The Otter Bar Family
 Otter
Bar is a family-owned business and our instructors and staff are an
important part of the family.
Otter Bar was started by Peter & Kristy Sturges in 1981 as a small
wilderness lodge. Kayaking was something that Peter did just for
fun, but it didn't take long to realize the potential of
teaching kayaking at the lodge. The program and the lodge have
evolved and grown over the years. And so has the Sturges family:
Peter and Kristy's kids, Rush and Allison, are an integral part of
Otter Bar.
Our Instructors
We have the best instructors in the business. Each instructor brings
their own style of teaching, broad knowledge of the sport, and the
innate ability to teach others how to excel and have fun. All of our
instructors are experienced expert paddlers and excellent teachers.
Look for several new faces in 2007!
Peter Kettering (photo above) has been teaching kayaking at Otter
Bar for a dozen years. He has an extensive background in outdoor
education and teaches outdoor skills and leads programs at a kayak
school on the south island of New Zealand (his other country) in our
off-season. Peter is known for his smooth style and willingness to
help nurture flawless technique in students of all skill levels. He
has recently discovered fly fishing and sometimes packs a breakdown
rod in his kayak alongside his breakdown paddle.
 Salmon
River local Silas Beaver (left) joined Otter Bar in 2003,
bringing his skills as a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
instructor and diverse talents as a kayaker. How appropriate that
Silas was born at the put-in to the South Fork Salmon Gorge, one of
our favorite class 4-5 runs in the watershed. Silas' family now lives
downriver at the put-in for the Butler gorge run on the main Salmon
River (see the pattern?).
 Graham
Charles (right) joins us from New Zealand. An adventurer in
the truest sense of the word, Graham's exploits have taken him sea
kayaking in the ice-choked waters of Antarctica and in a multi-sport
expedition where he sea kayaked around Tierra del Fuego (Chile) to
access the remote Darwin Range. His
expeditions take weeks or months to accomplish and his stories and
photographs are amazing. Oh yeah, Graham literally wrote (&
photographed) the guidebook to whitewater paddling in New Zealand
and a new book about sea kayaking in Antarctica. In late 2005,
Graham was part of the first team to circumnavigate South Geogia
Island by kayak, another gnarly feat.
 Creek
(who needs no last name) came to Otter Bar's very first kayak class
back in 1981 and hasn't left yet. As our longest-tenured instructor,
this local resident is well-versed in the area's rich history and
teaches kayaking with thoughtful patience. Creek brings a touch of
Zen to the art of kayak instruction. He is also the editor and
producer of our local on-line media forum,
The River Voice--check
it out!
 Polly
Green (right) travels and paddles around the world, stopping in
at Otter Bar to bring her enthusiam and kayking skills our way each
year. Currently at work on a documentary, Nomads: Wandering Women
of the Whitewater Tribe, Polly has been examining the lives of
several female paddlers who have "veered off the beaten path."
Sounds great. Also a high-level freestyle paddler, Polly
placed 5th in the 2003 World Championships in Graz, Austria and can
be counted on being a motivating force to get fellow instructors out
on the local play wave after work.
 Peter
Sturges (right) may not be a full-time instructor these days
but he stills comes out from time to time to help teach the roll and give an extra
hand when needed. When not tinkering with something at the lodge,
Peter routinely skis the Russian Mountains and Trinity Alps above Otter Bar in the wintertime, paddles on
the spring snowmelt, and snorkels with the steelhead and salmon in the summer.
That's a wise use of resources, something else Peter is known for.
 Joining
us again is New Zealander Dave Ritchie. Dave and
his wife Claire own and operate
Hydraulics,
a kayak apparel and gear company producing top quality merino wool tops, PFDs,
paddling jackets, shorts, visors, and much more. Be sure to check
out their stuff online or in Otter Bar's fine boutique! They also
teach kayaking on New Zealand's South Island.
Lodge Staff and Others
Though you will encounter our instructors more often than most of
our lodge staff, this place wouldn't be what it is without their
hard, enthusiastic work.
 Our
kitchen tends to be the dry land hub of Otter Bar, with our two
wonderful chefs Nyomi Rivera and Awna Zegzdryn
creating fresh, wholesome and delicious meals from scratch daily.
Most people recognize that the real reason they come to Otter Bar is
for the food, and that kayaking just fills the time in between
meals. Nyomi, a local river girl, has a well-established background
in organics and a passion for fresh produce. She claims that she has
taught Awna everything she knows. Awna, a one-time hitchhiker on the
Salmon River Road, comes to us from Ashland, Oregon. Together, these two have infused a new energy into Otter Bar.
Check out more about our fine dining.
Bob Beaver is our fabulous masseur. He lives downriver on
the Salmon and joins us each week to
help ease the muscles of tired paddlers. Bob and his wife Judy also
run a massage business over the mountains in Scott Valley. Their
son, Silas, is one of our instructors.
Anybody who has been here knows Melissa Shocky, our fabulous
masseuse of more than fifteen years. She and Dennis Meade,
our organic gardener, have a five year old girl, Angelica.
Our awesome team of housekeepers and dishwashers includes Melinda
Stearns and Cathy Leavens
(who is also our Saturday night cook). All of these
folks are Salmon and Klamath River locals. We wouldn't be what we
are without each one of them and appreciate all they do behind the
scenes to keep this place going. Allison Sturges can
now be found making cameo appearances at the dishwashing station on
some summer nights.,
 Otter Bar's prodigy paddler, Rush Sturges, travels the world
kayaking new runs, big drops, and developing the latest moves.
He's a founding member of Young Guns Productions, which produces
outrageous paddling videos. Recognized as one of the few "Cool
People Now" by Outside Magazine in 2004, Rush is a former World
Champion in junior freestyle kayak. Rush paddles for Team
Dagger and continues to compete internationally while producing the
hottest new paddling films.
 Each week we are joined by some fabulous musicians who provide the
acoustic tunes to accompany the Margarita Night fiesta. Rex
Richardson plays flamenco style guitar with such amazing grace and
speed that watching him becomes mesmerizing. He is often joined by
his son, Miles, on upright bass, and Petey Brucker on guitar and
mandolin.
Last but not least, Kristy Sturges has her hands in just
about all aspects of running Otter Bar (as long as it doesn't
involve a kayak paddle). For many guests, Kristy is their
first connection to Otter Bar and is the familiar and friendly voice
on the phone. In the off-season, Kristy can often be found in
places like New York or Paris or Italy, often times in the company
of Betty Ann (also known as Creek's better half).
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