Maine Paddling Connection Blog
Jewell Island is a 221 acre island named for George Jewell and sits on the outer edge of Casco Bay, an eight mile paddle from Portland, ME. According to history, he traded a bottle of rum to the local indians for it in 1636 and used it a fishing base.
Read MoreI'm leaving town soon so when I got the call from Gretchen to do one more paddle before I left, there was one particular paddle I had in mind. Looking at currents and weather, everything appeared perfect for a trip going west and then east.
Read MoreWhen three days disappear in a blink, you know it's fun. We had a solid group of eleven made up of eight candidates and three Instructors. The real kicker for this weekend is that every single person brought something to the course, most notably their fun personalities and willingness to learn and contribute.
Read MoreMonths ago I got an email from Jeff Burton that basically said "we should put on a downwind camp." Time passed and we brainstormed, put together a basic curriculum and eventually evolved the idea into a 3-day Tomales Bay Downwind Camp with friends who were interested in learning more, getting some focused practice, sharing ideas and having some fun.
Read MoreI arrived in Oakland at 7am and we were to meet at 8. I was co-leading an intro to SUP touring trip around Alameda Island for California Canoe & Kayak. 8 participants, 2 leaders and 15.5 miles of paddling in absolutely ideal conditions. We hit the currents right, wind was next to nothing and the sun was shining warm.
Read MoreIt's 6am and I'm in the backseat of my station wagon, wrapped in a sleeping bag at a rest area in Weed, California. I'm as happy as I've ever been in my life. I'm on the road, traveling with paddling equipment with a very loose itinerary and it feels great. I love traveling by car and I love roadtrips and this one will bring me to Portland for a 3-day American Canoe Association whitewater SUP course put on by Next Adventure.
Read MoreSunday I joined up with Jason & Just Kayak More again for another day of Sacramento River Play. We launched as a smaller group of 5 for a downriver paddle stopping at three really fun play spots along the way. Sun was out, sky was blue and we were pumped. The first spot is just downriver from the California 100 startline and the Sundial Bridge.
Read MoreI had to be in Red Bluff Saturday night to promote the California 100 at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. Red Bluff is 175 miles from the Bay Area, so I felt I should take advantage of being up there and hit up the Sacramento River in Redding for some playtime. I loaded the car with paddling gear and planned to get at least two river sessions in with Jason from Just Kayak More.
Read MoreAwesome course! A great venue, a great assistant and ten qualified, well experienced standup paddlers added up to one fun weekend. I think everyone walked away super stoked on standup paddling with a bunch of new friends and energy for our sport. For three solid days we worked on personal paddling skills, teaching skills, rescue skills, safety, judgement, leadership and ambassadorship for sup.
Read MoreThe Gulf of Maine experienced a King tide this past Thursday at 12:10pm with a height of 10.8ft in my Southern Maine coastal destination. To celebrate, my sister and I paddled the route around Gerrish and Cutts Islands, a trip I haven't done in almost ten years. The trip needed a high tide and offered a very short window to complete the circumnavigation as it relies on high water to fill-in an adjacent marsh in order to have the depth needed.
Read MorePaddling is one of the best things in my life so sharing that with friends and family in a beautiful location is the ultimate. My buddy from Boston messaged me about returning to a paddling destination we'd visited together six or seven years ago. I jumped on it and pretty soon we had the plan to rendezvous on the river. He flew in with his girlfriend a day before me.
Read MoreLast week I had the chance to tour on the Focus Cali 14' for five self-supported days on class 1 river. To ready the board, all I did was fit a shorter, smaller flexi fin to deal with rocks (I never touched one) and add four tie-downs to the front deck. I've put miles on this board on flatwater, bumpy water & downwinding but hadn't yet paddled it loaded. Unloaded, it excels as a fast & stable all conditions board that is easy to maneuver and control.
Read MoreI could list at least 30 advantages that standup paddleboards have over sea kayaks, but paddling in a beam wind is not one of them. Our 7 mile crossing back to the mainland from the Isles of Shoals lined up perfectly across the building wind and swell - not what we wanted. So badly I wanted to just turn and start running downwind, catching bumps.
Read MoreIn my heart I'll always be an East Coaster no matter how long I stay away. The granite state was a great place to grow up, always will be, but just doesn't have everything I need these days. My family is still here, so I'll return to re-connect and spend time with them whenever possible. In early July, my little sister is getting married in southern Maine so I decided to make a good long visit home, celebrate her union, catch up with old friends and re-visit the area where I learned to paddle.
Read MoreTomales Bay is an incredibly beautiful Northern California paddling destination loaded with wildlife on land and in the water. It's a spectacular hiking and paddling destination with a diverse climate and weather conditions. Wind is usually on the menu after 11am and downwinding is one of the best activities on the bay. Jeff Burton paddles Tomales Bay a ton and runs a great paddling blog called Paddle Standing Up.
Read MoreAfter wrapping up the California 100 on Tuesday morning the plan was to get the hell out of town and shut off my phone. I drove to San Diego on Wednesday, picked up my partner Thursday morning and we made our way towards the Nevada Arizona desert for a Colorado River trip. The trip began with a 3-hour full-moon upriver approach and a midnight landing to our campsite at the stroke of Friday the 13th. It only got better from there.
Read MoreWe got three nice runs in on Saturday on the latest Downwind SUP Safari with the Barbary Ghost. Good times with Marion, Craig, Jeff and I on boards and Drew at the helm. First run was a great warmup with decent glides and strong wind at our backs. Drew dropped us behind Pt. Blunt where it's super easy to enter the wind. Going from zero to twenty knot wind in 30 seconds is exciting!
Read MoreThis was my first real whitewater SUP experience and it's so, so much fun. I'm ready to pack my bags and move to the river so I can do it everyday. I felt like a kid again - not a care in the world, splashing around in the cold, clear, fresh water. It was great. We joked around and had a great time while paddling safe & smart. Kelly & Goose paddled whitewater kayaks while Mitch & I stood up on sweet WW boards we borrowed from California Canoe & Kayak in Coloma.
Read MoreI'm still pumped from yesterday's downwind session on the Barbary Ghost. Captain Drew took us out for his first Downwind SUP Safari of the season, and true to his reputation, he hunted down and delivered some bumps for us.
Read MoreI didn't race in the California 100 this year. Not for lack of desire, but rather because I took on the role of Race Director for Rivers for Change, the hosting non-profit group founded by Danielle Katz and John Dye. Although I didn't paddle the 100 mile stretch with 100+ others, I certainly had a weary weekend of my own with late nights, early mornings, highs, lows and everything in between.
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