In 1993 a legendary paddling event occurred at the Salsbury Point launch, near the Hood River Canal Bridge in southern Washington State. After walking a half mile to retrieve his car, paddler Roan Eastman realized his kayak and paddle had been stolen. His PFD was the only thing that remained.
“I looked across the water and I saw nothing. The kayak has just vanished” he said. He’d never recover his orange Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro or his paddle.
This is where things get more than a little weird. A Coast Guard helicopter out on a search and rescue mission mentioned over the radio they were seeing a “huge hairy beast” paddling a “small blue kayak” near the bridge.
Was this the famed upright-walking, ape-like creature known locally as the sasquatch? Was this Roan’s kayak? Noone has the answers to these questions. No Coast Guard vessel attempted an intervention with the kayak that we know of. The kayak was never seen again.
The Sasquatch, of course, has been seen many times since, including by members of the Swell Watercraft staff. At first we thought we’d get a tattoo, then we decided we needed to tattoo all the Scupper kayaks. So we did it. In the tankwell.
Suffice to say that when Sasquatch decided to paddle, he took a Scupper kayak. We’re more than happy not honor the legacy of that fateful day. And if that beast should ever want a new Scupper, he just needs to drop us a line and we’ll hook him up with a good deal.
Hairy beasts. Killer kayaks. The Sasquatch Guarantee of Satisfaction. We all win here. Everyone that is, except Roan Eastman.