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, available on our website under Club Documents. Again, for safety purposes, this is required of all members.
John Haile, President
Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network
Upcoming events (3)
See all- SMSKN Pool Session #1Watson Arena, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Please join other SMSKN paddlers for a two-hour session in the Bowdoin College pool (35 Watson Dr, Brunswick, ME 04011). The session offers the chance to work on rolls, self and assisted recoveries and other activities designed to strengthen skills for our open-water paddles. Though specific instruction is not necessarily offered, you will always find others willing to help with skills and offer top tips.
We are offering a new approach this year. We will not limit the number of sign-ups–you may arrive at any time in the two-hour session, but be aware that you may have to wait to get into the pool. Only ten boats will be allowed in the pool at a time. As one boat leaves, another may enter. Feel free to share a boat with a friend. Please stay in the water as long as you wish, but be aware of others who are waiting to get in. While you’re not in the water–before or after your practice–enjoy the opportunity to talk with fellow SMSKN members in the stands. Please arrive with clean gear and unload boats at the back entrance of the pool and then park in the main lot.
For insurance purposes, all who attend this session must have signed two waiver documents prior to getting in the pool:
- If you have not done so already, sign the SMSKN participant agreement, which you can do online: Participant Agreement - Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network
- The American Canoe Association (ACA) waiver form. The appropriate form must be completed online prior to the pool session. SMSKN strongly encourages all its members to join the ACA (annual membership dues $40: Join the ACA)
- ACA members: ACA Member Waiver
- Non-ACA members ($10 per pool session): Non-Member Waiver
While these sessions are free to SMSKN members, donations in any amount are welcome to help defray the cost to the club (and thus allow us to offer more sessions). Donations may be made in cash or check (made out to SMSKN) and given to the coordinator at each session.
Please address any questions to John Haile.
