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

Paddler to Be

Welcome the newest kayaker! Our friends Kimberly and Matthew had their second child yesterday. Meet Benjamin Edward Faust. He arrived at 8 pounds, 11 ounces! Mom, Benjamin, Matt and Benjamin's big brother Jonah all are well.

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

Moooooovie Night

We had a great turnout at our first of many movie nights at the shop yesterday. Susan and Susan and Todd and Todd, Sandie, Amy, Dan, Tom, Diana (who brought cheesecake that tasted like an ice cream sundae!), William, Deb and me.

This is the Sea 4 is a spectacular DVD. Incredible scenery and inspiring kayaking. Rock hopping on the Baja peninsula, white water seakayaking on the Ottawa River, balancing tricks in the freezing water of Norway. One of the coolest parts was watching Dubside rolling his folding kayak in rough tide-race waters. That guy is incredible. And I learned about some spectacular kayaking spots on Lake Superior amongst the Apostle Islands.

We were all amazed, terrified, inspired, energized, and just plain entertained by Justine and her film-making.

And it was such fun to view it all with fellow kayakers!

Thanks everyone for coming and experiencing this with me!

Sue

Howdy from Key Largo!

You know how to whistle, don't you? Just pucker up your lips and blow.

After a long drive from Charleston, with a stop at the Miami Airport to pick up Karen Knight, I've arrived in Key Largo. We start our ACA IDW/ICE (up to level 3) here at Florida Bay Outfitters tomorrow.

Today I reviewed strokes and teaching strategies with Karen. My new friend Dallas, pictured here, and I paddled from Garden Cove to the wrecked barge, thru the "Meadow" between Rattlesnake Key and Sound Point. Then into Largo Sound, thru the Marvin D. Adams Waterway. Huge, colorful iguana on the seawall! Did I say "Hey, Buddy!" to him? Of course! Into Blackwater Sound, round Stellrecht Point, and landed at Florida Bay Outfitters in Sexton Cove. That's all for now, I've got a bit of a cold. More pictures here! -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

Tybee Day 2 — BCU '08

Hello from Tybee on BCU Day 2! Yesterday we had some time in the classroom with Nigel Dennis leading a navigation class, and a short time on the Back River heading from Inlet Avenue to Little Tybee. Warm - almost near 80! Today we landed on the old Tybee Lighthouse for lunch.

A day with a lot of highlights - not the least of which was Nigel almost capsizing laughing at my "mucous joke." And it was great to share some laughs with, and at the expense of, my old friend Tom Nickels.

Tom taken from the top of the lighthouse:

Big day in Charleston, I understand. Deb Mitchum won a few ribbons in the Folly Surf competition, and she won a surf kayak from our friends at Savannah Canoe and Kayak in a raffle drawing! Click here if you would like to see some more photos from today.

Well, that's all for now. I'll check in when I have a chance. -Scott