Enjoy gourmet pizza & cold organic ale! All proceeds on December 10th benefit Willamette Riverkeeper’s efforts to restore Oregon’s Willamette River. There’ll be a special get together from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Pizzicato at SE 21st & Division (across from New Seasons)

Both sides want access to waterways. But not everyone wants to consider other people’s needs. Many want to do their thing without regard for the consequences to others. It seems in places like the tight confines of Holgate Channel, behind Ross Island is where they’re most evident. You often experience wake boarders and the huge waves they make plus the noise of the beat coming from the stereo. Or on the Rogue where kayakers get swarmed by jet skiers.

If your paddle has ever been disturbed by noise or wakes, you’ve probably got an opinion.

The “share the road” debate rose to the front page of the Oregonian yesterday. Read about it here.

Somehow we pulled it off.  Spelling 350 with Kayaks on the Willamette River Thursday Aug 6th.  We brought 32 kayaks for the event but had no idea how many people would actually show.  We usually have about 10 people for our skills socials every thursday, and after a number of phone calls I thought we would easily have enough bodies for  32 kayaks.  Unfortunately the weather decided to get cloudy and chilly, and after a number of last minute no shows we were scraping together barely enough people to create the 350…

I figured we needed a minimum of 14…. we only had 12 at 7pm.  But by 7:30pm as the paddlers got on the water we had a few last minute stragglers show up and we ended up with 19 people.  Enough to make the visual statement to the country that Epicocity means business, and this nationwide event is going to happen Oct. 24th.  I look forward to being involved in this next 350.org kayak action.

For much of the year, there has been a campaign supported by Willamette Riverkeeper, Oregon Audobon Society and The Urban Greenspaces Institute to establish a no-wake zone in that area. Founded in 1996, Willamette Riverkeeper is the only organization dedicated solely to the protection and restoration of the Willamette River. Its efforts with regard to the improvement of habitat and water quality on the Willamette have made it the leading organization when it comes to Willamette River issues.

The initiative was supported by the Portland City Council and the Portland Parks Department. The idea was to create an area that protects the habitat restoration investment inside the Lagoon, provide a greater level of safety in the channel and lagoon, and an overall better environment for viewing and hearing wildlife - something our Sunday morning Ross Island / Next Adventure paddles would benefit from! Unfortunately, the Marine Board, the small state agency that is funded entirely with boater fees, did not accept their own staff’s recommendation and declined the proposal July 27th.

Fact is, the Marine Board is composed mostly of power boaters. We need human-powered river users on the Oregon State Marine Board!

Just another beautiful day on the water with Northwest River Guides.

Amazing sunset at Willamette Falls during a NRG trip.

Its even better when we have riverside music curtisy of Brent Freeburg…

Music + instruction = a good evening on the river in Portland.

Even Nancy from the Gorge Games brought out a friend and had a laugh.

Quality people, fun times.

This is a great shot of all the kayakers in the locks.  It is amazing how much water they hold back.  The industrialized zone is hardly the landscape that Lewis and Clark marked as the end of the Oregon Trial.  Its amazing what humans can do to build up an area around such a historical site.