Pacific Horizons Wins "Best Sea Kayaking Film" in 2008 Reel Paddling Film Festival

Spring is now fast approaching and Pacific Horizons continues to keep inspiring both paddlers and film festival judges! The Reel Paddling Film Festival choose Pacific Horizons as the "best sea kayaking film" this year. That means the film festival cut, which includes Dubside and the big wave tidal race surfing at Skooks and Okisollo, will be traveling around the world through 2008 as a key film in their world tour festival. We are also pleased to announce that Pacific Horizons was a finalist at Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival and the other film film we entered in VIMFF, 49 Megawatts, won "best environmental film"! The Dubside segment of Pacific Horizons has been very popular with the ocean film festivals, seeing air time at both the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival and the Alaska Ocean Film Festival. And while the festivals are helping us get the word out on the film, we will also be live in the flesh at Canoecopia March 7-9 in Madison, WI and at the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival April 18-20 in Charleston, SC sharing stories and chapters from Pacific Horizons.

Lise-Anne and I have been out winter paddling here in Squamish some and we are gearing up for the next film which will focus on the East Coast of North America! Hope everyone is gearing up for another great year of paddling!

This shot is of some granite cliffs just beyond the mouth of the mouth of the Squamish River and minutes from our house.

The Grand Finale!

After a very successful trip down to California, I was really excited about the coming home to Squamish and doing the final premiere for the winter. While not a "sea kayaking crowd" per say, Squamish is home to adventures of all sorts and most importantly some of my best friends. I had been thinking for some time that it would be really fun to do a combined show withCURRENT SWELL. These guys are incredible musicians and put on a great live show. Everything started to line up when they agreed to come to Squamish on January 12th and we lined up Squamish's best venue...The Howe Sound Brew Pub.

Introducing Pacific Horizons to a full house at the Brew Pub!

photo by Justine Curgenven

The place was packed...the manager informed us we hit capacity of 125 about 15 minutes before the show and that they could not let anyone else in!

photo by Justine Curgenven

This was a super special night for Lise-Anne and I. Not only did all our local friends rally out, but several friends even came from far away including Justine, Shawna, and Leon. Plus we had a killer live band to rock out to after the film. Thanks to everyone who made it out!

Shawna, Leon, Lise-Anne, and I getting down to Current Swell

photo by Justine Curgenven

These guys are getting big and 2008 will be their year! Thanks Current Swell...you guys blew Squamish away.

Photo by Nick Sopczak RAW SPECTRA PHOTOGRAPHY


Photo by Nick Sopczak RAW SPECTRA PHOTOGRAPHY

From right to left...
Chris Petersen - Drums
Davers Lang - Rhythm Guitar/Harmonica/Vocals
Scott Stanton - Lead Guitar/Lap Slide/Vocals
Louie Sadava - Bass/Vocals


Lise-Anne put some serious time in calling friends, family, and rallying Squamish. I love this beautiful woman!


I hope everyone is enjoying their Pacifc Horizons DVD's. We have some more shows coming in the Spring and we are busy gearing up for our next film.

The Feedback is Pouring In and We are Off to California!

I'm just getting home now from the launch of the DVD here in the Pacific Northwest and already packing my bags to head down to California for a few premieres in Sacremento and the Bay Area. The Northwest tour began with the show at the MISSION THEATRE in downtown Portland. Thanks to the tremendous publicity efforts by ALDER CREEK we managed to sell out the vintage theatre with 304 people. I even had to deal with 20-30 people who were not allowed in because we had reached maximum capacity 15 minutes before the film was due to start! Portland was followed by standing room only events at SRK, Orcas Island, and ECOMARINE We had a great time and a big thanks goes out to all the hosts and sponsors of these events. It became clear by the end of the tour that Paul Kuthe's impressive big wave surfing gets the crowd going every night!


photo by Steve Rogers

As the premiere tour was kicking off in Portland, DVD's were moving through the postal system in search of eager kayakers all around the world. It has been awesome to come home to some many great comments in the Inbox. Here are a few...

The interesting thing about PH is it’s enjoyably mellow, west coast feel. You’ll want to put your feet up and enjoy a nice latte or maybe a choice micro-brew when you watch this one. You get the impression you could easily hang out with anyone on the DVD without feeling like you would’nt be welcomed. In some ways this is the best part of a DVD like this. Pacific Horizons invites the viewer to join in on some fun adventures with folks that quickly feel like friends. A pleasant break from the testosterone driven ego fests that are often part of many sports videos. Even with the rockin aspects of long boat surfing, sea kayaking as always takes on a unique, natural feel. Pacific Horizons is not only suitable and inspirational for any skill level paddler, but will also be enjoyable for the rest of the family as well.

-from DERRICK MAYOLETH'S REVIEW on KAYAK QUIXOTICA

First, let me say that your movie is outstanding! I'm a middle-aged east coast paddler, but the DVD makes me want to load up my kayak and head to the Northwest. You and your crew certainly captured the true essence of sea kayaking with wonderful videography and over-the-top locations. Many thanks for doing it right.

-from Robert Buford of the CHESAPEAKE PADDLERS ASSOCIATION

Bravo! Very well done. The shots were magnificent, the musical score was great (even for us AARP card-carrying paddlers), and the paddlers are awesome.

-from Linc Clay in Tallahasse, Flordia

So off to California for three more shows....

PENGUIN PADDLERS REDDING
Thursday December 13th 7 PM
3530 Railroad Ave
Redding, CA
(530) 244-3355

PENGUIN PADDLERS ROCKLIN
Saturday December 15th 7 PM
4381 Granite Drive
Rocklin, CA
(916) 624-7722

CALIFORNIA CANOE AND KAYAK
Monday December 17th 6:30
Oakland Retail Shop
409 Water Street
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA
(510) 893-7833

Pacific Horizons Premiere in Montreal, Quebec

Just as Lise-Anne and I hit the road for the Northwest DVD release and premiere tour, there will be a screening of Pacific Horizons in LA's hometown of Montreal on November 28th. CLICK HERE for more details, as space will be limited. Charles will have copies of the DVD on hand for sale!

DVD RELEASE AND FALL PREMIERE TOUR

Pacific Horizons has been completed and everyone's first peak at the DVD is just a few weeks away. 60 minutes of stunning images and great sea kayaking, plus a bunch of extras including a purely surfing segment, director's cut, and Justine Curgenven's teaser from her trip around Haida Gwaii with Shawna and Leon of BBB. I think eveyone is going to enjoy it and I'm sure it will inspire many! Here is what the cover looks like....the DVD label will be a suprise.



We have also locked in the dates for the northwest premiere tour. These events are going to be a lot of fun and an opportunity for those of you local to get out and get the very first DVD's available. We'll have some swag to give away and are looking forward to getting everyone out talking kayaking!

The West Coast Premiere/Portland
Hosted by ALDER CREEK CANOE AND KAYAK
Thursday November 29th 7:30PM
Mission Theatre
1624 NW Glissan
Portland, OR
Free Entry!

Seattle Premiere
Hosted by SEATTLE RAFT AND KAYAK
Friday November 30th 7:30PM
Seattle Raft and Kayak
7777 62nd Ave NE Building 11
Seattle, WA
Free Entry!

Vancouver Premiere
Hosted by ECOMARINE
Tuesday December 4th 7:30PM
Ecomarine
Granville Island
Vancouver, BC
Free Entry!

We will also be doing a showing in Olympia, on Orcas Island, and Bellingham. Those dates will be posted shortly.

We are going to Banff!

I just received the notice that Pacific Horizons was chosen as a finalist for the 2007 BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL! Lise-Anne and I will be travelling to Alberta to present the film on the big screen Saturday November 3 and then it will play again in a smaller theater on Nov 4th. Banff is considered one of the most prestigious adventure film festivals in the world and has been a dream of mine for the past couple years. Needless to say we are excited to be a part of this years event and also have a shot at making the 2007 BANFF WORLD TOUR! This will kick off a series of premieres on the west coast and the release of the DVD. We will be posting information on the November release of the DVD and when and where it will be available here soon, as well as a complete list of West coast premiere dates.

Editing Away!

Well after arriving home safely from Peru, I have been working hard on editing Pacific Horizons every day. Well except a few days spent kayaking Tatlow Creek and a weekend with Lise-Anne and 13 others on the Clendenning River! Hardest part of working for yourself in the kayaking industry is not getting too distracted by going kayaking. Really though...we are moving full steam ahead on Pacifc Horizons and it is looking great. Here are some of the technical details of where things are at and what you can expect over the next couple months...

1. On September 15th we will be showing the world the first glimpse of Pacific Horizons at West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium The film festival edit is complete and that is what will be showing at Port Townsend.

2. The complete DVD will be available November 15th online and at your local retail store. We will have a complete list of retailers and distributors up on the site here soon.

3. We are just starting to put togther a West Coast film tour that will stretch from BC to California in November. If you are a retailer intersted in hosting a showing of the video and we have not contacted you, please contact us!

Stay tuned for more details!

Vancouver Island Paradise

I wanted to make sure I got something up on the blog before I left for Peru, so I figured I'd share a few pictures from the Bunsby Islands. For those of you who don't know...I'm leaving on a expedition to paddle the RIO HUALLAGA in Peru on July 10th. I'll come home from that trip and finish shooting and editing Pacific Horizons.

Back in May I got togther with the crew from BBB and headed out to the west coast of Vancouver Island. Shawna, Leon, Matt, and Djuna picked me up in Horshoe Bay and we rallied many hours on winding dirt roads, crammed into the BBB head executive vehicle, eventually arriving at Fair Harbor. Plan was to spend 6-7 days on the water, explore the Bunsby Islands, maybe head to the Brooks Peninsula, and play in the swell of the Pacific Ocean. I had been looking forward to the trip for some time, as it had been a couple years since Shawna, Leon, and I had been out on a real multi-day adventure and the first time I had done a coastal trip with Matt and Djuna. Like the week we did the tidal race tour, it felt good to go into the trip seeing a giant high pressure system engulfing the North island. May was a beauty here in the Northwest and we soaked it up on this trip.

The team less Shawna in Fair Harbor. We put on at about 6PM with a pretty big push to the first campsite.

photo by Shawna Franklin

The second day we pushed to get into the Bunsby Islands. The scenery was amazing and it was clear no one else was around. Pretty quiet this time of year.

photo by Shawna Franklin

A nice little play spot we found on our way to get drinking water!

photo by Shawna Franklin

Big part of coming to the Bunsby's was to have really good camping and lots of short day trips to play in swell. Here Djuna and Shawna are settling into the evening hours with some yoga.

photo by Matt Nelson

The tidepools around this campsite were incredible.

photo by Shawna Franklin

Ont the 3rd Day we got into some pretty solid wind and swell on the outside of the Bunsby's

photo by Shawna Franklin

Even though I was filming most of the time, I managed to do a bit of rock gardening.

photo by Shawna Franklin

Leon has just come through the same gap as the shot of me above. Timing is everything when rock gardening.

photo by Shawna Franklin

Working for the shot. I was shooting from above to capture the clear water.

photo by Shawna Franklin

The water was crystal clear.

photo by Shawna Franklin

Matt and Leon playing in the swell off the campite we had in the outer islands

photo by Shawna Franklin

We had 5 days of sun by the time this shot was taken. Very rare on the West coast of Vancouver Island in May.

photo by Shawna Franklin

I think people will really enjoy this part of the film. We captured some of the better rock gardening footage I have seen to date and saw tons of wildlife. Lots of big black bears, sea otters, and eagles. Hope everyone has an amazing July of kayaking!