With more than 1,000 miles of rocky and sandy coastline, Massachusetts is the place for sea kayaking. From your craft, well-known places get a much more dramatic— and attractive—aspect, and new wonders become accessible to you, including small, uncrowded beaches you never knew of, or those rocky islands you always dreamed of exploring.

Learning to paddle is easy, and is best accomplished in situation, on the water, with solid instructors and a group of people with the same skills and level. Charles River Canoe and Kayak offers several Introductory Days, during which you will learn the basics of paddling while exploring some of the nicest sections of the coast around Boston.

These trips originate in Charles River's main location in Newton. From there, you and your gear will be transported to your departure point on the water. Just take some basic gear (see list).

The trips planned for the summer of 2003 include:

Sun. July 6: Cohasset Harbor
Sat. July 19: Marblehead Harbor
Sun. July 27: Cohasset Harbor
Sun. Aug. 3: Hingham Harbor
Sat. Aug. 23: Marblehead Harbor
Sun. Aug. 24: Cohasset Harbor
Sun. Aug. 31: Cohasset Harbor
Sun. Sept. 7: Manchester Harbor
Sat. Sept. 27: Hingham Harbor

All of these trips are for people with no previous kayak experience.

To reserve a spot on the next trip, call Charles River Canoe and Kayak at 617-965-5110. For your information, they also sell kayaks—You may want to buy one as soon as you're back!