Undercurrents Blog and latest News

New IceBreaker has arrived!

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:25:16 PST

New IceBreaker has arrived!

If you know and love IceBreaker like we do, all you need to know is that new IceBreaker is in the store! Come in now while selection is best!

And in case you don’t know IceBreaker, it is clothing made from New Zealand Merino wool. It is soft, warm, breathable, easy-care and good looking. It is perfect for active sports, wearing around town or shovelling the driveway. Come by the store and check it out!

P.S. Undercurrents will happily order for you any IceBreaker items that are available in the Canadian warehouse – you know, in case we are out of stock. And for orders over $100 there is no freight or handling fees! Visit the store for details.

Custom Order SALE

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:58:28 PST

Custom Order SALE!

Sure it’s snowy out there, but that just means it is time to start thinking about that boat or gear you want for next year!

Undercurrents is having our annual Custom Order Sale! Order any boat, paddle or drysuit now for spring delivery and save 10%! If we already have the item you want in stock, you can take it home now or we will gladly store it for you until spring.

This sale applies to all canoes, kayaks, SUP boards, paddles and drysuits.

You know you are going to buy it! The best strategy is to order it now to guarantee spring delivery and save money at the same time!

SUPtember SUPapalooza Sale

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:47:05 PDT

Undercurrents is having a giant SUP Sale! And, there are still lots of great paddling days left in the season! Every board (new & used) is on sale, as well as accessories!

Save up to $500 on a new board!
Save up to $900 on a used board!
Save up to 25% or more on paddles and other accessories!

The sale starts on SUPtember 1st, so hurry down to Undercurrents to get the best bargains!

Used Canoe, Kayak & Board SALE!

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:00:00 PDT

Undercurrents’ Used Canoe & Kayak & Board Sale is on NOW!

Most of our 2011 lightly used demo boat/boards, rental boat/boards and customer trade-ins are available for sale at great prices!

The only way to secure the boat of your dreams is to drop by the store or call with your credit card number. Due to the limited selection of boats and the incredible prices, we are unable to “hold” boats. Used boats sell quickly at this time of year, and while we try to keep this list current, it is best to call first if it's a long drive.

"New + Out." is the combined price of the boat and all included outfitting, when new. "Sale Price!" is the crazy-low-price you pay!

Canoe Museum Open in Calgary

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:07:09 PDT

Canoe Museum Open in Calgary!

My beloved and I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening gala of the canoe exhibit at Fort Calgary last night. The opening party was wonderful, with great food and an interesting/humourous presentation by Canadian Canoe Museum Executive Director, James Raffin. The exhibit was great!

The exhibit is actually the travelling exhibit from The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. The CCM is fantastic and well worth the visit if you are out that way! For those of us staying closer to home this summer, the travelling exhibit is a great representation of the canoe and the museum. And, it's in Calgary!

This is a rare opportunity to see some of the CCM's collection and learn an astonishing amount of interesting information about canoes.

The exhibit is only at Fort Calgary until November 6th, so head on down to the Fort and have a look! Admission is only $11 and it includes all of the Fort exhibits, plus the temporary canoe exhibit!

At Undercurrents, we are proud to sponsor this exhibit!

http://www.fortcalgary.com/canoe/

The Latest Greatest Paddling Sport

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:46:43 PDT

The Latest & Greatest Paddling Sport!

I have exciting news about the latest and greatest paddling sport - Greenland style SUP'ing. I just invented it! Yesterday!

If you are unfamiliar with SUP, it stands for Stand Up Paddleboarding, and it is exactly as it sounds. You stand up on a board (looks like a big, wide surfboard) and paddle with what is essentially a long canoe paddle. SUP is a legitimate sport that is experiencing explosive growth right now. Google it and you will see lots of photos of Hollywood-types doing it, news about races and articles about how anyone can do it. (Undercurrents might even come up in your Google search as we are among the leaders in Canada in teaching SUP.)

Back to the story of my great invention ... yesterday my beloved and I went out to the Ghost reservoir to play around with a racing SUP and a Delta 16. Long story short, I forgot my SUP paddle but had brought my new Greenland-style sea kayak paddle.

WaterWalker coming to Calgary

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:00:00 PST

WaterWalker Film Fest coming to Calgary - One night only!

Image from the film: Paddle to Seattle

photographer Brian A. Dixon.

The WATERWALKER Film Festival, a collection of the best canoeing, kayaking and environmental films of the year, will be shown in Calgary for one night only! The festival presentation is on Friday, March 18th at Mount Royal University, starting at 7:00 pm. The evening is presented by Undercurrents and the Mount Royal Eco-Tourism Program.

All proceeds will benefit Leave No Trace Canada. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. They are available in person at Undercurrents. Or, if you order tickets by phone at 262-GEAR you can pick them up at the "Will Call" at the door. All tickets include a $10 discount at Undercurrents!

Entries to the festival encompass an exciting range of locations, content and styles. Both amateur and professional film makers have submitted their films from around the world – they are authentic and filled with plenty of great footage. You can expect to see “everything from the serene to the extreme!”

The WATERWALKER Film Festival is a tribute to the late Bill Mason, the great conservationist, canoeist and filmmaker who cared passionately about his work and the wilderness. He wanted to share its beauty and to promote its protection. As he once said, “Film is for me a means of expressing my feelings about the things I enjoy, things I am concerned about, mostly the natural world”.

The WATERWALKER Film Festival came together following Mason’s death in order to help continue his vision.

Leave No Trace Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace builds awareness, appreciation and respect for our wildlands.

New CanoeKayak Registration

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 08:33:15 PST

Most paddlers have not heard of this yet, but those of us in the industry have been fuming about it for months now. The whole thing hit the mainstream media on Friday, so we thought a blog was in order. See the CBC story here.

Essentially, there are new regulations for guided canoe and kayak trips/lessons/etc. Most of the regulations involve safety gear, float plans, cold-water safety and other matters that any reasonable group does anyway. No big deal.

The problem is the requirement that the guide/instructor boat be registered. Well, actually the problem is the definition of guide/instructor – anyone leading a group (whether paid or volunteer) can be defined as a guide. Then, the boat they are in needs to be registered. Registering your boat is a serious pain in the tush (see the instructions below) and it costs $50! And, you might be surprised to know this could apply to you!

Paddlesports Job Posting

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:54:18 PST

If you have dreamed of making a living in the paddlesports industry - and you know you have - then this job might be for you. The Bow Waters Canoe Club, one of the more active paddling clubs in Canada is seeking a Program Co-ordinator. The details are below, but the job is essentially, "person in charge of everything." Application deadline is January 31st.

SUP Surfing Tidal Wave in Alaska

tony@undercurrents.ca (Tony Palmer) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:05:02 PST

If you have seen the latest edition of SUP Standup Paddler magazine ("available at Undercurrents now" - shameless plug!) you would have seen a fabulous photo of three paddlers surfing a tidal bore on their SUP boards.

Tidal bores occur when the ocean's incoming tide moves up river against the river current. The wave or waves can travel upstream for miles. These are real "tidal waves," not to be confused with a tsunami. They don't happen in many places, but they look like they are worth the trip.

SUP Standup Paddler magazine has a 'behind the photo' description and video of this tidal bore and the surfers. Fascinating! Visit that page here.

Park your car upriver. Paddle down towards the sea. Then surf the bore back to your car. It doesn't get any better than that!