A Week in Charleston. Prt 1

East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival came and went with the speed of a Ben Lawry 'paddle by' this last weekend.
Glad to say that all the usual friendly faces were there, including a few new ones. Vendor attendance was at an all time high this year, as was pre registration for on-water classes. It was great to see a lot of our customers from all over the South East..Ted and some of the Atlanta Chapter, as well as over 15 of Tom's Augusta Chapter were swelling the booths and classes.
All the British boats were well represented at the show, as they continue to set the standard in the sea kayaking industry.
Since the introduction of the Cetus, P&H are regaining some of their former glory and popularity...and now they have the LV Cetus, they really do have a kayak for the smaller, lighter paddler.
P&H flew down their recently acquired heavy hitter, Brian Day, who got to experience the SE show for the first time and scored a couple of goals for his new team. The ever popular NDK boats and the classic Valley Sea Kayaks were also well represented. No Valley Surf kayaks though, as they continue to seem a little unsure what to do with this excellent line.

We were glad to complete the Brit line up with the ever stylish Tiderace Kayaks and the very sporty Mega Surf Kayaks.
Both of these lines are very high performers and it was great to be able to 'show and tell' about boats that have been seen and tried by so few people.
Our booth looked pretty 'racey'.

Our next door neighbours at the show were Dragonfly Boatworks. They make very high quality fishing boats and had on display there new fishing kayaks.
More of a bateau than a kayak, the Fly Fisher Kayak brings back the joy of 'stand up' fishing.
Stand Up Paddle boards continue to swamp the market place, but overall there seemed fewer than last year. SUP classes on the pond looked fun.

The overall organisation of the event was excellent as ever, and the food was outstanding. Park staff were very helpful. Thanks to everyone who stopped by or helped out. We had a rocking good time.