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 Post subject: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Thu May 28, 2015 8:28 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 8:17 am
Posts: 3
Hi all. Kayak virgin here. My wife and I just bought 2 Outback last week and are just now getting into kayaking. These are our first yaks and we are 50 years old. We started out just renting some revolutions and fell in love with the sport.

We are headed to Tybee Island next week for 5 days. Since we are new to this, we would like to start off easy ( no 5 mile trips out in the ocean) Looking for any advice on where to go around Tybee. Since we have bought our yaks we have added the turbo fins and a cart. Me and my wife are hooked and wish we would have started years ago. I look forward to chatting with all of you.


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Thu May 28, 2015 4:21 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
My wife and I are long time kayakers and have traveled all over the place with our camper in tow and kayaks on the roof. Unfortunately we have not been to tybee island, but we have been just south of there a few times, that whole area is beautiful. I can give you some pointers though that made our trips safe and enjoyable.
First off there are Pfd's and there are Pfd's designed for kayaking (usually with a higher back cut) if you planning on spending time in the kayak the kayak vests are much more comfortable. The sun can get pretty intense make sure you have big ole hats, and plenty of sunscreen (apply it often to help keep you cooler. If you wearing just swimwear or shorts like we do, sitting in your hobie pedaling frys your legs, we typically bring along a couple towels to cover our legs if it gets too hot. On small rivers and shallow water we don't wear our PFD's but do have them handy and not stowed. But as soon as we hit any open water or deeper water, we make sure we have our Pfd's on. In the pockets of the Pfd's make sure to have a whistle (you can also buy whistles with a small compass (not a bad idea). We also carry a small stainless pocket knife in each vest (cheap at Walmart). It's probably not a bad idea to bring along a led flashlight (stored in a dry bag) if you find a waterproof one thats even better. We have gone too far before and if accidentally out after dark, that flashlight and compass can really help.
We always take a GPS and always mark our launch point on the GPS, this may sound funny, but we have launched before and it never dawned on us to look back at the launch point, and couldn't find it when we returned (everything looks the same from a distance).
Make sure you have the paddles strapped to the side of the boat just in case you get into weeds or shallow water.
We always bring along a length of rope so if my wife gets too tired I can always tow her back to launch.
We also bought the sail kits for ours, and alway had the sail kits strapped to the boat when ever we went out, but you might wait a while before doing that.
The whole trick to Hobies is to not try and win any races, pedaling at a steady walking type pace gets you where you want to go just fine, and once you build your legs up a little, you can easily pedal for 8-10 hrs without getting too tired.
Good luck
Bob


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Fri May 29, 2015 4:40 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 8:17 am
Posts: 3
Hey, Thanks for all the advice. Being our first time in salt water, we are thinking rivers and inlets and the Bay behind Tybee. We do not have the endurance to go much more than a few hours(working on that now) We have a local lake just up the rd from our house, I have been going 3 times a week working on my strength and endurance. As I was peddling, I ran across my first gator. 4 footer, but still got all of my attention. He was not interested in me at all, but still was exciting. I don't think my13 yr old boy will be going back to that lake with me. He was not as impressed as I was with the gator. Thanks again for the help.

Matt


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:34 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:22 pm
Posts: 80
Location: Valle Vista, CA (SoCal)
As in any endurance activities, always drink before you're thirsty, eat before you're hungry, and enjoy your experience.


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Longbikermike
Valle Vista, CA


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 11:32 am 
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 7:10 pm
Posts: 25
Head to the south end of tybee there is a small parking lot where you have acces to the beach (kinda a ramp) to lanch. Then head across to what's called little tybee and explore the water ways there. You also can stop on the beach and have lunch ans explore the island.
You will most likely see other groups of kayaks out. As there are tours that leave from there and travel that area.
I live just 10 miles from tybee. And love that area to kayak myself


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:37 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 8:17 am
Posts: 3
We did just that. Went to Little Tybee Island on our visit. Met some dolphins, lots of horseshoe crabs and a small stingray. Great day!! Learned to not to try to land on the island except in the inlets, way to shallow. Long walk pulling our yaks in 6 inch water. Still had a great day. learned a little about the tides. Our outbacks with the turbo fins helped a lot against the tides. Next time I will use the tide to my advantage. Still in the learning stage. We are addicted to the water. heading to N Ga in the morning to run a nice river. Thanks for the advice

Matt


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 Post subject: Re: Newbie here.
PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:49 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:17 pm
Posts: 62
Get a VHF radio too in case there is an emergency, Standard Horizon makes one that is under $100, the HX150.


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