I love the beach! The sun, waves, and sand. Ah, the sand - I love the feel of sand between my toes. Really though, I only love the feel of sand between my toes while I am at the beach. I do NOT love tracking sand into my car, feeling it on my floors around my house, or feeling it in my sleeping bag after a long day of paddling. So the question is ‘how do I get rid of the sand?’. Well, you could rinse off with water, but that seems like such a waste, OR you could use Surfer’s Secret. Sprinkle a little bit on your hands, rub it on the sandy parts of the your body, and feel the grit wipe away. It is like a shower in a bottle!

Surfer’s Secret should be an essential part of everyone’s beach bag - right next to the sunscreen, sunglasses, and water bottle. I like to keep some in my car as well - for those spontaneous trips to the beach.

Check it out! - www.surferssecret.com

In an effort to avoid the hot August sun we have been doing a lot of early morning and evening/sunset paddles. The early morning paddles are a great way to avoid the crowds and get out before things get too hot. The evening paddles provide cooler temperatures and some beautiful skies.

There are a few days with duplicate entries on the calendar… not sure what is going on, but we will try to get it resolved very soon.

Not too long ago we headed out for a Rough Water class. The weather and surf were cooperating and made for a great day. After working for a bit in one of our tried and true rough water spots we went for a short paddle to check out a ‘new’ spot. Since I have used this spot a few times before it wasn’t really ‘new’, but rather ‘gently used’. Our gently used location was showing a different side of itself today and had me wondering what other secrets we would discover on future visits.

On that particular day this is what we were pleasantly surprised to find…

It feels like the season has officially started, which is strange because it never really felt like it ended. Paddling all year round is definitely one of the advantages of living in the southeast. About this time every year we get people from colder climates coming down to enjoy our ‘warm’ weather. This year was no exception. A couple drove down from northern Illinois for a few days of rough water classes. Unfortunately they brought the cold weather with them - on the second day they were here we had lows in the lower 30’s. They had specifically requested warm weather but we weren’t able to deliver until later in the week.

As you can see in the picture the waves weren’t huge but the smiles were!

Recently at Sweetwater Kayaks 2008 BCU week we did some canoe training. Canoing is one of those things I have done all of my life, but I never really ‘learned’ how to paddle a canoe (at least not efficiently). Learning things on my own has never been one of my strengths. Usually someone has to point out the obvious before I have an ‘Ah-HA!’ moment. For me the training was great! I had a lot of fun and learned a ton!

Students of all ages are back in school and things have slowed down around here just a bit. This isn’t time for relaxation though, it is time to get in the SURF! Hurricane Season is an exciting time of year for us. The winds are up, the waves are up, and the adrenaline starts pumping. Fortunately we don’t need bad weather for good surf, we just need it for better surf. Others are not so lucky. My friend Bobby down in Florida has been desperate for good surf.

Bobby says “I have been doing the rain dance & praying to the gods for tropical depressions / hurricanes to get conditions to go out and play! It has been a weak hurricane season (great for home owners; bad for kayakers)”. You can always tell when the Florida crew has arrived because they are the first ones out in the surf.

Speaking of surfing… Ida Becker from Charleston Magazine joined us for a day of training and a day in the surf. Check out the article in the September issue of Charleston Magazine (page 117 to be exact).