CRYC hosts AquaPalooza

This past weekend Columbia River Yacht Club had the pleasure of hosting AquaPalooza, the much heralded on-the-water celebration for owners of Sea Ray boats. Our co-host was Portland's own Trudeau's Sea Ray.

The event spanned two days of fun on our wonderful A-dock, with the festivities centered on the E & E Paddlefish -- the clubs' 85' floating club house/cruise barge that is so much a part of everything that is CRYC!

The event came together when Mike Trudeau, owner of the Portland-area Sea Ray dealer was looking for a home for Trudeau's fifth area AquaPalooza event. Many CRYC members are Sea Ray owners, so the concept of an Aquapalooza was very familiar.

Said CRYC Commodore Erik Runyan, "When I heard there was a local effort to create this years Portland Aquapalooza, my first thoughts were 'How can we get involved?". Working closely with Mike it quickly became evident the CRYC would be the perfect venue for such an event. In short order we became the co-host of AquaPalooza Portland.

Mike Trudeau adds,"Our customers had such a great time - it was the best event we have ever put on. Can't wait to do it yet again!"

Highlights of the weekend included a fantastic performance by Country recording artist Carrie Cunningham and the Six Shooters. Carrie, known as the “Classically Trained Country Crooner”, passionately engaged the crowd as she and her band rocked and rolled us from the front of the PaddleFish on this beautiful August afternoon.

Carrie and Co. were much more than a background band: her smooth voice floated across the soft waters one minute, and provided the upbeat tunes to splash and dance to the next. You can learn more about Carrie Cunningham by visiting her website.

It all worked: Great music, great food, great weather, new friends, old friends, fantastic views and lots of SeaRay owners having a great time! Trudeaus SeaRay and the CRYC committees treated us to the party of the year on the Columbia River, and now we all can't wait to do it again next year!

photos provided by Ebert Photography