Lots of exciting new gear/programs at SKC

Spring is finally here and our paddling season is off to an exciting fast paced start. We are heartened by the amount of interest our paddling community has been showing in our kayaking programs and events.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know of a few new happenings here at Sea Kayak Carolina. First, we are excited to have added Astral Buoyancy Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) to our PFD stock. Please stop by the shop to see some of their revolutionary new designs.

We have also added the kayak NAV-AID, a device developed by Dr. Charles Sutherland, which allows mariners in small open boats to easily accurately determine course bearings from charts in spite of weather and sea conditions. It even includes an instruction booklet on how to use it.

Finally, we have just started a new demo program for our high end Werner paddles. If you are thinking about upgrading your paddle please consider coming by and signing out one or two of our Werner paddles. There is no obligation to buy; we just want you to see the value of using a lightweight performance paddle for yourself.

Happy paddling and I hope to see you on the water soon.

-- William

What is the big “O”?

Lots of folks have asked what the big “O” means on the Maelstrom kayaks. Mary Ross has decided to get started on her big (4-0) birthday early (it’s not until September 2011!) with the help of her Vital! But don’t tell her I gave away a Southern lady’s age, or I’ll be Yankee mince-meat!

Co-starring on Army Wives!

P&H and Venture Kayaks will be co-starring in an upcoming episode of Army Wives, to be shot tomorrow at an undisclosed beach location somewhere in coastal South Carolina! Kayaks provided by Sea Kayak Carolina.

Kayak Anna visited the shop!

After a busy morning yesterday with Christmas kayakers, the afternoon became quiet at the shop. Imagine my surprise when the door burst open, and there she was! Dr. Lina Lukashevich, in the flesh, walking into Sea Kayak Carolina!

"Who is Dr. Lina Lukashevich?" -- you may wonder. She is the author of the recent book Kayak Anna and the Palindrome Creek. It is "...a splashing eco-adventure for readers ages 9 - 13. Anna fights pollution in her neighborhood creek. Along the way she encounters bullies, leeches and alarmingly ravenous trolls!

Lina came to visit from her home town of Brookfield, Illinois! She was in Columbia with her Mom to visit her aunt. They came to tour Charleston and had a chance to drop off some copies of Kayak Anna. They are available here at the shop, or call (843) 225-7969 for a copy to be delivered to your door, or the door of a young reader/kayaker of your choosing. Lina is donating all of her profits to Living Water International, which helps provide clean, safe drinking water to children around the world. Copies of Kayak Anna are $12.99.

Lina may be back to Charleston in April for the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival - as part of Sea Kayak Carolina's compound. Keep your fingers crossed!

"And what is a palindrome?" you may wonder. A word spelled that is spelled the same way forwards and backwards. The first to email me an example of a palindrome will win a free SKC Nalgene water bottle with their purchase of Kayak Anna!

Scott@SeaKayakCarolina.com

Great party - great plans for next year...

We had a blast at the shop party last night. Check here for some additional photos.

We're already gearing up for a big year in 2010:

February 27 & 28, 2010 - ACA Advanced Open Water (L5) ICE led by Dale Williams.

Starting April 9 - ACA IDW / ICE led by Tom Nickels. This is a modular event from L1 - L4.

April 16, 17, 18 - East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival! Sea Kayak Carolina is the Gold Sponsor of this event.

April 19 & 20 - BCU 3 Star Sea Assessment led by Coach Tom Nickels.

And lots of rolling, navigation and other classes and events already on the calendar for 2010. Hope to see you at the shop or on the water soon!

Scott

I’m a frayed knot!

Bow & Stern Toggles... lifesavers or killers?

Well, even I admit that the lead sentence is a bit dramatic. But we have had a few incidents related to toggles that it seemed timely for a post.

Bow and stern toggles on sea kayaks can help us manage our boats. However, they should not be used to carry the boats... read on:

Deb and a student were test paddling my personal (and at the time, brand new) P&H Capella 167. They were walking the boat across the parking lot, a knot holding the toggle came undone, and crash went the boat, taking a chunk of fiberglass out of the keel. But it gets worse...

I previously reported that Sue broke her wrist in a freak kayak accident. She was standing on the bumper of her SueBaru, pulling a fiberglass boat by the stern toggle to reposition it in the cradles. The line holding the toggle in place was frayed, it broke un-expectantly, and Sue experienced a FWOSH! (Fall with an outstretched hand.) Sue, by the way, is just recovering from surgery and could use some good wishes... send them to sue@seakayakcarolina.com.

We all have our terrible toggle stories to tell. The moral of the story is to carry sea kayaks with a hand cradling the bow or stern, and inspect the toggles periodically to ensure that the lines are not showing signs of wear. One more related story...

The string went into the bar, hopped up on a barstool, and asked the bartender for a beer. The bartender shouted “Get out -- we don’t serve strings in here!” The string went into the alley next to the bar, and just went nuts: Thrashing against the wall, the ground, wiggling around in a crazed manner. Can you picture it? Then the string went back into the bar, hopped up on the very same stool, and asked for a beer. The bartender shouted “Didn’t I just tell you we don't serve strings in here?!” To which the string replied — “I’m a frayed knot.”

First Sign of Spring

Is it the earliest azalea blossoms? Or the birds signing? Or the local paddlers heading out without their dry suits? Maybe. But for this blog post that's not what I'm talking about.

The sign I want you all to appreciate is the new shop sign we installed today. Gone is the heritage kayak and the vinyl banner -- replaced with a bright, crisp, new Sea Kayak Carolina sign:

And while we all like the new sign outside the store very much, it gives only a hint of the changes that are taking place inside.

Inside is where the action is. If you haven't been in to see us lately, it's worth a visit: We're saying goodbye to much of our old inventory (the March Madness sale continues,) and we've been stocking-up with new gear and a whole selection of new clothing. Spring and summer paddling will be more comfortable than ever with innovative shorts and tops from Reed and Immersion Research and Kokatat. And more is on the way.

Stay tuned for more product news and reviews.

Happy Paddling,
-Steve

As the Kayak Rolls?

Like sands thru the hourglass, these are the kayaks of our lives...

My old Explorer went off to Georgia with a nice kayaker named Christopher.

Sue's "old" Impex Force Cat 3 returned from a trip to Canada. The boat had some repairs to battle wounds that Sue had inflicted, and a keel strip and turtle were added.

Don't let her pretty looks fool you; the kayak is a working boat anxious to get banged around in the ocean, performing rescues, and generally doing what a sea kayak is built to do. Sue, too!

Knot Class...

Charton DuRant had us tongue tied...

Click here for more pictures of the knot class.

It's All Relative...

I've been a bit down lately, 'cause it's cold and gray more often than not in the past few weeks. However, we did have a nice time on the Stono River in the rain the other day. And the weekend is forecast to warm up... a good Charleston Sea Kayaking Meetup Pod is scheduled to head out to Deveaux Bank on Sunday.

Ask me about how I started sea kayaking sometime... To make a long story shorter I will tell you now that it was in the Spring of 1991, and it started at Billington Sea Watercraft, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Doug Gray, the owner of Billington Sea Watercraft, just sent me some photos of the lake where I first sat in a sea kayak...

Yikes! Spring will be here sooner in Charleston, South Carolina than Plymouth, Massachusetts...

Scott Szczepaniak is the managing owner of Sea Kayak Carolina and a former poster child for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Contact him at Scott@SeaKayakCarolina.com with your story of how you first got started kayaking... he'll post it on the blog.

Yikes, it's cold out there! I'm just back from Folly Beach - just looking at the ocean from the heated car made me shiver. Good news is that it will be warming up next weekend for some good paddling...

Boys of Summer? Nope, the men of Sea Kayak Carolina! William, Steve and Scott buzzed some summer cuts in hopes of getting a jump on Spring! (Get it, jump on Spring?) Our motto? Hair care, or more time for kayaking!

Stop in this weekend for a free cup of coffee, watch a kayak video, and daydream about next weekend's kayak adventure. Sea Kayak Carolina is located on James Island, between downtown Charleston and Folly Beach in the great state of South Carolina.


Sea Kayak Carolina, a Community of Kayakers, a Place for Paddlers! Sea Kayak Carolina is the proud Gold Sponsor of the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival!

A New Year

Happy New Year! I have a few resolutions for 2009:
#1 - blog more often!
#2 - never paddle without a digital camera!

I have a lot of reflections on 2008: My Father's death; opening Sea Kayak Carolina; hernia surgery and recovery; some spectacular local kayak adventures; a fantastic trip to Key Largo; lots of new friends; and the joy and love from the people around me.

What's in store for 2009? So much, I'm almost overwhelmed! A few upcoming highlights: I'm assisting Karen Knight with an American Canoe Association (ACA) Instructor Development Workshop/Instructor Certification Exam (IDW/ICE) in February at Florida Bay Outfitters in Key Largo. Sue will be going to help, and some other folks from Sea Kayak Carolina will be attending as candidates.

In April we will hold another IDW/ICE here in Charleston - with Dale Williams. Then, later in April... Sea Kayak Carolina is the Gold Sponsor of the 2009 East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival - held just down the road from the shop at the James Island County Park. Charleston becomes the center of the kayak universe every April - Sea Kayak Carolina is excited to be part of it!

Well, that's all for now. We hope to see you at the shop, better yet, in a kayak on the waters in and around Charleston, South Carolina! ~Scott

Scott Szczepaniak (pictured desperately trying to overcome his natural shyness) is the managing owner of Sea Kayak Carolina. The shop is located at 1731 Signal Point Road, Charleston, South Carolina (on James Island). The number at the shop is (843) 225-7969, web site www.seakayakcarolina.com. Sea Kayak Carolina is a full service kayak shop, offering kayak tours, kayak classes and retail sales for the Charleston kayaking community. Sea Kayak Carolina, a Place for Paddlers in Charleston!

Holiday Howdy

Howdy, Happy Paddlers! So much news, so little time to write about it! First of all, an overdue thank you to our students, customers and supporters as we approach our first year in business. We appreciate your enthusiasm as we share our love for kayaking with paddlers in, around and visiting Charleston, South Carolina.

We have been proud of our association with the Lowcountry Paddlers. President Todd Beach, Vice President Jim Miller, Secretary Leslie Maple, and Treasurer Michael Condon give freely of their valuable time and energy to share their love of the sport. Thanks to Todd and his gang for all they do for the paddlers of Charleston. Check out the Lowcountry Paddlers at http://lowcountrypaddlers.net/.

Sea Kayak Carolina is also pleased to be the sponsors of the Charleston Sea Kayakers Meetup Group. Check out this informal association of Charleston kayakers at the Charleston Sea Kayakers Meetup Group website.

We are very excited to be the Gold Sponsors of the 2009 East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival April 17, 18, 19, 2009. Sea Kayak Carolina will help bring you the latest news related to this world class kayak event in Charleston at the James Island County Park - right up the road from our shop!

On behalf of Deb, Sue and the rest of the gang at Sea Kayak Carolina,

Happy Hanuka, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Scott

Shop Notes from Scott

Lots of stuff happening at Sea Kayak Carolina during our "slow" time of the year! We had a great day after the Turkey paddle. I'm looking forward to seeing the trip report on-line in our "Kayak in Charleston On-Line Guide" -- stay tuned. One nice bit of news is that Amy Sloane (pictured in her new P&H Capella) will be working around the shop and helping on trips. Amy is an enthusiastic new paddler with an engaging, effervescent personality. Hopefully you will have a chance to say hello to her soon. That's all for now -- I'll try to get some of my contributions to the Sea Kayak Carolina blog caught up soon. -Scott

Wasn't that a mighty storm!

 

Hello from the shop! I'm back from BCU Week at Tybee Island, Georgia. Not too battered, bruised or bloodied!

No 4 stars for this Sneech. Steve Maynard and Shawna Franklin cancelled the assessment at the beginning of the second day of the assessment. Not enough wind. We had a good day training, got good feedback, and had a ball surfing. It was a great 5 days, but I was glad to get home.

So far on this Saturday, a quiet day at the shop. We should have held a class out front today!

Some additional shots of the flood can be found by clicking here. That's all for now, hope to see you in the shop or on the water soon. -Scott

Rainy Day Swap Meet

The rain was an on-again, off-again sort of thing last Saturday for the first Lowcountry Paddler's Kayak & Gear Swap Meet hosted at the shop, but that didn't stop folks from swinging by, and it didn't stop us from keeping the doors open — we just moved under the awning as required! Inside the shop was a fine place to be too, with drinks and snacks, and a bunch of new stuff on the shelves, including the snazzy new Kavu Hats with the SKC turtle embroidery!

By the end of the day we'd seen some 75 folks – local paddlers and visitors attracted to the scene. Gear was swapped, from flashlights to paddle racks and boats: In fact, every boat brought to the swap meet was sold! And several demo and consignment boats from the shop found new homes as well. So lots of happy paddlers left with new gear that we hope will be used and enjoyed by the new owners.

It was a great day for mixing and milling about the shop, meeting new folks and old paddling mates. As something of a "new guy" in the wider paddling community, it was nice to realize I'd already enjoyed meeting and kayaking with quite a few of these paddlers before. Good company, snacks and music seemed to keep everyone happy – there were only a few times when there weren't at least 15 or 20 people around, catching up, story telling and comparing notes and opinions on boats and gear.


I have to admit, I also got a dog fix from our several k-9 visitors, and that's never a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

Now I'm looking forward to the second swap...

Hooray for Hats!

Sue in Blue (Navy Blue, that is!)

I'm not normally a hat guy. Kayakers need 'em, to keep the sun off their noggins. And off their faces. The brim can't be too large, or else it gets floppy in the wind. That's about it. Hats. Like other kayak clothing, synthetics are superior to cotton. Or as the Lowcountry Paddlers chanted -- "Synthetics are sexy!" "Cotton is rotton!"

But I'm excited! Our new Kavu synthetic strapcaps just arrived from our friends at Palmetto Outfitters. We're selling them for $25; and they are the quintessential kayakers cap.

We've got different colors; and smalls, mediums and larges -- for diffent sized heads.

Can you tell? I'm really excited about the Sea Kayak Carolina hats! I've even taken a picture of myself in the mirror!

Sad, really!

Welcome

Welcome to the Blog. Since he shop opened in June, we've met some great folks; some on tours, some in classes, and many just stopping by to see what the shop is all about.

While the Sea Kayak Carolina website is a great tool for keeping people informed about what we're doing — what we're selling, and what our kayaking class and tour schedule looks like — we thought a blog would be a better, friendlier way to stay in touch with with all our fellow paddlers.

Keep an eye on new posts here for trip reports, photos and more.

And, Happy Paddling!