Chesapeake Paddlers Association

Come join us - sea kayaking : CPA Membership – CPA Kayakers
Meet other sea-kayakers from the Greater DMV region ! CPA uses the Meetup calendar to post club trips & events, with additional group communication venues, including CPA Facebook, the CPA kayaking -tips-online Forum, plus the informative monthly Paddler newsletters, available just for club members.
Visit our website for more info:
https://www.cpakayaker.com/
**Becoming a CPA member is easy - dues are $10/year: https://www.cpakayaker.com/membership/

The Chesapeake SEA -KAYAKING Association is the one of longest running band of kayakers in the Chesapeake Bay Region. The first group of local sea kayakers in the Annapolis - had a simple telephone tree system get out info back in 1988. Their first years' printed newsletters were hand-folded at weekly piracy gatherings & snail -mailed to a growing band of kayakers in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Chesapeake Paddlers Association is now a registered 503 C(4) non-profit organization- with active club members located across the surrounding states.

CPA members do not have rentals or provide loaner kayaks.
CPA is not an outfitter, nor offers kayaking skills certification.

The mission of the Chesapeake Paddlers Association is to promote safe sea kayaking and safe paddling practices through the education of the local sea kayaking community and the interested public. Club activities may include, but are not limited to, instructional kayak trips, instructional kayak camping trips, instructional workshops, and any other activities consistent with the mission that members of the club wish to organize.

Please note that CPA is primarily a sea kayaking club. Most sea kayaks are generally run 14--16 feet or longer and 24″ or less in width, designed to track straight and be relatively fast. Wearing a spray skirt, for most sea kayaks, is an essential component, not an optional accessory.

Members mainly kayak all around Maryland, Virginia & District of Columbia region- there are so many creeks, rivers, islands, regional water trails, quiet wooded shorelines, cliffs & shady creeks finding many ways to get close to nature. The club has great volunteer sea kayaking trip leaders, who really enjoy getting out on the water in sea-kayaks safely, sharing fun times, new locations, paddling & camping, sharing knowledge and outdoor experiences.

Inflatable boats, folding boats, & SUPs are not generally recommended for coastal and open water trips as wind and waves can be major factors, increasing the effort to keep paddling together over longer distances; please do first ask the trip leader if you are considering joining any event.

CPA has many events during the warmer months- especially regular mid-week-after-work casual paddling gatherings = Piracies. Please check the Meetup calendar and CPA website for details and locations, with piracies go a'roving weekdays. On weekends, many volunteer trip leaders will post longer distance trips, as well as occasional weekend camping/kayaking trips to many locations around the Chesapeake Bay area.

During the colder months, many of our club go a-hiking & exploring, along with safety/ kayaking classes in the spring. Appropriate cold water paddling gear and/or dry suits are needed in the winter time, as well as late Fall & Spring; the Bay, its rivers & creeks stay colder with long spring rain runoff, despite the tempting warmer sunny days.

Some educational workshops - Intro to Basic Sea Kayaking SK101 is offered once a year in early spring.  A full on-the-water basic kayak training & skill, SK102. is offered annually early summer. Other club educational events pop up as volunteers get involved- including Basic Kayak Navigation, Fall out of Your Boat Day Skills Practice, Greenland Paddle Carving -workshops, strokes & basic skills sessions- please ask!

The club has been around since 1988 - growing from the shared love of being on/ IN the water in very skinny boats!  Lots more stuff can be found on the CPA website: https://www.cpakayaker.com/