What we’re about
Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network (SMSKN) is an organization for ocean-going sea kayakers to meet paddling friends, learn about safe paddling, and plan trips together. We are an all-volunteer nonprofit and have been active since 1992. Our trips are mostly in the open ocean along the wild and beautiful coast of Maine. Except for some training sessions, all trips are on tidal waters.
We are an active group with trips, training sessions, and monthly membership meetings where we socialize (mostly on-line at this point) and hear interesting talks about many aspects of ocean paddling. Additional information, including recordings of past meeting presentations, are on our website, smskn.net, so check there for additional paddling resources. Sea kayaks with sealed bulkheads and static deck lines are required for our trips, as is the use of spray skirts, PFDs, and appropriate immersion protection and safety gear.
Most of our activity, including joining, event planning, and paying dues, is handled through our Meetup page, so please browse the upcoming and past events to learn more about us and what we do. If you're a long-boat ocean sea kayaker looking for paddling friends and skill-building opportunities within a fun and active year-round paddling community, you're in the right place. Come join us!
To join, please complete two steps:
- Join using your full name, please, on the Meetup profile. (The full name is for safety purposes.) Membership is $20 annually and helps pay for coaches, speakers, pool sessions, and other paddling resources.
- Please sign our online Participant Agreement, https://www.smskn.net/membership/participant-agreement/. Again, for safety purposes, this is required of all members.
Glen Gordon, President
Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- 3rd Annual SMSKN Ocean Kayaking Dryland Spring Kickoff & Boat/Gear SwapPayson Park Playground, Portland, ME
SMSKN is holding its 3rd Annual "Stone Soup" Kayak Gathering ...
Stone Soup is a dryland, "kick-off" party, social gathering, skill sharing, and boat/gear sale/swap to get the season started! This is a low-stress, low-key event for kayakers of ALL experience levels to come together, meet new friends, and talk about all things ocean kayaking.
- Do you consider yourself very experienced, and just want to expand your circle of paddling friends?
- Are you relatively new to the sport and would like to meet new people and ask questions?
- Are you just now considering the sport and wondering where to start?
- Do you have a particular part of the sport that you are passionate about and would like to share with others?
- Do you have an ocean kayak you would like to sell? Or, some used gear?
- Are you LOOKING for a new / used ocean kayak and are interested in trying out a bunch in one location?
Come join us Saturday morning, May 17, from 8AM till noon.
We are having it at Payson Park in Portland, on the triangle over-looking the Back Cove.
There two parts to Stone Soup:- Knowledge & experience share: This is opportunity for members to share a display, gear, or some such skill they are passionate about with the larger community. (We need volunteers to consider putting together a little static display or something like that ... thing something like a science fair presentation.)
- Gear / Boat swap or sale: It's a great opportunity if you have a boat or gear you're looking to sell. Or, if you're looking for a new boat! Have gear you're not using?
In the spirit of the "Stone Soup" parable, SMSKN provides the cooking pot, and everyone contributes to provide the ingredients.
Please reach out to Joe Herlihy (joegkayak@gmail.com) if you are able to help with some very light "day-of" coordination. We definitely need folks to consider bringing their boats and gear to "lay-it-all-out" so we can discuss and swap stories and knowledge.
Look forward to seeing you all at the THIRD Annual SMSKN Stone Soup Kayak Gathering! - Muscongus Bay MelangeHog Island Audubon Camp, Bremen, ME
Join SMSKN friends for three days (and two nights) paddling the waters of Muscongus Bay! Our home base for this adventure will be the beautiful Hog Island Audubon Camp. We’ll arrive on Tuesday morning, June 3 and depart Thursday afternoon, June 5. Tuesday and Wednesday nights will be spent on the island in camp lodging (https://hogisland.audubon.org/programs/lodging-porthole). Dinners will be provided by the camp staff; we’ll be responsible for our own breakfasts and lunches.
Each day we’ll divide up into paddling groups based on interest–so whether you’re interested in sheltered paddles, bird watching, rock gardening or a distance paddle to a destination, there will be something for you! We may even get some help learning about birds from the resident staff.
Cost for this adventure is $200, all inclusive with the exception of your breakfasts and lunches. To reserve your spot, two things are required:
- RSVP to this post on Meetup
- Send your $200 payment to John Haile via paypal or check (a link or address will be sent when you RSVP). No reservation is final until payment is received.
More details will be sent to participants closer to the date.
- Paddling Skills with Nate and Simon: Intermediate to AdvancedMidcoast Maine, Brunswick, ME
July 26-27, 2025, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. each day.
In conjunction with SMSKN, Nate Hanson of Pinniped Kayak will host international coach, Simon of Online Line Sea Kayaking (OSK), from Cornwall, UK. (Yes, it is THAT Simon.)
Nate and Simon will work with paddlers to expand their skills, understanding, and safety in challenging environments. This course is appropriate for sea kayakers who are very comfortable with self- and assisted-rescues and have considerable experience paddling in bumpy water.
Limit of 10 folks per 2 day session. SMSKN members only (no guests until July 1st). One day signups are not allowed; this is a two day course. You may only sign up for one of the two weekend classes. If possible, please choose the class that most closely matches your skill level.
Location: To be determined. The location will be in Midcoast Maine, between South Portland and Georgetown. If possible, there will be a different location each day.
Sign-ups are by email only to Ellen Gluckman at LNG@MADRIVER.COM. Your registration will only be completed once payment has been received. Ellen will give you instructions on how to pay and complete signing up. SMSKN members take priority. We will create a waiting list to accommodate last-minute cancellations.
Cost for SMSKN members is $270 per person for the two-day event, a 30 percent discount of the usual $385 cost. Nate is discounting his rate by 10 percent and SMSKN is subsidizing 20 percent.
Nate's bio: Nate's enthusiasm for kayaking is hard to hide. With an encouraging teaching style, he enjoys helping students discover new possibilities in a sea kayak, working with each individual to attain his or her own personal paddling goals - whether that's surfing a tide race, or simply getting into a boat without tipping over. The owner of Pinniped Kayak, Nate spends most of his time teaching and paddling on the waters surrounding Acadia National Park in Downeast Maine, though the sport of sea kayaking has also brought him around the globe to the coasts of Chile, Croatia, Scotland and more.
Nate's credentials include: British Canoeing Sea Kayak Coach, ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor, ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer, ACA L4 Whitewater Kayak Instructor, BCU 4-Star Sea Leader. He is also certified as a Wilderness First Responder (WMA). He has served as an instructor at the East Coast Paddlesports Symposium, Symposio de Kayak del Pacifico Sur, the Bay of Fundy Sea Kayak Symposium, and the Downeast Sea Kayak Symposium. Nate is proud to be a Team Paddler for P&H Custom Sea Kayaks.
Simon's bio: Simon started kayaking when he was 7 years old. He is a BC Level 5 coach and advanced sea kayak leader assessor. His introduction to the world of kayaking was through Whitewater but after circumnavigating Great Britain in 2002 his passion turned to the sea. He began a career of teaching sea kayaking and guiding expeditions, while planning personal expeditions in his free time.
In 2002 Simon became the youngest person to circumnavigate Great Britain which took 112 days of kayaking. In 2004 he completed a solo circumnavigation of Ireland in 6 weeks. In 2009 Simon attempted to become the first person to circumnavigate Madagascar. In 2011, Simon and Marin Medak became the first people to paddle the coastline of South Korea. His most recent expedition was to row across the Atlantic as part of a four-man crew which took 45 days to complete.
From kayaking with alligators in Florida to rock hopping through Icelandic lava fields to surfing clean barreling waves in Cornwall, it’s the variety the sport offers that keeps Simon interested and coming back for more. His skill and ability to share it with others drives his dedication to instructing kayakers all over the world through Online Sea Kayaking. This program provides access to structured online skills courses, as well as opportunity for individualized interactions and feedback through its unique format.
We are proud and excited to have this accomplished duo provide this level of programming for our membership.
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