Hundreds took to the water, many in the head-over-heels or capsized-boat sense, at Vancouver Lake over the weekend as part of the 25th annual Spring Paddle Festival.
Paul Kuthe, program manager at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, a local paddling sport retailer and school that organizes the event, said the festival is a way to kick off the season.
“It’s kind of the start of things, so it’s appropriate it seems like the weather is turning the corner. … Finally,” he said Sunday.
A big part of the festival has always been about introducing new people to paddle boating, whether on kayaks, canoes or stand-up paddleboards, said Chris Bensch, a coach with Alder Creek.
“Our idea is to just get butts in boats,” he said.
Guests sign in, usually, then learn about which boat type might be right for them, Bensch said. Then they’re quickly in the water and learning the basics.
He’s been coaching new paddlers with for years, and about half the people he sees at the Paddle Festival tend to be rookies or people whose experience doesn’t go far past a occasionally renting stand-up paddleboards or canoes while on vacation.
Festival guests come in all ages, too, he said. He had a 7-year-old out on the water Saturday.
“I love working with the kids,” Bensch said. “They’re more careless. They don’t mind falling in the water.”
Adults, however, tend to need some breaking in.
“It’s funny, particularly in the stand-up classes. People are really on edge until they fall in,” he said. “Then they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s it?’ ” he said, pantomiming the typical stiff and inflexible beginning stand-up paddleboard students.
“They don’t want to get wet, but once they do, they’re disarmed,” he said. “You gotta know where those edges are to not go to them.”
The weekend is a great opportunity for people who want to get into paddling seriously, or are already veterans, to get in touch with paddling groups, learn new tips and tricks or try out new equipment.
Boat-makers will set up tents along the lake and bring boats for test drives.
“It’s so easy to go from boat to boat to boat,” Bensch said.
Julie Danielson said she’s been thinking about buying a kayak and saw the festival as a chance to get a better look at her options.
The vendor staff was helpful too, she said. They fine-tuned her boarding and disembarking technique and showed her how to properly carry around kayaks.
“They’re fantastic. I don’t know much about kayaking, and they’ve been extremely helpful,” she said.
Of course, since the event is free and usually at the start of sunny weather, there are plenty of chances to just get out in the water and have fun in a boat, Bensch said. On Saturday, the festival saw about 800 registered guests, Kuthe said, and the whole weekend has been known to bring 2,000 people to Vancouver Lake Regional Park.
The clear and warm weather probably helped get people out as well, Kuthe said.
Matthew Lacy brought his 7-year-old son, Jackson, to give him his first taste of boating.
Lacy used to do a lot of paddle sports, but he said that hobby slowed down some after having kids.
Now that they’re getting older, he said, the family’s slowly getting back into it.
“We knocked off all the tandems out there save one,” he said.
Jackson’s favorite boats?
“The ones that go fast,” Jackson said.
