Sep 18 2010

Annual Fall Sale and Gear Swap

Fall Sale: Saturday, September 25th – Oct. 4th

Gear Swap: Saturday September 25th

Location: Jantzen Beach Alder Creek Kayak

Get all the gear you’ve dreamed of at discounted prices at Alder Creek’s Annual Fall sale at the Jantzen Beach location. All 2010 demo and rental boats must go, as well as scads of accessories. Get amazing deals on slightly used equipment or go for new at up to 40% off. Doors open at 8AM and the rentals are on sale one hour after that. And don’t miss out on the gear swap (see article below for more details).

For more information call
Portland 503.285.0464

Annual Parking Lot Gear Swap at the Jantzen Beach Location
Saturday, September 25th

At the Alder Creek Jantzen Beach location the annual gear swap will get under way Saturday, Sept 25th at 8AM. Bring your gear to sell*, browse for used gear to buy and find great deals on new boats and accessories inside the shop. The swap is one day only, so don’t miss it!

If you plan to bring specific gear, email us at newsletter@aldercreek.com so we can get the word out.

The Boathouse location will be open from 10-6 with plenty of good deals to be had.

For more information call
Portland 503.285.0464

*you are responsible for watching your gear


Sep 11 2010

2nd Annual Lumpy Waters Symposium

SIGN UP NOW!!

Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe is proud to present the 2nd Annual Lumpy Waters Symposium!

3 days of instruction appropriate for a wide range of skill levels. Everyone from the advanced beginner to the seasoned veteran will find the challenge needed to take their paddling to the next level! Check it out!

We are happy to answer your questions. Call 503-285-0464

Lumpy Waters Symposium – Take your paddling to the next level!

Date: October 15, 16 & 17, 2010
Location: Pacific City, Oregon

For more information check out www.lumpywaters.com

Call Paul or Maura 503-285-0464 to register.

Photos/Videos and Feedback from Lumpy Waters in 2009

Lumpy Waters Symposium day 1 from Daniel Fox on Vimeo.

Lumpywaters Day 2 from Daniel Fox on Vimeo.

Sharon and I had a great time at the symposium.
The classes were excellent, and the food was great.
We’re hoping you make this an annual event!
Justin

I thought you all put on a great symposium. Every instructor I had was very professional, thoughtful and kind. The attention to detail in the teaching methods was very thorough. Despite the weather and my lack ofexperience dealing with it, I had a great time and would return again with more time
under my belt. Best of luck with your next symposium.
Sincerely, Kevin

Just wanted to say thank you again to instructors and everyone involved in Lumpy Waters! It was a great symposium! Carl with the Kokata drysuits was key to keeping everyone warm and dry. This was my first time in the surf and I was pretty puckered up when I saw what the ocean was doing. Your instructors were great. Keeping us on the edge of our comfort zone while learning new skills. Fear to fun I & II were great at getting us ready for the big stuff. Open water rescues on the river was good solid skill builders and I learned a new and easier rescue technique! Sunday was the biggie, when the surf slowed down enough for us to paddle out beyond thebreakers and catch a ride! I got outside fine. Everyone was looking for a big wave! All I wanted was a little one. I dumped on the first try and an instructor was right there to help! So I got 5 rides and on the last one I almost got in upright. It was a blast! If someone had told me I would be out in 8-10 ft. surf beforehand, I would have said they were crazy. Thanks to all for a great weekend! It truely was a whole new level.
Regards, Chuck

Hi All,
Above all else, big kudos for the organizing, recruiting instruction and flow of food. Well done! Especially considering the weather. Good job managing that intangible.
RR

Suzi -
Wanted to tell you what a great time I had this past weekend. Having not been in a boat much lately, I had some reservations but fears were quickly put aside. Having been to one previous weeklong immersion class, I didn’t really know what to expect. Your company has a good reputation, I know this because I have contacted others about taking classes from them, and due to schedule issues wasn’t able to attend. All of them, once I told them where I lived, gave great recommendations for you guys. As for what you might change, can’t think of anything, food was great, your staff was great as always, instructors, well I think I may be over using the word great but “it ain’t braggin’ if it’s true”.You guys make me want to keep learning, getting out and boating. When we moved to Oregon, boating was at the top of my list, I really believe you guys are helping me get there. Will be signing up for a private soon. And when you announce the dates for next years, let me know and I will send in my deposit(s) the wife is coming next time.Thanks to you the big guy you married and all of your staff.
Wayne

Hi,
I really had a great time at the Lumpy Water.
-I love the location. it was close to the open ocean and to flat water.
-The campground was great. Tents campsites were very pleasant and it was nice to have a swimming pool and a hot tub as well as the community room for meetings and food.
-I like the food. I like that it was very diverse: local restaurants
and food in the campground.
-I like the large choices of classes
-I think the instructors and assistants were very qualified.
-I have a very bad back and the staff really help me. They were willing to carry my kayak for me and I really appreciate that. First my husband was not planned to be in the same class as me, so I was worrying about carrying and emptying out my kayak. I was offered to borrow a sit on top. I really appreciate that.
-We had a great time on the Fear to Fun class on Saturday. My husband and I really wanted to continue learning kayak surfing on sunday, but no class was available for our level. We really liked that they decided to teach a Fear to Fun 2 when we asked .
-I love the Fear to Fun progression. Being a teacher myself,
I could appreciate how every step of this class was well thought out (and well taught!).
- Finally, I love the price of the week-end! it was nice to have such a good week-end without spending too much money. Cannot wait for the Lumpy Water number 2!
Claudine

Wow. You guys did an amazing job this weekend. 6 folks from our group came down from Seattle and everyone is saying the same things: the event was well organized and it was a real pleasure to be taken care of for three days without having to worry about food. Even the transportation worked out. And I wanted to add a special thanks for rearranging the Sunday schedule in light of the weather. I went out on the Salmon River Mouth tour and that was one of the highlights of my paddling life. Had a great time on the water and learned a lot just watching
Karl and Dave manage the group. So glad we got to do that. A photo I shot from that trip is attached below; can’t say who the paddler is. Thanks again for such a great event!

Best, John

Lumpy Waters Photos and Articles from 2009:

www.wendmag.com/iwend/2009/
www.wernerpaddlesblog.com/blog/2009/10/thanks-alder-creek
http://www.flickr.com/groups/lumpywaters2009/
http://www.kontain.com/thewildimageproject/entries/50955/lumpy-waters-symposium/

Lumpy Waters Videos from 2009:

http://vimeo.com/7150099
http://vimeo.com/7150455


Sep 5 2010

Gear Review: Scorpio by P&H

by Shawn Altman

I used the Scorpio around Cascade Head at the mouth of the Salmon mid August and had a blast. Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe has had this boat for a year and I finally had a chance to paddle it. I really liked the looks of the boat when I first saw it on the show room floor. What surprised me about the boat was how maneuverable it was.

The conditions we paddled in were very calm for the most part. The waves coming in were about 2 feet with an occasional 3 foot wave. The wind was blowing about 8 to 10 and really was a beautiful day. Paddling out to the mouth of the Salmon River I was surprised at how comfortable I was inside the kayak at 6 feet tall.
We continued to paddle out to some of the rocks off Cascade head and felt great around the waves. The one thing that I noticed was the boat was easily blown by the wind. This makes sense because of the stern design of the boat. Less experienced paddlers would need to simply let down the skeg a bit and the boat will handle very well.

The Scorpio handled pretty well in the surf. The back of the boat made me feel stable and was able to control the boat well with the outfitting. The bow doesn’t have as much rocker as I would like so was a little more effort, but really was a great boat all-in-all. I would say that this would be a great boat for a novice to an intermediate paddler. This is a really fun plastic boat!

Check out our website for more information about the P&H Scorpio and many other products!


Sep 2 2010

Classes: Surf Zone Skills and Tidal Currents in September!

Surf Zone Skills

Paddle in small ocean surf. Launching, scouting, and landings will be covered

Date: September 05, 2010 9am to 4pm

503-285-1819
888-571-4545
programs@aldercreek.com

www.aldercreek.com

This full day class will introduce students to paddling in ocean surf, which is a core element of Oregon coastal paddling. The class will be held at the coast in a location with non-dumping surf up to 4 feet.

For more information check out our website.

Tidal Currents

Understanding Tides and Currents, a keys skill for the advancing ocean paddler.

Dates: September 18, 2010 – September 19, 2010 9am to 4pm

503-285-1819
503-285-0464
programs@aldercreek.com

www.aldercreek.com

Tidal Currents is designed to: * introduce students to paddling in current. It will be held in a location with eddies and a well-defined current stream * learn how to break in and out of eddies * learn how to ferry across the current, forwards and backwards, and how to use ranges and other markers to judge position and speed. And much more!

For more information check out our website.