Living on the most eastern of the San Juan archipelago islands, Fidalgo island, the variety of trip & training paddle routes from here are endless. While strong currents do exist in nearly every channel surrounding our island shores, learning how to use these currents to travel in the back eddies, the mid-channel-river-like 'green tongue', along with harnessing the strength of the winds (with kayak sails), is what paddling the San Juans is all about to us... Efficiency. Speed. Using what Nature offers to help us achieve our paddling (distance travelling & racing speed) goals. Which sometimes mandates a combination of styles & skills from river and sea kayaking mixed in with occasional surfing and sailing. Adreline rushes. Personal Speed Records. Risk-taking. Innovation. ~Paddle the Islands and let Nature Inspire.~

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Monday, December 14, 2009

Glassy Dash through the Pass !

No wind and barely a ripple of current,

meant flat, calm conditions

for this years big race turnout, as the 2009 Deception Pass Dash
will go down as

one of the fastest Dashes through the Pass...First male and female overall wins were both


well-earned by former Olympians, Greg Barton and Sherri Cassuto,in this years record-setting heat

of 158 boats and boards of all varieties....
Giant Thanks to Bill Walker (on the left below), OAC crew,
and all of the awesome volunteers and sponsors who make the Dash possible~
Check out more race photos at:

Monday, December 7, 2009

Final Countdown to the Deception Pass Dash !!

Less than a week to go until the most popular winter paddling race in the Pacific Northwest takes place right here in our backyard in the infamous swirling waters of Deception Pass...
Last year while racing tandem
(in the wrong boat for those rough o' waters)
we finished 17th overall outa nearly 140 participants,
while the "Perfect Storm" conditions forced another 30 racers to DNF!

~~~
This year, Jim & friends have been training hard...
2009 Dash racers- Debbie, Greg, Jesse & Jim-
chillin' out after practicing the course...
~ ~ ~
~With over 160 racers signed up already- it's going to be an exciting race weekend!