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Updates & News From Portland Paddle

Off Season Adventures: Rafting the Grand Canyon with Tall

Planning and executing the journey of a life time! Have you ever wondered what guides get up to in the off season? Many of us turn to winter sports like hiking, skiing, and ice skating. Others head south for more warm weather paddling adventures. While still others don the appropriate gear, brave the cold, and…

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March 21, 2024

Six Historic Forts in Portland You Can Reach By Foot or Kayak

Forts of Casco Bay: Part 1 – European Settlement to the Civil War We’ll follow up this post soon with another featuring the fortifications surrounding Portland harbor that were built after the Civil War.  The sites of Portland’s earliest defensive structures are all a short walk or paddle from Portland Paddle’s site by the East…

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March 12, 2024

Endangered Gray Whale spotted in New England!

An Exciting, but Potentially Troubling, First Sighting Gray Whales were once common in New England waters – photo courtesy of New England Aquarium The New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life aerial transect research team recorded a grey whale feeding 30 miles off of Nantucket this week, the first time this species has…

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March 6, 2024

Discovering the Intertidal Zone

The Joys of Tide Pooling and Beach Combing with Melanie Collins This winter we’re posting a series of interviews with Portland Paddle guides, each one focused on a specific topic related to paddling the Maine coast. Today we’re sharing a conversation with Melanie Collins about the intertidal zone! Melanie is a registered Maine guide, ACA…

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February 29, 2024

Paddle Hard, Paddle Fast: Reflections on Kayak Racing

An Interview with Sea Kayak Guides and Racers Erin Quigley and Joe Guglielmetti This winter we’re sharing a series of conversations with Portland Paddle guides, each one focused on a specific topic related to paddling the Maine coast. Today we’re talking with sea kayaking guides Joe Gugliemetti and Erin Quigley to learn about their experiences…

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February 22, 2024

7 Things you can do to help Seals, and 7 Seal Facts you’ll want to know – with Whitney

All of us at Portland Paddle love seals, and especially our flippered friends in Casco Bay who we encounter regularly.  We shared an introduction to the types of seals we see while paddling in our Guide to the Seals of Maine last year, but there’s a lot more to cover. In this post we’ll share…

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February 15, 2024

10 Places Anyone Can Paddle in Southern Maine

Ten Spots to Take a Rental Kayak or SUP If you’re starting a paddling trip on Casco Bay, our site at the East End Beach is a terrific place to launch. But there are LOTS of other great spots to paddle nearby, and you can rent our kayaks and SUPs for as long as you…

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February 8, 2024

Educational Trip Leader Permit Training

A special course for teachers, school volunteers, and student leaders, in partnership with Teens to Trails Portland Paddle is partnering with Teens to Trails this spring to offer an Educational Trip Leader Permit Training course. The ETLP system is a way for schools to offer paddle sports and wilderness camping programs in compliance with Maine…

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February 5, 2024

Paddling Long & Far: Reflections on Offshore & Long-Distance Paddling

An Interview with Sea Kayak Guides Joe Guglielmetti & Kyle Martin This winter we’re posting a series of interviews with Portland Paddle guides, each one focused on a specific topic related to paddling the Maine coast. Today we’re sharing a conversation with longtime guides Joe Gugliemetti and Kyle Martin about two “extreme” forms of kayaking: …

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January 23, 2024

More Birds to Spot While Paddling Coastal Maine

  A few years ago we described some of the birds we see most often while paddling in our post titled “Seabirds to Spot While Paddling the Maine Coast.” But we only scratched the surface, and we left out some of the species that we most enjoy observing. So we’re following up with this post…

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January 10, 2024

SMSKN Workshops with Portland Paddle in 2024

We’re Offering Two Discounted Workshops for SMSKN Members This Summer We’ve worked with the Southern Maine Sea Kayak Network‘s skills committee to develop two 6-hour workshops for summer 2024. Our “Open Water Rescue Development” workshop is designed for paddlers who have learned basic rescues but need more practice and development before joining a more advanced…

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December 27, 2023

The Joys & Risks of Winter Sea Kayaking

The Joys & Risks of Winter Sea Kayaking By Zack Anchors Zack paddling to the Le Comte Glacier in Southeast Alaska. Like many sea kayak guides in Maine, I kayak every month of the year. And my winter paddles are often my favorite. When the lakes and rivers freeze and the snow piles up, the…

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December 11, 2023