Sea Kayak IDW

Getting serious in Spring..

There will be a follow up ICE one month later ...May 1-3.

Tybee Surf Rodeo

Fun in the Fall...

Biggest Inventory of Surf Boats on E.Coast

Thank You Santa...




Our winter shippment of Mega surf boats arrived this week and the new Riot surf kayaks will be here in about 4 weeks. We will then have the finest stock selection of surf boats on the East coast, with nearly 20 different models to choose from.

Instructor Certification Exam - Surf Kayak

A test in October..

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GA Coast Expedition

Taking applications now...

Leadership Course

Guide trianing program..

Surf Kayak Instructor Workshop

New for '09....

Green Things - Water Bottle Winners just in.

It doesn't matter if you are going greener because of the recession, fashion, peer pressure or guilt. Ultimately, the real reason is due to a collective awakened consciousness that will now require the constant food of higher thought.
Thanks to all those who wrote in with their 'easy to apply' greener ways.
Here are the top five winners for a re-usable water bottle.

5/ Millie - "For 25 cents a gallon, I can fill an old milk jug with filtered water at Publix"
4/ Randy- " We take our own grocery bags to every store"
3/ Jill- " I dumped my boyfriend because he didn't own a bicycle"
4/ Brad- " I think about re-using and repairing more than re-cycling"
5/ Frank- " As you said, the best things in life are not 'things'. So I have nixed your Christmas present"

Peace on earth - may all beings be happy.

A New Beach on Tybee. Surf Still Good

Great surf on Tybee for the last three days.
While out surfing yesterday I noticed the dredger pulling anchor and chugging off to the next seaside resort. Yes, after several millions of dollars of 'sea floor vacuuming' the beach is now covered with coarse , pluthy sand and feels somewhat similar to walking across a sand quarry.
Anyway, one big tide and a Nor' Easter and it will settle it down and back to it's old normal, natural self.
Check out this little video made by some local kids about the process..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pp8gtVTwo8

There is only one law..law of nature.

Great Vibrations to Finish the Year

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to our home. And to those that could not make it, we missed you, but will catch up next time. With over thirty people attending, it was fantastic to see the outdoor community of Savannah has such a great diversity and, how fortunate we are, that through our business we can bring these people together.
Thanks to you all for your pot luck dishes, but mostly your good vibrations.
We are very humbled by everybody's dedicated and continual support for SC&K.
And a big thanks to Zac Smith for walking a long way and giving us the reason.
Great presentation Zac. Loved the songs. Want to hear more.
With all those pictures of eating and drinking maybe we should all be out 'hiking the trail'.
Om Shanti.

10 Day Meditation Ends on 11th Day

SC&K's very own Loser Monk has been off in the deep woods of southern Georgia on bi-annual meditation retreat. The Captain's Blog caught up with the surfing swami with a few questions about what he's been up to.

CB. What do you do on a meditation retreat?
LM. I practice a technique to help live a better life, for myself and others, to purify my mind of mental defilements, to become a fully realized human being... aka shape up my act.
CB. Sounds technical!
LM. It's very simple. There is instruction and you practice. It is a technique. No special equipment required.
CB. So, what do you do again?
LM. Firstly, you sit and observe your respiration for 4 days. Then, for 6 days, you observe sensation within the framework of your body.
CB. What about yoga, sand painting and studying sutres?
LM. Nothing doing. 5 hours meditation in the morning. 4 hours meditation in the afternoon. 2 hours meditation in the evening. Nothing else.
CB. Sounds very boring.
LM. Boredom is one of the a defilements of the mind we are trying to expel.
CB. Is it hard?
LM. It's the only thing I have ever done that kicks my arse everyday for 10 days, but every night I go to bed looking forward to the next.
CB. How long have you been doing this ?
LM. I sat my first course in '93 and have since attended a bunch in various parts of the globe.
CB. Are you close to Enlightenment?
LM. If the sun is Nirvana I am now about 3 meters closer... enough to be out of the shade, maybe.
CB. Do you get a certificate upon completion?
LM. Possibly.
CB. How does this help with your surfing ?
LM. Surfing represents the futility of the human being's existence. For every great ride, there is a major thrashing.
Maintain awareness, stay calm, be happy.

Top 10 insights from this years meditation retreat.

1/ Vibrations are everything.
2/ The more successful I become, the more materialistic I become, the more self centered I become.
3/ Meditate, sleep, be happy.
4/ Every thought manifests a physical sensation on the body.
5/ Meditation is the best Life and Health Insurance Policy.
6/ Big oak trees give off incredibly strong vibrations.
7/ Talking is an overused sensory pleasure.
8/ Life is intrinsically simple, but infinitely complex.
9/ America will soon have a president who can sit crossed legged on the floor.
10/ At the end of ten days meditation I had a hard time remembering my home phone number.

Water Bottle Give Away

We are strongly encouraging all our customers to carry reusable water bottles from now on. We will offer our logo bottles complete with filtered tap water at a discounted price when customers make a reservation.
These new logo inscribed Camel Back water bottles are a hot item this Christmas. They are slim and easy to travel with and even fit in your bike bottle cage. And in the true spirit of seasonal things, we are giving them away. Just drop us an email and tell us the greenest thing you did this month.
Nothing too saucy please.
And while you mull that over think of this....
50 Billion disposable water bottles were discarded in 07'. Over half ended up in the ocean or land fill sites. Most were full of nothing other than filtered tap water.

Somali Pirates- Give 'em a Break !

There they go again ..getting all upset about their guns and oil.
"They stole our tanks " cried the arms dealers.
"They stole our super tanker and 100 million dollars of oil" blubbed the fat sheiks.
And then the Ocean Cruise ship outran the gun tooting bandits in a high speed getaway. Or, did the pirates wise up and realise no good comes from having a cruise ship in town ?
SC&K does not approve of stealing, but maybe those pirates are smarter than what the 'world press' would like us to believe.

When will we get the 'full' story ?

Saxby Chambliss..

...Your kayaking reservation has been denied.
The Management.

More Bad Karma For U.S Navy

BY SUMMER TEAL SIMPSON

Every autumn, the female right whale frequents the temperate waters of the Georgia Bight, a stretch of shallows adjacent to the Georgia and Florida coasts. After nearly a one-year gestation period and a more than 1,400 mile journey south averaging six miles per hour, this is where the mother will birth her calf. She will nurse her newborn for a full year and then reserve one more year to fatten for the next pregnancy. The calving season spans Nov. 15-April 15, with peak calving season December through March

The Right Whale was named because it was supposedly the “right” whale to hunt, for the oil lucratively harvested from her blubber. She was easy prey due to her tempered and shallow group swim and the thick layer of blubber that kept her afloat postmortem — thus facilitating retrieval. Large-scale whaling began in the 11th Century, and by the mid-1500s, sailors would travel as much as 3000 miles a year in search of the profitable kill. Centuries later, American whalers continued the tradition, harvesting whale bones for corsets, umbrellas and whips until the late 1800s when it was no longer commercially viable. By this time, the North Atlantic right whale was near extinction. Where they once numbered hundreds of thousands, there remained only a few dozen.

The precarious state of this baleen whale comes at odds with countless seafaring industries and competing uses of the bustling Atlantic seaboard, none more alarming to critics than the U.S. Navy’s proposed Undersea Warfare Training Range (USWTR), which could be in operation off the Georgia/Florida coast as early as 2013.

The Navy faced a string of court defeats in Hawaii and California over its use of sonar to hunt submarines in training simulations, but appealed those decisions.Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Navy’s professed national security imperative to continue sonar testing.

There is conclusive evidence that sonar affects a number of other marine mammals, many of which inhabit the Georgia Bight, home to 43 marine mammal species. According to NOAA documents, “Over the past 12 years, there have been five stranding events coincident with military mid-frequency sonar use.”During these incidents, strandings were reported for as many as 12, 14 and 17 beaked whales, Minke whales and various dolphin species, respectively. Many of the dead whales had auditory structural damage, hemorrhaged ears, blood clots, bleeding eyes, brain injuries, kidney lesions and congestion in the lungs. Many were found to have nitrogen bubble formation, similar to what might be expected in decompression sickness.

As many marine mammals rely on sonar for navigation, it has been presumed that whales affected by the naval sonar lost their bearings entirely or were frantic to escape the noise, rushing to the surface too quickly.

“Georgia and Florida’s marine life and fisheries are too important for the Navy to build a sonar testing range before adequately assessing its impacts. And while the danger to all marine mammals in the vicinity of the proposed training range is concerning, the case of right whales is imperative because every single loss may doom the species to extinction,” cautions Will Berson, senior policy analyst for the coastal office of the Georgia Conservancy.

“I do not believe that the Navy’s current mitigation measures adequately address our obligations to these whales.” CS

Here, here !

Winter Programs

Happy Thanksgiving To All

If we lower our expectations and raise our humanitarianism the future looks very bright.

The Last Entry...

...has been removed due to negative and unsavory content.

Dave White Competition Results In

Thanks to all those who took part in our Dave White T shirt giveaway.
As many of you know 'Asweepay' is one of our sponsored paddlers who represents our mission to take sea kayaking away from the old farts network and the overly organized paddling bureaucrats.
It seems there are a few people out there who not only know who Mr White is, but would also wear a picture of him.

Congratulations to the finalists;
Chad D - " He taught me how to roll and is my inspiration".
Some great smoke blowing that will sit very well with El Blanco.
Bruce S - "Stick paddlers stick together"
Ah yes, back in his early years we all new DW as a 'sticky'.
Jim F - Always looking for flotsam and good use of the self descriptive word "jinkier".

As we are cheap and quite low on the chain, the 3 finalists will go into a hat and one of you will win the Dave White signature T, but all will get something for your efforts.
Gentlemen, your prizes are in the mail.

SC&K on Public TV

From Georgia Outdoors

Airing
Friday, November 21, 2008 - 9:30pm Saturday, November 22, 2008 - 6:00pm Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 7:30pm

"When given the task of producing a program on kayaking, the Outdoors crew jumped at the chance to learn a little about the sport themselves. The crew enlisted the help of the Whitewater Learning Center of Georgia to be their teacher and set out to become master white water kayakers. Graduation: The class two rapids on the upper Chattahoochee River.

Sea kayaking, on the other hand, is specially designed for a more relaxed experience than whitewater kayaking. Sea kayaking affords a diversity of opportunities to explore Georgia’s riverine and coastal ecosystems. From the serene vantage point of a sea kayak a paddler’s perspective affords the opportunity to view wildlife and awe at the splendor of Georgia’s waterways.

We’ll also learn more about how kayaks are made and an Atlanta kayak club."

New T's Arriving Soon

Just in time for Christmas, we will have our new line of T shirts in store. The first on the shelves are our new Signature Series T's. These depict a member of the SC&K Pro Team on the back with one of their slogans and a signed pocket logo on the front. Comes in an organic natural color with brown ink.

The Dave White will be available by Friday. Drop us an email telling us why you want a T with Dave White on it and maybe we'll send you one for free.

Good Times in Trinidad & Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago paddlers celebrated last week as they feverishly unpacked the container loaded with 25 new surfskis, almost doubling the number of available craft on the island. 22 of the skis belong to the T & T Canoe and Kayak federation and were funded by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. These boats will be available for anyone to paddle and the Surfski Club and Federation will be running regular open days and coaching sessions to get people hooked on this great sport.

Whale gets Kiter

Australian school teacher David Sheridan gets an unexpected visitation from the deep.
As this amazing picture shows, a huge whale suddenly rose up close to the surface as the 42-year-old New South Wales man was riding his kiteboard - a small surfboard suspended beneath a large kite.
Seconds after this photo was snapped remotely by David's camera, mounted on the kite apparatus, the whale flicked up its tail and gave him an almighty blow on the back of his head.
Because the camera was programmed to take pictures every 10 seconds it missed the moment when the whale struck David .

The Whale was not injured in the encounter.

Congratulations to SKG.

Sea Kayak Georgia were voted best 'South East Outfitter' in
Sea Kayaker magazine this month.
We would like to congratulate our competitors on a great win and for maintaining the high degree excellence displayed by all outfitters in our area.
This is positive reinforcement for our whole paddling community.
SC&K were not in the pole as we do not advertise in Sea Kayaker magazine.

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Nigel - First Certified 'IT' for new ACA Surf Program

Report by N.Law

It's an 8 hour drive from Savannah to the place they call Virginia Beach. And to think that just 70 years ago there was but a few old beach houses scattered through-out the miles and miles of dunes. Not any more !. I checked into the seventh floor of Best Western, one of the smaller , shorter hotels along the sea front, now end to end with high rise.
It reminded me of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio De Janiero.
But I was not in town for Carnival.
This was business with the purpose to complete my Instructor Trainer Certification. It was also the first official launch of the new ACA Surf Program.
The first day was flat as a pancake, which was o.k as we get to do little surfing on this day.
For day two and three the shore break kicked in and really made the weekend worthwhile.
Demonstration's did not always go as planned and students received hard and constant beat downs during the many launching's for practice and demo sessions. But that is all part of the fun, especially if you are the one watching from the beach.
At the end of the weekend we certified three Sit on Top Instructors (L2), One SOT Instructor Trainer and one L3 Instructor Trainer.
Ben Lawry was upgraded to Instructor Trainer Educator

Tybee Paddlers Sweep Folly Comp

Yes, the Tybee surf crew won all major categories at the Folly comp the other weekend.

Alas, they did not bring home the Surf Kayak that was given away by Mega.

That prize went to Deb Mitchum of Charleston. She was thrilled and immediately launched the boat for a quick test paddle. The weather did not keep away the many spectators who gathered on the beach to watch the event in small but clean surf with a light drizzle.

2008 Folly Beach Surf Kayak Competition Results:

HP Expert Men:
1st: Nigel Law
2nd: Colm Acuff
3rd: Brent Fields

HP Expert Women:
1st: Cathy Ey
2nd: Deb Mitchum

HP Jr’s.:
1st: Will Rudisill

Open (Co-Ed):
1st: Nick Scoville
2nd: Colm Acuff
3rd: Ben Stone

HP Masters
1st: Nigel Law
2nd: Brent Fields
3rd: Cathy Ey

K-1 Int/Beg. Men
1st: Zachary Hughes
2nd: Kevin Hughes
3rd: Nigel Law

IC Masters:
1st: Brent Fields
2nd: Deb Mitchum

Power Outage Coming Soon

From Jason Buelterman.
Outage is planned for November 15th, 7am – 1pm. Both Wilmington and Tybee Islands will experience a total power outage for this period.
Rain date is November 22nd
Scope of work consists of replacing six spans of overhead ground wire (OHGW) on transmission structures across Turner Creek, adjacent to Islands Expressway.
OHGW provides lightning protection to the transmission line.
Transmission line is elevated over Turner Creek and more likely to be struck by lightning.
Multiple damaged areas have been observed over several years and temporary repairs made to mitigate the risk of failure.
Condition of OHGW has deteriorated to the point of needing replacement.
Replacing the OHGW in this section cannot be done safely with the transmission line energized, in service.
Only one transmission line exists to Wilmington Island and Tybee Island; loads cannot be served from any other source.
Approximately 12,000 customers will be involved in the outage.
Failure of the OHGW could result in an unplanned outage lasting two to eight hours and would only clear up the immediate problem; a scheduled outage would still be needed to replace the remaining OHGW.
Delaying this work only increases the probability of having a failure and unplanned extended outage.
Pre-outage work (i.e. access to structures, placing equipment, temporary guying, adding step bolts to structures, laying out material, grounds ready to install) will be done to make sure no time is lost once the outage begins.
Other maintenance-related work on this transmission line will be done during the outage to make the most of our opportunity.
Portable traffic message signs will be placed at strategic locations the week before the outage to advertise date and time.
Resume normal operation.

Surf Rider Meeting

Beach Renourishment –
COL. Ed Kertis of the US Army Corp of Engineers spoke on the new beach renourishment.
This is a Federal Shore Protection project that runs in 7-year cycles. A federal template for placing the sand was used.
Time frame is 45 days, working 24 hours a day. The borrow site was found by an outside contractor and is the same site used during the renourishment of 2000. This is an 11 million dollar project, with Tybee Island paying 6 million dollars and Chatham County making up the difference. National Surfrider is meeting with the Corp to discuss the recreational features of beach renourishment. Although recreation is not a high priority of our government in these instances, COL Kertis suggest writing and emailing your Congressman, your Senator and your Representative to make your voice heard. The question was posed to COL Kertis about a beachwater break being built and he had no knowledge of that happening with this renourishment. Mark Mosely will attend a meeting with the Corp to discuss wetlands management and protection on November 19, 2008.

Eastern Horizons - Smith on Wassaw

Bryan Smith is in town filming the last segments of his next kayak movie project, Eastern Horizons. Dave White and Richard Davis also flew in for the occasion. So after a few phone calls we got on the water and showed Bryan a slice of the GA coast. Mike Robinson was in fine form as he gave us the 50 cent tour through the Wassaw undergrowth.
Bryan is sticking around for the Tybee Symposium and then on Monday he will be coming on a trip with SC&K.

Skidaway Park to Close ?

By John Bennett.
Concerns about how budget cuts will affect Georgia’s state parks are being voiced all over the the state from Rome to Bainbridge to Albany. A letter to the editor in today’s Savannah Morning news frets about the future of the Skidaway Island State Park swimming pool. I agree with Kevin Clark that closure of the facility would be bad news. In his letter he writes, “The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is threatening to close it and several other lesser-used state parks because of budget cuts.”
I’m not sure if Clark’s “it” is the pool or the park as a whole.
If he is talking about the park as a whole, is it true that it could be closed?
According to an Atlanta-Journal Consitution story on the budget cuts, Skidaway Island State Park is the third most profitable park in the state. That would seem to work in the its favor. It’s not one of the five most visited, but it’s not in the five least visited either. Will this be enough to protect Skidaway?
While it’s true that Fort McAllister Historic Park, near Richmond Hill, is not too far away, I think Skidaway’s position just minutes from Savannah makes it a resource too important to lose. The park’s value will become increasingly evident in times of high gas prices. It allows city residents to spend a night under the stars without having to spend an arm and a leg on fuel. After all, if you pour all your money into a hole on the side of your car, how will you afford s’mores ingredients?

Primitive Weapons Deer Season

The weeklong primitive weapons deer-hunting season begins Saturday, Oct. 11.
During the primitive weapons season, hunters may use archery equipment (including crossbows), muzzleloading shotguns (20 gauge or larger) and muzzleloading firearms (.44 caliber or larger). Last year, more than 61,000 muzzleloader hunters harvested approximately 16,133 deer, increasing both the number of hunters and the number of harvested deer from the previous year.The Department of Natural Resources’ John Bowers says, “Our primitive weapons deer season provides hunters the opportunity to hunt with traditional or inline black powder firearms or to continue hunting with archery gear. Hunters are allowed to hunt either-sex deer during this weeklong opportunity. Primitive weapons hunters have a wide variety of options depending on their personal choices and needs without being burdened by complex regulations.” Participating hunters may harvest deer in counties open for firearms deer hunting. The season bag limit remains at 10 antlerless deer and two antlered bucks.

Alligator Flips Truck

Just over ther Tallmadge Bridge..
Around 5am, Jasper County, South Carolina and Savannah Fire emergency crews responded to a pick-up truck that had flipped over into the marsh, off the side of the bridge that crosses Little Back River along Hwy 17 on the South Carolina side.
Witnesses say a pickup approaching the bridge hit an alligator in the middle of the road, then ran off the bridge landing in the marsh below on its side. The driver of the truck was pulled from the marsh, and is being taken to Memorial University Medical Center. There is no word on his condition. The Alligator did not remain at the scene and the Police are looking for him.

Job Listing - ACA

American Canoe Association
Information Technology Manager & Webmaster
Date posted: October 6, 2008
Salary: $45,000 - $60,000 (commensurate with experience)
Location: Fredericksburg, VA Type: Full Time w/ benefits

Qualified candidates will ideally have related experience in workingwith large amounts of data in computerized database programs, as wellas a solid grasp of web content management and related skills.Pertinent training preferred. We need a creative, entrepreneurial,pro-active individual who also has good attention to detail, abilityto handle multiple tasks and meet deadlines. Interest / experience inoutdoor recreation is a plus. Experience in the nonprofit sector isalso of value, but not required.
This is a great opportunity to workin a fun environment, develop your skills, and be part of a growing team with a bright future.
Wow !

Little Gandhi's.

Children dress up as Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi during a peace rally in Amritsar on the eve of his 139th birthday.

A Whale Vomiting

While opening up a packet of incense, we came across this interesting picture of a Sperm Whale blowing chunks.

Gulf Of Mexico-Invasion of Pink Meanies

As the object got closer, Clyne, founder of Paradigm Video Productions of Key West, realized it was the largest jellyfish he'd ever seen and a species he didn't recognize - so he put on a mask, snorkel and fins and jumped into the water with his video camera.
"The first thing that occurred to me is that it looked like a huge, floating lion's mane pulsating back and forth," Clyne said. "It was so cool to see this symbiotic relationship going on: There were at least three species of fish living within the jellyfish's tentacles, and there was a crab living on the bell: I stuck my finger out, and the crab stuck out his claws, like saying, ‘Back off. This is my crib.”
The reason Clyne didn’t recognize the jellyfish is that it doesn’t belong in the Gulf — it’s an exotic species, native to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Adriatic and Mediterranean seas, and has been recorded off Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.Scientifically known as Drymonema dalmatinum, the jellyfish is commonly called big pink jelly or pink meanie.
Big pink jellies have been reported in the northern Gulf, but Hector Cruz-Lopez of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had never heard of the species off Southwest Florida.“It’s suspected to travel in the ballast of merchant ships,” Cruz-Lopez said. “They’re apparently doing well.”Drymonema can also travel to unfamiliar water on currents.
Like many exotic species, big pink jellies can cause problems.“A few years ago, there was a big bloom of them off Puerto Rico, and it was a big problem for the shrimping industry,” Cruz-Lopez said. “The shrimp boats would go out, and their nets would be filled with this thing.”While some sources call big pink jellies invasive exotics (that is, harmful to their adopted environment), jellyfish expert Monty Graham of the University of South Alabama is not so quick to condemn the species, pointing out that they eat moon jellies, also known as Aurelia aurita, which are common in the Gulf.“They do a heck of a service clearing out other jellies,” Graham said. “I’ve pulled out Drymonema, and each one had 30 to 40 Aurelia in its tentacles.“Aurelia are predators of zooplankton, including fish larvae and eggs, and if you get so many moon jellies cleaning out the water, the spawning fish have to put out a lot of larvae or be fortunate enough to put eggs in water away from Aurelia.”Whether pink meanies are a good or bad exotic species, Clyne was fascinated by the one he got on video.“It was absolutely incredible,” he said. “Of course, it did sting — I went through it a couple of times. It wasn’t a jolt, like a man-of-war, just little stings, and it certainly was itchy after a while.”

'Cheese' on beach could be Whale Vomit

Story from The New Zealand Herald...

The mystery object washed up on Wellington's south coast may not be cheese but valuable ambergris, the fancy term for whale vomit.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said it had been inundated with calls from people convinced that the large, grey, greasy block found at Breaker Bay is the much sought after and valuable ambergris which is most commonly used in the manufacture of perfume.
Ambergris is an excretion whales produce in response to irritation caused by squid, which forms a large part of their diet. It washes up on beaches and is considered valuable because of its rarity and the uncertainty of supply.
Mr MacLean said the council was not convinced about the theory but had not yet ruled it out. The object was at first considered to be a huge piece of cheese.
"So many people have rung in saying `it's worth half a million dollars', we feel honour-bound to actually go out and stake our claim on it."
He believed it was far more likely that the block was tallow or some sort of packing material from a ship.

The grey lump, roughly the size of a 44-gallon drum and weighing anything up to 500kg would be a "real pain" to shift, Mr MacLean said.

World Cup Final- Exteberria Wins.

The Men’s Final is now upon us, Edu Exteberria, (EUK) the experienced coach of the Basque team and mentor to many kids that he teaches, and David Speller (JER) the kid from Jersey who is flowing with incredible natural talent and a force that is now present in the men’s division. The competitors requested additional time for their heat to ensure that the best waves are selected, the judges are set and the timers are ready as the final heat of the competition is under way. Right off the bat Speller nails a beautiful long wave that showcases his talent by landing every move executed and receives the top initial score. Edu fires back several times with his signature tail slash and spray, as time winds down there are no waves to be found like David’s first wave. Then in the final 2 minutes, with good position and priority Edu gets a quality wave that has great potential to shape up, he lines up and in perfect position as he performs a near perfect sequence the earns him the championship.

Edu Exteberria is the 2008 World Cup Champion.

Smart Driving - Save 30%

As gas prices in North America fall in line with the rest of the world, here are a few tips from those who are paying $4 a litre.

First rule of eco-driving - ditch unnecessary weight.

Remove top boxes and boats from racks. Remove racks if possible.

Do not brim the fuel tank as this also adds extra weight.

Make sure the tyres are inflated to the correct pressure. Under-inflated tyres are not just dangerous - they create more resistance to the road and so make the car less efficient.

The central tenet of eco-driving is to get into the higher gears sooner and not to rev the engine too hard.

An eco-driver has to read the road - if you can plan ahead, you won't be accelerating and braking so much, thereby saving fuel and CO2 emissions.

Do not use the gears to slow down.

The idea is to lift off the gas in a higher gear, and allow the car to lose momentum.
If you're a good eco-driver, you'll then select the right gear to smoothly move on, without coming to a halt and having to bury your right foot in the carpet to get going.

A car's most efficient speeds are between 45-50mph.

The engine will be cold and at its most fuel inefficient when you start it. If you can drive away without having to reverse when the engine is cold, you will save fuel and have better visibility.

-Change up before 2,500rpm (petrol) or 2,000rpm (diesel)
-Drive smoothly, avoiding sharp acceleration and heavy braking
-Use air conditioning sparingly
-Faster speeds increase fuel consumption
-Drive off immediately after starting from cold
-Take off roof racks and boxes when not in use
-Avoid short journeys
-Plan route to avoid congestion, roadworks and getting lost
-Check tyre pressure is correct
-Switch off engine if stuck in a jam

"You in the Red Kayak. You are in Danger."

Tybee Island Upgrades Emergency Warning System
This new system includes both old-style tone warnings, as well as recorded messages that spell out in detail the nature of the warning being given.
When needed, live announcements can also be made with the system.
The system installation will be completed the week of September 15th, and each of the eight messages will be tested before the installation can be signed off.
After acceptance, the warning system will be tested at noon on the first Wednesday of each month, just like the old system.
Mayor Jason Buelterman notes, “Tybee is such an outdoor recreation destination, many of our visitors and residents may be out on the beaches or over kayaking in the marshes,” adds City Manager Diane Schleicher. The Lazaretto Creek loudspeakers will reach across much of the back river marshes and most of the national park at Fort Pulaski.
Because of these large numbers of people outdoors, particularly during the summer season, the City Council wanted to do something to ensure the safety of everyone on the Island in inclement weather.
Even at $123,000 for the system and $36,000 for installation, it seemed like a wise investment on behalf of the citizens and visitors on the Island!

Manatee Massacre

Wildlife officials, responding to initial reports of dead manatees, found two carcasses in the Savannah downtown riverfront area Friday. A third carcass was recovered about a mile downstream later that day. The fourth was discovered on a piling of the Talmadge Bridge on Monday.
As they try to piece together the likely accidental tragedy, wildlife biologists from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are calling on anyone who might have seen a group of manatees in the river last week to report the sighting.
Necropsies, or animal autopsies, of the first three carcasses revealed gashes likely made by the propeller of a ship larger than 65 feet long.
One animal had been sliced in half, with only its top half recovered.
"I've done dolphins' necropsies before and I've seen broken bones and gashes, but I've not seen that amount of trauma," said Tara Cox, assistant professor of marine sciences at Savannah State University, who assisted in the necropsies. "You can only imagine it had to be a fairly large prop."
Clay George, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, led the animal examinations.
"It was something like a tug or a large military vessel or a container ship or a tanker," he said. "We're almost certain it was not a small recreational boat."
The unusually high number of animals involved led George to speculate the manatees were part of a breeding herd - a female in heat being pursued by up to a dozen or more males.
"They were presumably cavorting in the middle of the channel, not paying attention, and they were hit by some vessel," he said.
One of the manatees had mud in its trachea, which may indicate the animals were resting on the river bottom when a ship swept over the top of them. While they are air-breathing mammals, manatees can remain underwater for up to 30 minutes.
Manatees, which weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can be more than 10 feet long, migrate north from Florida in April and remain in Georgia rivers and near shore areas through October. There are no scientific estimates of their numbers in Georgia coastal waters, but they are common in the Savannah River, George said.

Record Year for GA Turtle's Fragile Existance

Rare loggerhead sea turtles are having a record nesting season on the Georgia coast and have been laying eggs in promising numbers on southern Atlantic beaches from Florida to the Carolinas. Still, biologists warn the population of mammoth turtles, which weigh up to 300 pounds, remains fragile. And the federal government is considering a proposal to classify loggerheads as endangered after 30 years of listing them as a threatened species.
Along the 100-mile Georgia coast, biologists and volunteers working with the state Department of Natural Resources have counted 1,640 nests since the nesting season began May 1. That's the most turtle nests recorded since Georgia began keeping count in 1989, breaking the previous record of 1,504 nests in 2003.
That's still short of the state goal of 2,000 nests per year for 25 years. Researchers use nest counts as a barometer for the overall loggerhead population, as the turtles spend most of the year at sea.
About 90 percent of loggerhead nests in the U.S. are found in Florida, which had its worst nesting season since 1989 last year. Florida biologists counted 28,074 nests in 2007, less than half the state's peak of 59,918 in 1998. Beth Brost, who compiles sea turtle nesting data for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, said no numbers have been tallied so far this year. She said nesting appears to have increased on the 28 beaches Florida uses to compare year-to-year progress. "It's not up substantially, but it is up, which is always a good thing," Brost said. "Overall, the trend has been in decline."
In South Carolina, sea turtle program coordinator DuBose Griffin said she expects 4,000 to 4,500 loggerhead nests by the end of the August, which would be one of the state's best nesting years since 1980.
North Carolina sea turtle biologist Matthew Godfrey said nesting there has been above average, with nearly 800 nests counted so far. Researchers say the nesting increase could be the result of the turtle's natural reproductive cycle. Female loggerheads typically lay eggs once every two or three years -- causing nesting trends to fluctuate year to year.
Mark Dodd said a sharp decline in shrimp boats trawling off the Georgia coast, because of high fuel costs and low market prices, this year may have contributed to Georgia seeing so many nests.
Boat collisions and fishing net entanglements are the top killers of loggerheads.
Overall, the loggerhead sea turtle population remains so low that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service could declare loggerheads an endangered species in the U.S. next year. The species has been listed as threatened, a less-critical classification, since 1978.
Sandy MacPherson, national sea turtle coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said a team of biologists must first determine if loggerheads nesting in the U.S. are genetically distinct enough to be considered separately from the worldwide population. If so, she said, the agencies could list them as endangered in early 2009.

A Political Joke

Why did the chicken cross the road??

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure that right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can’t you people see the plain truth? That’s why they call it “the other side.” Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like “the other side.” That chicken should not be crossing the road. It’s as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

Kayak For a Cure

This coming Satuday, September 13th, launching from Butterbean Beach.

There will be a paddle up the Skidaway River to the Marine Extesion center.

Classes, entertainment, food and drink will then be up for grabs, as well as a kayak give away, at this Diabetes Association event.

Cost is $75.

For more information contact Suzanne Willis on 353-8110 x3093

From Associated Press...
'The brunt of the storm skirted Savannah, but its outer bands brought blustery winds and ominous gray clouds to the Georgia coast. They also spawned 5 foot waves, drawing an adventurous few to the ordinarily tame Georgia beaches.
"The waves are getting dramatically bigger," said Chuck Conn, a burly 49-year-old preparing to hit the waves at Tybee as his wide smile broadened.
Signs posted around the beach warned of rip tides, and lifeguards were out in force monitoring the handful of surfers. But even town elders understood the call of the ocean.
"Hopefully, the only impact we'll get from this is high surf and wind current," said Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman, an avid surfer who chuckled when asked if he would hit the waves. "We're trying to encourage people to stay out of the water, so that wouldn't be a good example."
Hanna was expected to make landfall on the South Carolina coast around 2 a.m. Saturday before marching quickly up the Atlantic seaboard and pushing into New England by early Sunday. Tropical storm watches or warnings ran from Georgia to areas just south of New York City.
On Folly Beach, just southwest of Charleston, S.C., the tops of 8-foot waves were already being roiled into spray by Hanna's advance winds Friday afternoon as about three dozen surfers tried their luck.
"This is the best time for us down here," said Matt Hamrick, a Charleston lawyer who has been surfing for 25 of his 38 years. He planned to hit the beach again at sunrise Saturday, hoping to ride curling waves pushed up by Hanna's winds after it comes ashore.
Meanwhile, at Atlantic Beach, N.C., Danny Keylor, 23, said he surfed four hours Friday morning.
"It's real steep, about 6 or 7 feet. It's real powerful, really strong rip currents," said the landscaper from Morehead City. "We've had some pretty good days this week, but this is the best session I've been in so far."
"It's really good now," he said about noon. "It was choppy this morning."
Caithness said he was leaving the beach "only because I have to be at work."

...And Some Great Surf

So as Hanna veers more north than east we dodge another bullet. We do feel bad for the Carolina's, but that's what happens when you stick out.
All our kayaks and gear have been stowed under and in the house in preparation for what could of been.
We did have some great surf today and local paddlers were out ripping it up. The wind was calm and the waves were stacking up quite nicely about chest high.
The next two days look wet and windy then giving way to a lovely mellow Sunday.
Then, like a bull on fire, here comes Ike, stronger and meaner and following a very similar path to Hanna .
We had a surf trip to Florida planned next week, but a possible Category three would be a 'run for the hills with all the boats and gear' scenario. Stay tuned.
Things are getting interesting around here.

Hanna - A Wet Weekend at the least

Hanna is struggling with some extremely high wind shear of 30 knots, thanks to strong upper-level winds from the north. It's amazing that the storm has held together in the face of this shear, but Hanna is definitely suffering. Satellite loops show the shear has destroyed all of Hanna's heavy thunderstorm activity except on the south side. These heavy thunderstorms are currently pummeling Haiti.
The track forecast for Hanna.
The current steering flow driving Hanna to the west-southwest is very weak, and we can expect erratic motion over the next day. By Wednesday, a rather strong high pressure ridge will build over Hanna, forcing it northwest to a landfall in the Southeast U.S. Due to the storm's expected rather random motion over the next day, plus the expected track of Hanna parallel to the Southeast U.S. coast, the location of final landfall has a much higher uncertainty than usual.
The intensity forecast for Hanna.
The wind shear of 30 knots is forecast to gradually relax to 10-15 knots by tomorrow morning, and remain in the 10-20 knot range until landfall Friday. This reduced shear should allow Hanna to intensify, as the storm will be over warm 29°C waters with a Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) of 50-70, just below the value of 80 typically associated with rapid intensification. The GFDL and HWRF models respond by intensifying Hanna to a Category 2 hurricane by landfall; the SHIPS model foresees a Category 1 hurricane. However, these models did not anticipate Hanna's current disorganization. Given the current disorganized state of Hanna, Category 1 strength is probably the maximum the storm has time to achieve before landfall.
By Jeff Masters at the weather lab.

Win a Mega Surf Boat

Mega Kayaks will be the chief sponsor for the Charleston Parks and Rec Surf Competition at Folly beach this year. So among other great prizes there will be a chance for all who take part to win a Mega HDP surf kayak. Brought to you by SC&K. See you there.
Contact Josh or Wendy At Charleston Parks for an entry form and more details.
Josh Hall- JHall@CCPRC.com
Wendy Wicke - wwicke@ccprc.com

Coast Guard Aux Class

The Coast Guard Auxillary will be offering a boating course for 'The Weekend Navigator' beginning September 16th.
The class will meet at 761 Wheaton St and run for 7 tuesday nights.
There is a $50 fee for course materials.
Call Kent Shockey at 912 897 7656 for all the details..

SC&K 4 Fun

Here is our latest commercial...possibly for the F/Stroke DVD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57fP9ozpfls
Not completely sold on it yet.

SC&K Back in Action - F/Stroke DVD coming soon

Glad to say the weather now is great for all paddling. We had some pretty rough seas for a few days last week...waves were hitting the underside of the pier.
It seems that August is the new October and June seemed alot like August. Whatever !
The forward stroke video is well under way and we hope to have it completed by the deadline.
Surf season is fast approaching and a whole new batch of surf boats will be arriving soon. We are very excited about the new Riot line.

Tropical Storm Shuts Us Down.

T.S Fay continues on a drunken northerly path.
We have cancelled all programs from Wednesday to Friday.
And for those who have forgotten, here is what happens when you fly a kite in a Tropical Storm
http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=244038&article=4117332
Give that man a Darwin Award.

10 New Things

1. A monsoon is a wind, rather than rain.
2. Dolphin pods have no leader.
3. Lake Baikal in Russia holds about a fifth of the world's fresh water.
4. Many businessmen believe biscuits are key to clinching deals.
5. Some slugs are carnivores, and have razor-sharp teeth.
6. Nelson Mandela was still on the US terror watch list until last month.
7. Eating a big breakfast helps weight loss.
8. Flowers wave at passing insects to get their attention.
9. The language of space is English.
10. Seals can navigate from the position of stars.

New Surf Boats Here Soon

In Fall 2009 Riot will introduce three brand new Surf Kayak designs, manufactured in carbon/kevlar, composite layups for performance ocean surfing.

The three models include the Ninja 6′8″, Ninja 7′6″ and Sword IC.
SC&K will be one of the first locations on the East coast to have the line up in stock.
Expected arrival of the Ninjas and Sword is October 2008.
They will be available to purchase in one very light layup and one color...probably red.

Tybee Turtle Release Big Publicity Stunt

Thursday 7th Aug -The cameras rolled and the band played as Shorty O'Brian made his bewildered way to the ocean. And tears of joy and sadness flowed on the faces of over 1000 people who came to witness the touching and well publicised event.
'Come see the turtle release" read the big banner on the side of Hwy 80.
Yes, Tybee has discovered it's publicity mascot and is learning quickly how to exploit it.
Good luck to you Shorty, tell your friends how crazy humans are and don't come back !

Surf Demo Next Week

Nigel Ranks 18 in 08'World Cup.

Ranking List -High Performance Surf Kayak -Men
1 Rusty Sage 700 World Champion
2 Chris Harvey 1000 640 1000
3 Edu Etxeberria 1000 250 1000
4 Matt Radis 800 800
4 Darren Bason 800 500 800
6 Mikel Arze 700 700
7 Dave Johnston 640 640
8 Eric Conner 580 580
8 Marc Woolward 580 240 580
8 Aritz Fernandez 580 580
8 Johnny Bingham 580 580
12 Russ Buskirk 500 500
13 James Hawker 480 400 480
13 Oscar Martinez 480.00 480
13 Neil Baxter 480 480
13 Jared Licht 480 480
13 Dan Green 480.00 320 480
18 Nigel Law 400.00 400
18 Desmond Harrington 400 400
18 Chris Hobson 400 400
18 Jono Stevens 400 88
18 Andre Nolan 400 400
23 Luis Abando 380.00 380
23 Andrew Hawker 380.00 380
25 Richard Simms 350.00 350
25 Paul Scrutton 350 350
27 Peter Blenkinsop 320 320
27 Randy Phillips 320 320
27 Demany Smith 320 320
27 Josha Stark 320 320
27 Philip Watson 320 290 145 320
27 Txabi Caberello 320.00 320
33 Sam Davenport 244 290.0 290
34 Vince Shay 264 264
35 John Bonaventure 256 256
35 Julen Echevarri 256 256
35 Javier Blanco 256 256
35 Gerry Mahey 256 256
35 Andres Valle 256 256
35 Simon Lockwood 256 256
35 Keppa Yurre 256 256
35 Andre Pinto 256 200 256
37 Sean Morley 248 248
38 Devon Pearse 240 240
38 Jowan Philips 240.0 240
40 David Speller 236 236
41 Andrew Hill 232 232
42 Chris Russ 228 228
43 Charles Salters 224 224
44 Jeff Laxier 220 220
45 Kevin Tinney 216 216
46 Cameron McIntosh 212 212
47 Jason Kozun 208 208
48 Jeff Hille 204 204
49 Toshi Nagaoke 200 200
49 Jack Horwell 200.0 200
49 Jack Barker 200.0 200
49 Ed Long 200.0 175 200
53 Kevin Lewis 196 196
54 Stuart McGlinchey 192 192
55 Greg Whitley 188 188
56 Denzil Pearce 160.0 160
56 Nuno Borges 160 160
58 Paul McAdam 152 152
58 Chris Owen 152 152
58 Jordan Thomas 152 152
61 Luis Vieira 145 145
61 Xabi Olano 145 145
61 Bruno Melo 145 145
64 Andy Wildman 132.0 132
64 Andrew Hawker 132.0 132
64 Alan Owen 132.0 132
64 Dylan Petherick 132.0 132
64 Adrian Thorn 132.0 132
69 Peter Day 118.0 118
70 Steve Chivers 114.0 114
71 Pedro Castro 100 100
71 Txema Carreto 100 100
71 Imanol Sainz 100 100
71 Paulo Simoes 100 100
75 Julen Echavarri 80 80
75 Rui Calado 80 80

Nigel Qualifies for Surf Kayak World Cup.

The Surf Kayak World Cup takes place next month on the west coast of France. And geuss who qualified ?

The second place win at East Coast qualifier earlier this year was enough to secure a place. Wow moma!

"It's quite a big surprise. I'm not sure if I'm ready for such lofty promotion." said Mr Law this morning. "

"I feel I have a lot of work to do before showcasing my style on the international scene, dude"

Surfing the East coast is a big step away from a West coast and there is little time for a period of intense training.

We will see what comes of this.

Thursday lecture with Ben Lawry

Posture, power, paddle and protection was the subject of Mr Lawry's interactive lecture last night. And so with a bunch of blade less paddle shafts we set out to prove to ourselves how to get the most from body-boat-paddle relationship.
Ben has a creative teaching style, as any good 'IT' should . He does introduce interesting and different concepts as well as dressing up the old one's in new packaging. The Forward Stroke video will contain a lot of what Ben covered and will be available by the end of the month.
We had 10 participants last night who now have 10 new things to think about just to paddle in a straight line.
Thanks Ben.

House Tours Rock.

1. A Tour of the Mercer Williams House.
As our tour group congregated in the carriage house of this famous two-story rose brick mansion on Monterey Square, the guide turned to us to lay down the one inviolable house rule with a pleasant but stern expression.
“This tour,” she began, “is about an architecturally significant house and the efforts taken by its most famous resident, Jim Williams, to restore it. It is not about either the book or the movie ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.’ Please do not ask me about them.”
Got that, Bucko? You can keep your questions about the home’s infamous 1981 murder, John Berendt (author of the book) and Kevin Spacey (who portrayed Williams) to yourself.
Savannah’s best-known mansion has only in the past year opened its doors to guided tours.
The mansion was built in the 1860s for Johnny Mercer’s great-grandfather. Williams’ sister, Dorothy Kingery, who had the house on the market for several years for a reported $8 million, still lives there.
Our 30-minute tour took us through the four rooms downstairs, each filled with artwork and antiques collected by Williams. A frisson went through the crowd as we were led into the study where Williams shot his lover, Danny Hansford, that fateful day almost 25 years ago. “Any questions?” asked our guide warily. No one dared pose the question on all our minds: Where was Hansford standing? Where’s the hole where the bullet reportedly shot straight through a floorboard?
On the desk was a picture of two Williams family women flanking a dark, debonair-looking man. “Is that Mr. Williams?” I ventured.
“No,” sighed the tour guide. “It’s Kevin Spacey.”

Name a Hurricane.

Until 1953, when the U.S. Government adopted the use of alphabetical female names for tropical storms, it had followed the centuries-old tradition of naming these storms for the Catholic saints on whose day they were designated.
In 1978 NOAA began using both male and female names to identify storms, no longer calling every hurricane a “her.”)
“All racial groups should be represented,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, adding that she hoped that the weather establishment in future “would try to be inclusive of African American names” such as “Tanika, Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn.”
Why not sell the naming rights to hurricanes to the highest bidder? As a source of government revenue, we have done this already with football bowl games, sports stadiums and a growing list of other things.
“Thousands of quivering people are evacuating Miami,” Dan Rather would tell his viewers, “at the approach of Hurricane Jell-O.”
Or it might be “Hurricane J-Lo,” if movie star Jennifer Lopez puts in the biggest bid for the naming rights to this powerful storm. It could become a commercial art form, like thoroughbred horse investing, to buy rights early and cheap to unpromising “Seabiscuit” storms that, with luck, might grow into a long-lived hurricane generating weeks of headline news coverage. Think of all the private meteorologists and cloud seeders who might be hired to select, enhance or even create such storms.
An angry millionaire out there right now might be willing to put a fortune into the public treasury in exchange for pinning his ex-wife’s first name on a nasty storm, thereby prompting the media to do a story about the person behind this name. Some widow might want to put her granddaughter or late husband into the scientific history books of our planet by doing likewise.

Summer Birding Specials

Most of the songbird nesting activity is complete by mid-July, and the returning migrant song and shorebirds won't be getting back to coastal Georgia until August.
There are, however, a few midsummer bird spectacles that are worth the price of admission.
Past its peak but still entertaining is the spectacle of wading bird nesting. By mid-July, the high-density heron, egret, wood stork and ibis rookeries at Harris Neck and Pinckney National Wildlife Refuges, Jekyll Island, Skidaway Island and the ponds near the Savannah airport are teenage hangouts rather than bird nurseries. The young birds will be busy begging for fish before taking off to find their own food. If you're lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of a young roseate spoonbill straying north from its Florida nesting grounds.
The impoundments at the Savannah Refuge become the staging ground for another impressive summer spectacle. When the migratory swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites are finished nesting, they gather in large feeding flocks.
For dozens and sometimes hundreds of swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites, heat is a good thing. Rising temperatures create updrafts of air called thermals. For hawks, vultures, wood storks and even anhingas, catching a thermal is like taking the elevator to the 14th floor. You can go a long way up without expending much energy. Once aloft, the kites get down to the serious business of devouring flying insects.
An early morning or late evening trip to the beach offers a different kind of summer bird spectacle. In late July and August, large numbers of gulls, terns and black skimmers congregate at the northern or southern ends of the barrier islands. They hang out on the sand in noisy groups, facing into the wind to keep their feathers tidy. It is easy to pick out this year's adolescents. Young gulls are a dirty brown, while young terns and skimmers have more speckling in their feathers. A speckled bird begging piteously in front of a crisp gray and white adult is easily identified as a hungry teen.
For an all-out summer birding extravaganza, consider a road trip to Lake Murray, S.C., west of Columbia, home to the nation's first officially designated purple martin sanctuary. From late June to early August, 500,000 or more martins congregate on a small island in the middle of the lake.
So many birds roost there that they can be tracked using National Weather Service Radar.

Navigation Class at the Weekend

The Weekend After the 4th

Compared to last weekend, it was pretty mellow on Tybee this weekend. The Back River beach was just about deserted and there were very few boats on the water and at L.T.
Some great overcast mornings kept the crowds away. Although by Sunday afternoon the ocean beach was packed, making for a tricky surf demo.
We did see a couple of interesting things...
1/ The ripped parachute from the Para-sailing company, shredded and hanging from the roof of a beach front condo. Apparently, the boat had a little too much line out and some poor 'dope on a rope' was blown off course and made an emergency landing on the flat roofed building on the Strand. He was not seriously hurt but was probably not a satisfied customer.
We recommend kayaking over para sailing for a Tybee activity.
2/ The young over eager Dog Warden that patrols the Tybee beach needs to get a ticket himself.... for being a complete idiot.
As I was returning from a trip to L.T I saw an elderly gentleman launching his SOT from the BR boat ramp. He put his dog in the front seat and began to launch. Further down the beach I saw the dog warden on his hot red 4 wheeler patrol vehicle driving fast toward the boat ramp. Stopped by the last private dock , he then continued on foot over to the old man with his ticket book in hand.
" Can I see some ID" were the first words from his mouth, just as the old man is back paddling away. The old man was pretty upset. Things quickly got heated. The young dog warden threatened to arrest the old man. And as quickly as it started it was resolved. No ticket was given out due to the old man claiming the dog was an 'Assist Dog' and promising to visit the police station with all the paper work later .
It did raise a couple of issues in my mind.
a/ Is the Boat Ramp considered as part of the beach ?.. and if so
b/ How the heck are you supposed to get your dog in your boat when going over to L.T ?
And
c/ Who the hell is training these guys ?

Surf Demo Great Fun, Great Waves.

This weekend Hurricane Bertha gave us our best surf of the season and SC&K made maximum use of all three days. Friday gave us some of the cleanest little peelers seen on Tybee with the promise of more in the days to come. Saturday we had a great Full Day Trip down the front side of Little Tybee to Little Tybee Creek and back through the Slough. A good 3-4 ft swell, overcast sky's and nobody around made for an awesome little adventure. On Sunday we had an Intermediate Part 2 with beautiful conditions and some great surfing in Sea Kayaks. The Surf Demo Sunday evening was well attended with about twenty people watching and trying a variety of surf specific craft.

Great Deals at Gear Swap

A North Face tent for $35. Neoprene skirt for $20. Dry top for $40. A wave Ski for 200 . Saddles and rack parts for nearly nothing...and some stuff for free.
These were just a few or the great deals to be had here yesterday at our gear swap.
The turn was small but the amount of paddling and camping gear was great. We will be holding this event again, probably in late September /early October.
There is definitely a need in the community for such a meet.
To all those who came , thanks very much.

Cumberland Island Fire Still Burning

A wildfire that has consumed 2,550 acres on Cumberland Island's north end over the past two weeks was 90 percent contained by Monday, with roads in the area reopening to residents, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
Forestry officials said rainfall in the area helped firefighters' efforts to contain the blaze, which was started by lightning on June 22.
About 30 structures were threatened by what was called the South Cut Fire, and some residents voluntarily left the island.
More than 100 firefighters from the forestry commission, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Georgia National Guard and the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge were fighting the fire.
The fire was mostly confined to the wilderness area. The Cumberland Island National Seashore was closed north of Plum Orchard and Duck House Trail.
Park service staff said none of the cultural or historic sites on the island were damaged, although the church where John Kennedy Jr. was married was among the buildings threatened by the fire.
On Monday, the Main Road and Candler Road reopened for residents only. The fire area, including the Main Road, remained closed to through traffic from Cumberland Wharf to Duck House Trail.
The dock at Hawkins Creek Landing also reopened for local residents only, who will be allowed to travel to their homes through the burned area.

Talking of Crazy Ideas..

After years of yelling at everyone to 'stay off the dunes', Tybee City are planning on bulldozing them flat.

The sand dunes in question run either side of the Fishing Pier about 300 yards or so and are approx 8-10ft high.

Apart from being the first line of defense from storm surge, the dunes...

1/Are an important habitat for a variety of flora and fauna.

2/Trap sand and debris from being blown into the streets.

3/ Provide aesthetic pleasure.

4/ Are a natural and never ending process that make the beach what it is.

Beneath the dunes, is the sea wall, built around Tybee in the 50's. This wall was still visible in the 90's and only disappeared after beach re-nourishment projects.

So why on earth the sudden change of priority and intervention?...well, the City says they need access for emergency vehicles. Arghh, the old "keep everybody safe and protected" clause. But there is already beach access at 18th St. The City also spent a heap of money on 4 wheelers for beach patrols which can be used for emergency procedures.

So what is the real reason ?.

The dunes in question are all in the business district area of Tybee.

The Ocean Plaza Hotel has been trying to get their dunes removed for the last 8 years to give ground floor rooms ocean views.

So, once again, maybe it all comes down to one thing...Commerce.

If that's the case, then SC&K is proposing this idea.....

An artificial off shore surfing reef.

Bulldoze the dunes flat.

Take all the sand and place it in huge nylon bags, some as big as cars.

Drop the bags off shore, approx 60-70 yards.

We now have an off shore reef system that..

1/ Provides a marine habitat.

2/ Provides a level of protection from heavy surf erosion.

3/ Will naturally help beach accretion.

4/ Most importantly... provides a great surfing environment that would attract tourist from all over the east coast as well as hosting 'Pro circuit' surfing events.

If it's commerce over common sense then be honest, do it right and stop monkeying around .