA premiere is happening at Cascade Canoe & Kayak in Renton, WA on Saturday the 20^th of March. Cascade’s Dan Henderson will fire up the grill at 1:30, serve some chow, chat about the movie, and get it on screen around 2:30.Check out the sweet video trailer here:http://www.cackletv.com/canoeing/this-is-canoeing/Please RSVP here if you're coming and we'll pass the info along to Dan, or call him at the shop at (425) 430-0111. Directions are on CC&K's site, http://www.canoe-kayak.com/locations/renton

Add - A- Buoy

Check out the Add-a-Buoy air bladder for Stohlquist’s new Descent PFD. This hard core rescue vest gets another 5 lbs of flotation when the bladder is inflated.  Without inflation the bladder sits flat in the vest pocket, and the air tube fits through a grommet to be stored in Stohlquist’s “garage” pouch at the top of the vest.

 

Paddling events on the Spring calendar

You can tell it’s Spring when cool stuff like this is happening in Northwest paddlesports:

>>FREE<< “This is Canoeing” premiere -- Saturday, March 20: Justine Curgenven and Esquif Canoes present “This is Canoeing” (Click the title to see the sweeeeet trailer). The Washington premiere is at Cascade Canoe & Kayak in Renton, WA. Cascade’s Dan Henderson says we’ll fire up the BBQ grill around 1:30pm, then get the movie going when everyone’s finished eating. The show is free!

Port Angeles Kayak Symposium -- Friday-Sunday, April 16-18: Dave King and Olympic Raft & Kayak present the 10th annual Port Angeles Kayak Symposium, in front of the Red Lion Hotel. Admission to the demo beach is FREE with a donation to the P.A. Food Bank. Along with huge savings and great deals on boats and gear, the weekend features guest speakers, beach bonfires, skill & safety clinics, on-water demos, a Sunday-morning race, and as always the warm hospitality of your friends at Olympic.

WAKE Demo Day -- Saturday May 1^st: Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts presents another Annual Demo Day on Lake Whatcom. Keep an eye on their web site for details.

Unleash the Beast! -- Saturday & Sunday, May 8^th & 9^th: John Kuntz and crew at Olympic Outdoor Center in Port Gamble have combined sea kayaking, standup paddling, mountain biking, adventure-films and racing, and a beer garden to top it off, and stirred up “Unleash the Beast”. It’s a groundbreaking Adventure Sports Expo and features the Reel Paddling Film Festival, demos, clinics, a mountain bike competition, and Paddle the Dragon, a 6-mile paddling race presented by Paddling Dynamics.

Races – full info to be available soon, but mark your calendar now:

Paddle the Dragon, Sunday May 9th, Port Gamble

DeFuca Downwinder, Saturday June 12th, Port Angeles

San Juan Orca Challenge, Saturday Sept 11^th, Anacortes

Seattle Boat Show

The Big Seattle Boat Show in February featured gear from Eddyline, Emotion, Stohlquist, Aquabound/Bending Branches, Hippo Patch and Rec Repair, well represented at booths from Popeye’s Marine, LFS Marine, and Hobie Cats Northwest. If you need any evidence that things are loosening up in our economy just a bit, you need look no further than the great results these dealers had at the show. Take a look at the great variety of gear on display below.

Many thanks to Zack and the whole crew from LFS, Dean and Bedelia from Popeye’s, and Kevin and Dan from Hobie Cat NW for your hard work getting all these great brands out there.

Popeye's Marine just picked up the RecRepair and Hippo Patch products a few months ago.

Clockwise from left - Comet, Stealth, AdvantEdge and CoMotion. All got lots of interest at the show, and helped LFS make some good sales.

Stacks of Spitfires! These and all the Emotion models appealed to yachters looking for something to keep on their deck that would be easy to get on and off their boat and into the water.

Dean and Bedelia brought an Eddyline Journey and this Fathom to the show and got plenty of impressed looks... and a few sales to go with them.

Popeye's got a little jacked around by management on their display space, but they made the most of it and got plenty of merchandise in there.

I'm not sure Dean really wants to sell this ActionFish kayak. It's way too pretty to go on the water, especially with this BB Tailwind stick.

LaPush Pummel 2010 wrap

The LaPush Pummel was another huge success with beautiful weather and lovely waves. The shoulder still kept this paddler outta the surf but an awesome time was had by everyone who got out there. Gorgeous sunset, an easy & peaceful paddle through the relics in the harbor and upriver on the Quileute, and some great times with old paddling friends. All this sandwiched between breathtaking trips West- and Eastbound past Lake Crescent.

Gary Luhm’s web site shows the real action at the Pummel. Take a look, and keep in mind he’s an award-winning professional photographer, so please let Gary know if you’re interested in using any of his photos. His contact info is below.

http://www.garyluhm.net/lightroomwebstuff/lapush_2010/index.html

Gary Luhm Photography
Specializing in sea kayaking, kayak surfing, birding, mountain scenics,
tidepools
e-mail: gluhm@garyluhm.net
website: www.garyluhm.net
425-828-6594

Props for the paddle crew

A year ago two top names in paddlesports came together – Bending Branches and Aqua-Bound – and they continue to inspire loyalty in their dealers and paddlers far and wide. Here’s a little feedback from our friend Peter Littler at Camp de Base in Pointe Claire, Quebec….

From: Peter Littler
Subject: Re: Camp De Base

Hello Rick,

I would like to convey my appreciation for the level of customer service that Bending Branches offers us as a retailer. The transition from Joe and the Aquabound team to Bending Branches has been seamless and business as usual in my opinion, and as you know Aquabound has always been hailed as one of the best companies to deal with in the outdoor industry.

Please pass this on to the Bending Branches/Aquabound team and thank you for all your hard work; keep it up.

Happy paddling from the Camp de Base team,

Peter Littler

Purchasing/Marketing Director