Kayak Camping on the Upper James River, VA in Sea Eagle Explorer 380X 

Thank you, Robert! One day at a time!

Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoy my videos! I actually use a pair of GoPro Hero 7 Black cameras, but also will shoot some video or pictures with my iPhone. Nothing crazy and I just use iMovie for my editing. Good luck with your new 380X!!!

I wouldn't recommend a skeg in big water! That being said, I've done both and you are definitely more maneuverable without the skeg.

There you go! Thank you for your service!

Keep watching Chris & I'll have you guys going all over the country! The suit I'm wearing is just a NRS Splash Suit, not a dry suit. It's really glorified rain gear with gusseted neck, wrists and ankles to keep water out, but if I went swimming it wouldn't help much.

Thanks! Much appreciated & glad you enjoy the videos! Keep coming back!

George, I honestly don't know what kind of public camping there is, but for us, using the facilities of the outfitter was really convenient.

@@bertsadventures9974 I think they have some primitive campsites, but they charge $36 per night. Thank you.

Yes you can camp anywhere beside the river as long as you're in the flood plain

You can camp anywhere along the James River as long as you are in the floodplain

I appreciate the encouragement! Life is good!

Wow! Jonathan, thank you for this fantastic note. It is genuinely appreciated. I'm so glad my style resonates with you and hope that you enjoy future adventures of mine as well as those you and Eilish will have moving forward. My gear collection continues to expand... wait until you see my new canvas tent!... and I have a variety of adventures planned for the comming months. Keep watching! BTW... I'm a big fan all things UK and have been to your little island many times. A lifelong football supporter and hoping for a Boxing Day trip over the holidays to catch a few matches once this COVID nonsense passes us.

@@bertsadventures9974 Really chuffed to hear from you Bert - we're certainly looking forward to more of your videos as we're running out of new ones to watch! ;-) Really glad to hear you have enjoyed your visits to the UK, it's certainly got a huge amount of rivers, canals and lakes to explore for a compact island and I can imagine you'd have a great time here exploring and paddling! I work for an airline so if you ever fancy shipping the canoe here I can hopefully help! It's good to hear that you have another trip planned here for the football so I hope that you get here without all the covid complications getting in the way. I strongly recommend a trip to Liverpool which is my favourite city here for the football, the culture/architecture, the Beatles museum/history, the wonderful Philharmonic pub, the Cavern - there's just a whole heap of stuff to do and see and from there you're not far from the Lake District or Snowdonia which has a world of spectacular paddling and scenery! Three things have got me super excited about kayaking as a passion: 1. For those of us starting to find some of the sports we used to enjoy are becoming harder due to dodgy ankles or knees from a lifetime of cycling/rugby/mountaineering etc it's a low impact relaxing exercise in the outdoors and a real escape from the stresses and pace of modern life. 2. Unlike cycling/mountaineering it seems pretty effortless to transport all your camping gear on your boat and to camp in relative luxury! 3. The river gives a totally different perspective on areas you thought you knew well, it also opens up secret places you simply cannot reach easily by land. It would be good to keep in touch - I don't want to post my email address here but you can easily contact me via my facebook page for jonathangorse photography. Wishing you many more great adventures!!

@@TheFlyingAudiophile you have sufficiently piqued my curiosity!

@@bertsadventures9974 Bert - I was just wondering what kind of mount you are using on your Sea Eagle for your Go-Pro, would like to do something similar on mine. Thanks in advance for any advice!

@@TheFlyingAudiophile it is just a homemade mount. I have a floating base that I strap to the floor of the kayak. A length of PVC goes through the base and then my camera is mounted to a pole. It's nice because I can rotate the pole or even hold it when necessary. I'll DIY anything before spending money.

Hey Carol! Thanks for the comment. The blue things are called Yak Grips and I got them on Amazon last season. I actually slid them down on this trip because I was wearing gloves, but on a normal day they are great! Yes. I did have the drain holes open until I got through the Class II sections. After that I pulled over an closed them so I could ride in a dry boat and the water was still pretty chilly.

Hey Todd! Thanks for the note and kind words. Much appreciated! I have stood up in my 380X a handful of times without disastrous results, but I don't make it a habit. As a dinghy or tender it would probably be o.k., and would certainly be stable enough. But I would wonder if it is too large? Perhaps the 300X might be a better choice? Same capabilities in a smaller form factor. As far as Sea Eagle is concerned, I agree that the Explorer would be the best kayak for this purpose, but not sure if other boats they offer may be better. Good luck!

@@bertsadventures9974 thanks Bert. I am shopping for 2, my wife and I. The 300 looks like a fun boat too. I will only buy 1 if I move forward on it so it has to have 2 seats.

Thank you, Joshua! Life is good!

Glad to hear it! The twin rivers guys are awesome. Please tell them you saw my video. Have fun!

Thanks! Great trip.

So, obviously you didn't actually watch the video or else you would have seen not one, but two fishing poles on the back of my boat. But that being said, sometimes I float and fish and other times I am on the water just to paddle and don't take a rod with me. But hey, to each his own!

Sea Eagle Explorer 380X