Maine Greenland Kayak Festival
September 18 - 20, 2020
8th Maine Regiment, Peaks Island, Maine
Save the dates!
The Maine Greenland Kayak Festival is a community-oriented event focused on helping Greenland paddlers achieve their goals while developing the knowledge, skills and experience for exploring our ocean environment. Solid, committed Coaches, Registered Maine Sea Kayak Guides, and Land Staff, together with caring participants, create this community at the 8th Maine Historic Lodge: a spectacular venue perched above Whitehead Passage and our ocean classrooms. Through skill building on the water and our communal living together at the Lodge, we aim to help you broaden your horizons, taking the Greenland style of kayaking onto the sea along Peaks Island’s unique coastal environment.
September in Maine
Clear days, warm water, rocky shorelines and lighthouses: the crowds are gone and we have the islands to ourselves. In 2020, the conditions will be influenced by big tidal ranges brought on by the new moon.
Portland average September sea temperatures:
- Max: 18.2°C / 62.8°F
- Avg: 15.8°C / 60.4°F
- Min: 13.5°C / 58.1°F
Our Venue
Peaks Island and the surrounding waters, islands and ledges offer a unique paddling environment: from the calm, protected area by our beach, to channels between islands affected by tidal currents, to paddling in the exposed ocean swell around rocks and under towering cliffs. These "micro-environments" provide a perfect gradual progression for paddlers to experience a wide range of conditions in close proximity.
The Greenland Paddle - A Tool of the Sea
Learn your first roll, perfect a more advanced one, or build your journeying skills by paddling into protected seas or more challenging ocean conditions. Take in the exceptional natural beauty of Peaks Island and Casco Bay. Enjoy great food, amazing views, and the company of new companions and old friends, all at the 8th Maine Regiment Oceanfront Lodge and Museum.
8th Maine Museum & Lodge
The Festival takes place at The 8th Maine Regimental Lodge on Peaks Island. The 8th Maine is an historic, Civil War era regimental hall perched above the shore. Views of Whitehead Passage and the sunset over Portland are unparalleled from its huge, wraparound porch.
Building Community
Meeting and paddling with other like-minded paddlers from all over the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada fosters friendships that last well beyond the weekend.
Registration for the Maine Greenland Kayak Festival will open in late Spring 2020. More details will be posted along the way. Please contact Liz with any questions.
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T.S. Eliot