"Meet at the Beach", This Saturday June 1st, 2013

Bluff Point State Park, Groton, Connecticut.

This is a fun gathering which gives you a chance to meet kayak builders and paddlers. People generously let others try out their boats. I will be bringing two boats: a Guillemot L, and a Wee Lassie 2. A total of about 50 boats show each year. You can see the variety of designs and techniques used to build kayaks. There is everything from very traditional skin-on-frame Greenland style kayaks to innovative new skin-on-frame hybrids, as well as strip-built and stitch-and-glue.

The gathering is free and open to all. Nick Shade (pronounced Shah-day), famed kayak designer and builder, will be there rain or shine. Bluff Point is a lovely location with nice paddling options and a nice place to spend a day. It is in the sheltered waters beside the state park suitable for beginners and novice paddlers. A short paddle brings you to the open waters of Long Island Sound. People will start showing up around 10:00 am and stay until they are tired. You do not need to bring a boat. The event happens rain or shine.

Come, show your boat or see what everyone else has done, try kayaks, go for a paddle, just hang out.

More info:
http://www.kayakforum.com/meet.html

This is awesome. I have Nick Shade's book on building the Guillemot strip built kayak: he is the leader in the field.
If I hadn't already made plans to go north, I'd plop the kayak on the car and head down there post-haste.