Close to the Water: Boat Ramp Champs
I was on one of my early camp-cruising trips in a 15-foot rowboat when I approached the tiny marina at Blake Island State Marine Park. Two sailors from a 40-foot trawler climbed down from their deck chairs to the dock. “Do…
Close to the Water: Small Boats, Big Influence
A 16-foot Jim Michalak-designed Scram Pram,…
Bill and a friend work on the boat in the…Close to the Water: Capsize!
Are You Ready to Self-Recover?
Fern swims towards the bow…
#TBT: Rowing the Rapids of the Inside Passage
In our latest Throwback Thursday, heading south from the Broughtons on a small boat, the big rapids of the Inside Passage are calling. If you haven't already read the first in Bruce's series on his Inside Passage small boat…
Bill rolls his boat down the gravel ramp…#TBT: Portland’s ‘Witches on the Willamette’ Rules the River
Happy Halloween! In our latest Throwback Thursday, we're reminded of the spooky scene at last year's annual SUP witch paddle in Portland. After a week of unrelenting rain, I woke up to a sunny Saturday before Halloween that…
Close to the Water: The Old-Fashioned Way
Navigating the waters of the Pacific Northwest with simplicity and satisfaction
Close to the Water: Other Boats
My old college friend and I were eager to get away and forgot the daily details that usually preoccupy us. And as we slowly ghosted into Jones Island’s broad horseshoe-shaped cove, I knew we’d chosen the right spot. An…
The author does a test launch of his new Portage…