Why I wrote this book…...and prepared a pdf update.
I wrote this book for both experienced and new paddlers in the Charleton area to encourage them to broaden their horizons and explore the many different places one can paddle in the Lowcountry. I wanted this book to be a primary source to help paddlers plan new areas to paddle in.
I wrote the first edition of this guidebook in 2004, before mapping apps and online tide tables. In 2004 there was no good guide to finding public boat landings, working with the tides, and planning trips in the Charleston area. Things have changed dramatically since the initial edition. The current edition, the 5th edition, published in 2018 includes gps addresses so phone mapping apps can find the landings as well as the written directions for the landings. Each new addition included additional paddle trips.
In late 2024, I realized that technological changes required an update, and I decided to provide a free pdf update to use in conjunction with the 5th edition.
In this free pdf update, one has the information to
Put a boat landing name into google maps to find the landing’s location, get directions, and know driving time to the landing.
Make use of the online tide tables to obtain a tidal station close to the paddle area.
Plan more accurately than before.
The pdf file includes:
Several new “Out and Back” trips, developed during the pandemic when shuttles were not advisable. The trips that take about an hour to paddle to a takeout place, and then an hour back ...using the changing tide to help plan.
Several new trips that avoid a shuttle but are longer than the “Out and Back “ trips in the first section.
A more detailed explanation of tides than in the 5th edition, including how to interpolate between tidal stations.
Information on rainy weather and its effect on water quality and outgoing current on rivers and creeks.