Showing posts with label Esquif. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Esquif. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2010

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 20th 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

Saturday, October 10, 2009

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.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Spring demo season is a wrap

Eddyline's Journey was the talk of the show, wherever it went this Spring.

The past crazy month and a half was packed with six demo events all over western Washington. A little work, a whole lot of fun and a bundle of new paddlers joining the family. That's what it's all about, building the fun factor and spreading the gospel about paddling.

Getting to know my colleagues in the industry was terrific for me, having seen the retail side of the business for a few years and now feeling the sore muscles from the hard work we all put in as reps. As always, there's a good level of camaraderie between competitors and it's an awesome feeling knowing that, as I'm hoisting that last boat onto my trailer at the end of the day, there'll be someone there to help if I need them.

Late April featured Dave King's annual Symposium in Port Angeles, hosted by his shop at Olympic Raft and Kayak. Three days of paddling and three nights of music and fun. Thanks Dave, ORK staff and volunteers for showing this old demo rookie how it's done.

Alder Creek hosted their demo day at the end of April, and we got to get out the Esquif fleet for this one. Paddlers of all ages and abilities showed up at Vancouver Lake, and the weather mostly cooperated in spite of dire thunderstorm predictions. Thanks to Dave Slover for recruiting the Boy Scouts to help out!

The first weekend in May, Mitch from Popeye's and I headed to Bellingham for the WAKE demo. A nice community event, with a great turnout. Thanks for setting up this one goes to Bambi Krieg, who's also Director of WCSKS coming up in September.

The big one this Spring was as always the Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium in Tacoma. Amazing weather, lots of sunscreen and a huge turnout of happy paddlers and interested onlookers.

A couple weeks ago we wrapped the demo season with REI days in Seattle and Portland. Long days, but great weather and again, the economic news may be dire but maybe people want to save a little gas and use a bit of human power on the water. In any case the turnout for these events all Spring was excellent.

Now that the season is a wrap, yes we have lightly-used boats and gear from Eddyline, Stohlquist, and Bending Branches available at sweet prices. If you know what I have and you know what you want, talk to me. I will be selling the boats through your nearest dealer.

Port Angeles beach in the morning, before the crowds got all the boats wet.

In the red bandanna, Mitch, from Popeye's Marine in Everett, helped dozens of happy new paddlers get acquainted with Eddyline and Emotion boats at the WAKE demo day.


Two gorgeous days of paddling beneath Mount Rainier greeted the throngs at PSSKS.

REI's demo days in Portland and Seattle hosted nearly 1,000 visitors each.