New member to this site, but I’ve been reading some of the threads and equipment reviews.
I’m a beginner in terms of skills. I’ve been on a few day trips while on vacations, but most of my experience comes from having rented 14’ kayaks (Tsunami 140) from a local operation here. I purchased a season pass last year and made the most of it - going two to four times per week after work and on the weekends. But… this was on calm/sheltered water. No sprayskirt, no need for any particular expertise with different strokes, leaning/turning, and certainly no rolls or even wet exits. Just paddle up river then back. Fun, and it built me some decent endurance, but no expertise.
I’d like to up my skill game. What I’m envisioning would be two to five days of instruction where I can sharpen my skills while also getting away and having fun. I’m mindful that five consecutive days of instruction might be overwhelming so perhaps a better fit for me would be fewer days or a mix of instruction and down time. I’m not looking for whitewater instruction, but rather flatwater with some exposure to coastal paddling.
Any thoughts? I see that there are shops in Charleston and Savannah that offer some educational opportunities. I’m on the east coast, so those destinations would be easy for me, but I’m not averse to going farther afield. I’d happily go to Nova Scotia (always wanted to visit anyway) if that worked.
This is a great festival. I’ve been to several - my first nearly 20 years ago - and am again going this year after a long hiatus. A lot of paddling luminaries will be there, teaching classes (both in dry land lecture/discussion type classes and on water basic and master classes) and it’s fun to see, sit in, and paddle the boats (and other products) that the many vendors will bring. I usually camp there during the festival for convenience and because it’s such a nice park. I think early registration ends March 1 (and then the price goes up a little bit but not much). Of course, Charleston itself is a very nice destination. If you haven’t been, or maybe even if you have, I’d add a couple of days extra on to your trip just to explore the area a bit, and maybe do some paddling on you’re own. I don’t think you said where exactly you live but it would be best to drive so you could bring your boat. If you can’t bring your boat, I would guess that you might be able to rent one from a local shop (like Sea Kayak Carolina). Take a look at the courses offered. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.
These both look very promising, thank you. May I ask yknpdlr though, is the Adirondack event more heavily focused on canoeing? The comments on the thread you posted seem to suggest that it is.
This is a great festival. I’ve been to several - my first nearly 20 years ago - and am again going this year after a long hiatus. A lot of paddling luminaries will be there, teaching classes (both in dry land lecture/discussion type classes and on water basic and master classes) and it’s fun to see, sit in, and paddle the boats (and other products) that the many vendors will bring. I usually camp there during the festival for convenience and because it’s such a nice park. I think early registration ends March 1 (and then the price goes up a little bit but not much). Of course, Charleston itself is a very nice destination. If you haven’t been, or maybe even if you have, I’d add a couple of days extra on to your trip just to explore the area a bit, and maybe do some paddling on you’re own. I don’t think you said where exactly you live but it would be best to drive so you could bring your boat. If you can’t bring your boat, I would guess that you might be able to rent one from a local shop (like Sea Kayak Carolina). Take a look at the courses offered. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.
To my great shame I don’t have a boat (yet). My current living situation (a high-rise in Washington, DC) won’t support it. I’m looking to possibly change that but for now it means no boat and no rack on my car even if I rent a boat in Charleston. Otherwise the event looks really promising. I’ll contact the shop to see if they can help me out. Thanks again… Greg
Well, the festival would be a good place to test paddle some different models. You might consider a folding kayak. Sadly, I just read that arguably the premier manufacturer, Feathercraft, has gone out of business after I don’t know how many years (but it’s been around quite a while). I can’t find a working link to Folbot either (another folding kayak manufacture with a storied reputation). These are very capable boats that have been used in special forces op’s as far back as WWII and I believe into more recent times. An easy one to come by nowadays is the ORU, sold at REI
and elsewhere for about $1300. I can’t speak to the quality. It may be a good entry option for you. I’m almost certain the quality (i.e., ruggedness) is not up to Feathercraft/Folbot standards but I have no direct experience with any of those boats and it has ten 5-star ratings on the REI website (and one 1-star rating). You can set of foam pads w webbing for about $65 if you wanted a temporary means to transport a rigid (non-folding) boat. They work reasonably well if you rig it correctly, avoid high-g turns, and don’t slam on your breaks. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/stores/sport-goods/detail-pages/B000OZJCO6-1.jpg. I’ve used these before for trips of several hundred miles without incident.
First, make sure you take whatever classes you have at local. If they only have the intro to sea kayaking class, make sure you take that. Some offer a few additional levels. Get the local classes, as they are cheaper and most of the next levels will require a certain level of experience and seat time anyway.
After that, it sounds like you are looking for a symposium. There are symposiums all over the country. I don’t know the east coast ones. I would try googling “kayak symposium” and your state name (and neighboring states) and see what pops up.
The East Coast Paddlesports festival has plenty of opportunities for beginners, which they define as
“These courses are for those who have either never paddled or have received some basic formal instruction.
You should feel some level of comfort in the vessel.
You normally paddle in flat-water environments, but may have paddled in areas of wind less than 10 mph. You’ll learn the basics of paddling on the James Island County Park lake and on other calm, protected bodies of water.
The end-goal of a first-time or beginner paddler is to feel comfortable on the water, learn something new, and have some fun in a safe environment.”
You mentioned Nova Scotia so I’ll respond to that. While local classes are probably the best idea, my wife is Nova Scotian and we take a couple of kayaks up there every summer for a few weeks and paddle the St. Margaret’s Bay area. It’s a great place to paddle, pristine and clean with a nice mix of flat and quite challenging conditions. East Coast Outfitters (near Halifax) and Pleasant Paddling (at Blue Rocks near Lunenburg) are both super operations to paddle with. It’s much prettier and more varied than the local coast of New Jersey.
I also agree with @Monkeyhead that as an apartment dweller you might want to look into folding kayaks that break down and can be easily stored in a closet. @willowleaf is the resident expert on them here but for a start take a look at pakboat and klepper. These are serious kayaks, perfectly capable of handling rough conditions and multi-day excursions.
@kfbrady said:
You mentioned Nova Scotia so I’ll respond to that. While local classes are probably the best idea, my wife is Nova Scotian and we take a couple of kayaks up there every summer for a few weeks and paddle the St. Margaret’s Bay area. It’s a great place to paddle, pristine and clean with a nice mix of flat and quite challenging conditions. East Coast Outfitters (near Halifax) and Pleasant Paddling (at Blue Rocks near Lunenburg) are both super operations to paddle with. It’s much prettier and more varied than the local coast of New Jersey.
I also agree with @Monkeyhead that as an apartment dweller you might want to look into folding kayaks that break down and can be easily stored in a closet. @willowleaf is the resident expert on them here but for a start take a look at pakboat and klepper. These are serious kayaks, perfectly capable of handling rough conditions and multi-day excursions.
I’m drawn to Nova Scotia for plenty of reasons, including the local music (Cape Breton Fiddle), and I understand the beer and whisky are pretty fine, too. And like you said, it looks like lovely country.
I’m not however drawn to the idea of a folding boat. A much more likely solution is I’ll move within the year to a new place with appropriate storage for a conventional boat. One of my goals for this year is to get in enough variety of experience so I can make a smart purchasing decision when the time comes. For that reason the idea of a symposium is very appealing even if going without my own boat would be limiting in terms of the classes I could take advantage of. I’ll explore the idea of renting a boat for the duration of a symposium. If that doesn’t work I’ll stick to a la carte instruction where I can rent a boat for each individual day.
I’d recommend the East Coast Paddlesport Festival in Charleston. It’s a great place to get started with formal instruction, and it’s not to far from you. There’s a great mix of coaches, and a variety of class-types. Boats are available for classes, but you should make arrangements early.
After that, the world is your oyster. Kayaking is a great way to plan your travels. There are great touring opportunities and instructional opportunities all over. If you want to give Maine a try, drop me a line.
I spent a year in DC, and as a sea kayaker, it was a frustrating experience. Not a lot of open water around, and driving to the Chesapeake gets you shallow muddy waters. But I did have a place only half an hour away, without traffic, to keep my kayaks and gear. If I had that year over for a redo, I would have ww paddled instead. And dated more, isn’t there like a 5 to 1 female to male ratio in DC?
But I would have just bought a used comfortable stable river runner, like a Liquid Logic Remix, locked it to the top of my car, signed up for some intro to ww classes, and paddled the Potomac regularly.
So I wouldn’t overlook the ww offered in your area. You have some great rivers right nearby, that would provide great paddling oppurtunities, which would easily translate to sea kayak skills. The skills for ww and sea kayaking kind of converge at some point, there’s a steeper learning curve for ww because you start off in more dynamic water with a smaller boat, but eventually advanced sea kayakers are paddling big rough river type conditions. Until you get to the surf zone which is kind of it’s own thing. But learning to edge, brace, roll, and control a ww boat, will easily translate to sea kayak skills. Especially the bracing, which is a challenge for many sea kayakers. If you can do this all relatively local to you, and practice a few times a week during the season, your skills are going to progress more quickly than a weekend here and there of seminars. After a season of ww you’ll be way ahead of many sea kayakers in terms of skills. Just my 2 cents.
I’ll second Cape Breton, one of my favorite places on earth, although I didn’t take any paddling classes there.
When starting out, I took a week-long coastal paddling course at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine. I highly recommend it, it was well done in a great location. It attracts a nice range of people, plus there will be boat building going on while you’re there, which is fun to watch. It looks like they have two courses running this summer:
Walter Mayo should be able to hook you up with a nice rental sea kayak right on location at Hammocks Beach State Park. http://paddlenc.com/author/walter-mayo/
@Johnysmoke said:
I spent a year in DC, and as a sea kayaker, it was a frustrating experience. Not a lot of open water around, and driving to the Chesapeake gets you shallow muddy waters. But I did have a place only half an hour away, without traffic, to keep my kayaks and gear. If I had that year over for a redo, I would have ww paddled instead. And dated more, isn’t there like a 5 to 1 female to male ratio in DC?
But I would have just bought a used comfortable stable river runner, like a Liquid Logic Remix, locked it to the top of my car, signed up for some intro to ww classes, and paddled the Potomac regularly.
So I wouldn’t overlook the ww offered in your area. You have some great rivers right nearby, that would provide great paddling oppurtunities, which would easily translate to sea kayak skills. The skills for ww and sea kayaking kind of converge at some point, there’s a steeper learning curve for ww because you start off in more dynamic water with a smaller boat, but eventually advanced sea kayakers are paddling big rough river type conditions. Until you get to the surf zone which is kind of it’s own thing. But learning to edge, brace, roll, and control a ww boat, will easily translate to sea kayak skills. Especially the bracing, which is a challenge for many sea kayakers. If you can do this all relatively local to you, and practice a few times a week during the season, your skills are going to progress more quickly than a weekend here and there of seminars. After a season of ww you’ll be way ahead of many sea kayakers in terms of skills. Just my 2 cents.
Ha! The 5x1 male/female ratio in DC is a myth. I think dating is tough everywhere.
The WW advice is solid. I will almost certainly do both. One of the shops has pool rolling lessons starting this month as well as progressive education tracks working up to class III and IV. I have no aspirations to tackle that kind of white water but it does make sense that the skills learned would translate well. Long term I feel that flat/coastal waters are my destiny but it’s true that WW is easier here than coastal. Thanks.
