Columbia kayakers find new life in new location

A change in venue has breathed new life into Columbia River Kayaking, LLC, a local collective of kayak guides in Skamokawa. Ginni Callahan, a world class kayaker who lives on Puget Island, and another kayaker, Skamokawa resident Mark Whitaker, have found a permanent home for their fellow kayak guides at Skamokawa Landing.

Before it breathed new life, it breathed a sigh of relief. The space they had been renting behind the Skamokawa store had seemed optimal. It was aesthetically pleasing and practical, but it became increasingly problematic and stressful, due to rising rent and other factors. Today it sits empty.

“Ever since CRK started we’ve wondered how much longer we were going to be able be in that location,” said Callahan. “Where else are we going to go? This year we finally decided that we were just going to run it with the website, the trailers, the vans and the storage unit in Cathlamet. We had just given up on having a location, and this place became available.”

Whitaker and another guide, Andrew Emlen had stopped by Skamokawa Landing to ask the owner, Chris Bracis, if they could rent dock access. Sure, she said. And then she offered them an office space that had opened up two weeks earlier.

“She did all this work to it before she rented to us,” said Whitaker. “She put all this flooring down. And painted everything and did some work on the bathroom. She put a little sign on the door, and took down the big sign at the road and put our name on it. Thirteen years, we couldn’t get a sign at the other place. She just did it.”

When they worried about mounting things to the wall, Bracis told them not to worry. That she hoped they would be there for the next decade.

“Yes!” said Callahan.

“Finally,” sighed Whitaker.

“Mark was almost in tears,” said Callahan.

“Every single year it was ‘what is happening next year?’” said Whitaker.

“That was the turning point. We had some locational security,” said Callahan.

Two more things fell into place.

First, they found Kyleen Austin to manage the office. “We’d been doing administration by grabbing the tail of the animal and being whipped around behind it,” said Callahan.

“It’s hard to answer the phone in a kayak,” Whitaker points out.

“We needed someone dedicated to leading from the front. We’ve told -LESS-THAN-00404-Austin-GREATER-THAN-00404- she’s not allowed to learn to kayak, because she won’t want to be in the office. I don’t think she has that virus, she’s immune,” said Callahan.

Austin will be focusing primarily on publicity and all the administrative details.

And finally, they have brand new gear.

“This year we ordered brand new stuff from the usual vendors, fully replacing the fleet almost,” said Whitaker. “Our baseline paddle is high quality for an outfitting shop.”

They aren’t doing the rental shop any more. “It was our biggest liability,” said Callahan. “It never made money, it made stress.”

Where once were nine guides, six remain. Their calendar is full of upcoming events. No longer will people be able to rent a kayak and go off on their own.

“Now we have the safety net of a guide with you and an opportunity to learn,” said Callahan.

There will be half day and full day classes and tours. The guides are knowledgeable of local history, natural history, the flora and fauna.

“There are a lot of great stories here,” said Callahan.

They are working with Bracis to provide special deals for a stay in the suites above and a kayak on the water below.

There will be multi day courses as well, for kayak and canoe. There is the paddle sports foundation class, which follows the immersion course if you want to continue your training. After that is sea paddler training, according to the British Canoe Union schedule.

“We’ve planned a three day weekend at the coast, where we’ll camp out, “said Callahan.

“We’ve got a couple surf days on the calendar,” interjected Whitaker.

Then there is Elderhostel, now known as the Road Scholar program, which Callahan describes as their “bread and butter.” Members of Road Scholar visit Skamokawa every year to kayak the lower Columbia.

“It’s a good program for us. In 2011, I believe, we were the number one rated active program in North America. Our program in Skamokawa was the most highly rated active program in North America. We were the third overall program in North America,” said Whitaker.

School groups come. Boy Scouts from Portland visited recently to learn basic kayaking skills for an upcoming trip to Canada. A team building exercise program is in the works.

“I like our new location because we are right across from the national wildlife refuge now and this slough is really neat for exploring and we don’t have to go around that really wild treacherous corner to get to Skamokawa Bay,” said Callahan.

“That exposure with the wind and waves coming up was always just so tricky and there’s all those pilings sticking up. Those little hazards. I’ve done more rescues of canoes, kayaks, small skiffs and boats stuck in the sand. This is a super location. We’re really glad to be here.”

For more information and their calendar, you can visit their website at http://www.columbiariverkayaking.com or call them at 360-747-1044.