Welcome to the Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network (SMSKN)!

Who are we? 

We are an organization that enables ocean sea kayakers to meet paddling friends, learn how to paddle safely, and plan trips together. Active since 1990, we are an all-volunteer, non-profit group focused mostly on paddling the beautiful coast and islands of Maine. Network members range from novice to advanced paddlers. Paddling trips are organized by and open to all members.

How SMSKN’s Meetup site works

SMSKN operates primarily through our Meetup page, which is where you can find and post paddling trips and events and join the club for the very reasonable price of $20/year. On this webpage we have more detailed information about the club and have many useful resources for paddlers. For more information about how we work as a club, please check out the ABOUT page on this website.

Critical guidance for Meetup settings: SMSKN uses the Meetup messaging function for intra-group communications and trip coordination. However, in order to enable these messaging functions, you must configure your Meetup profile to allow certain permissions. See guidance here on how to configure your Meetup Settings to maximize your SMSKN engagement!

How does the group connect?

In addition to paddling trips and events, we also have monthly membership meetings that are typically held during the third week of the month via Zoom, in the non-summer months only. Meeting programs include trip accounts, safety and training lectures, and other fun and relevant topics. We are always interested in meeting ideas, so if you have trip slides or other information to share, please get in touch with the President or any Board member through Meetup. See past meeting presentations here.

Where else can I learn more?

This webpage provides wealth of information about sea kayaking and our organization. As a volunteer club, the site is always maturing and we welcome your feedback. We try hard to include relevant information including guidelines for trip planning and many safety and skills-rated materials, in addition to club documents. Coming soon is a library of trip ideas and eventually a Classified Ads section viewable by all visitors to this site. This is an open website provided both for our members and as a service to the sea kayaking community, so please consider becoming a member if you find our page helpful.

Do I have to do anything? 

All club members must complete our Participant Agreement as a condition of membership. This document is on this website under Club Documents and can be signed online, where it will be retained. Note that we do not provide guided trips by trained leaders; rather we simply provide a way for paddlers to meet one another, self-organize trips and go paddling. While trip organizers or other members of the Network may have skills and/or knowledge greater than yours, we are all responsible for our own safety.

The wide and beautiful ocean is our playground. Come join us!