Just another day in paradise — Julie Olson and her Sea Eagle Explorer Kayak on the white sand beaches near St. Petersburg, Florida.

“We live in paradise, and now we can enjoy it even more. Thank you, Sea Eagle!”

Julie Olson and her boyfriend, Larry Allen, live in the St. Petersburg, Florida area and are the proud owners of a brand new Sea Eagle Explorer Kayak. “Today was our maiden voyage in our new Sea Eagle,” Julie tells us. “We cruised around just north of Fort DeSoto Park. Water sports are huge here, and no one here had seen anything like our super cool kayak.”

Tracks “exactly where you point it.”

“Our new kayak is just perfect” Julie says. “Very easy to inflate, launch, and maneuver.  The most notable feature is the stability and the straight-tracking.” Larry adds, “Hard hull kayaks don’t track nearly as well as the Sea Eagle does. The Sea Eagle goes just exactly where you point it and it doesn’t wiggle around side-to-side. It’s a lot more stable. And it’s easier to maneuver, pick up, and move around. It’s light as can be.”

Sea Eagle’s new QuickSail quickly mounts to any Sea Eagle kayak. It puts the wind to work. Fewer paddle strokes, more fun.

QuickSail propels silently, lets you rest

“We used the QuikSail,” says Julie, “which pushes the boat along and allows you to rest.  I am not even tired.” Larry sees the QuickSail as a perfect way to sneak up on fish. “Paddling makes some noise in the water” that can scare fish away. “With the sail, I can go right up to the fish and throw my line in. You make no noise — you’re just floating without making a bit of sound. It works great. And the Explorer Kayak is so stable, I can stand up in it. When I stand up, I can see where the fish are.” The optional QuickSail works with any Sea Eagle boat as well as most other kayak brands, and sets up in under one minute. Watch QuickSail video.

Both Julie and Larry have lots of kayaking experience. “This new Sea Eagle inflatable kayak was a much better experience than a hard plastic kayak,” says Julie. “It just seems easier and much more stable, and it moves along more swiftly. I am so happy we bought this great boat.  We can’t wait to go out again!”

The Sea Eagle Explorer fits neatly in one cargo box behind Julie and Larry’s RV. The other box holds their life jackets and other gear.

RV & Sea Eagle – perfect vacation combination

The couple owns an RV camper and is preparing for an upcoming RV camping vacation in Sebastian, Florida. “We plan on taking our Sea Eagle and our RV camping in two weeks and will launch right from our campsite onto the Indian River. We bought two great storage containers on wheels that fit on the back of the RV.” The boat fits perfectly in one container — the other holds life preservers and other boating gear.

“We bought a little mini-vac that has a vacuum feature and a blower feature,” says Julie. “And we bought an inverter so we could run the mini-vac right off our car battery and inflate and deflate the Sea Eagle right at waterside. We timed it and it took only 1-1/2 minutes! Sure better than trying to lug a heavy plastic monster kayak, or even a canoe.”

“We love boating,” says Larry. “And we love exploring. There are waterways all over in this area, all through the mangroves. A kayak is the best way to explore in there because of its shallow draft, and because the waterways are often quite narrow.”

It’s a big kayak

“We saw the Explorer Kayak in an RV magazine,” says Larry. “We liked the durability and construction, the way the seams are put together. Julie wanted the biggest kayak she could find.” Both Sea Eagle Explorer Kayak models are big: the 380x measures 12’ 6” stem to stern, carries up to 3 adults or 750 lbs. The bigger 420x measures 14’, carries up to three adults or 855 lbs.

“I’ve owned 10 boats including several kayaks,” says Larry. “This Sea Eagle is better than the others, better than I ever thought it could be. Even from a price point of view, it costs less than hard hull kayaks. A cheap hard hull I had cost $950. If you’re thinking of getting one, definitely do it. It’s better in every way. You can store it anyplace, even in an apartment. With its stability, ease of use, easy storage, it’s by far better than any hard hull kayak.”

— Do YOU have Sea Eagle stories and photos to share? Please email us today. Our blog visitors want to see!

Professional photographer, Richard Auger, uses his camera and his Sea Eagle 370 as he explores and documents the little-known and seldom-seen Florida wilderness -- the natural Florida that's still undeveloped.

Ask a friend, “What’s Florida like?” and they’ll say something like this: “Florida’s got wonderful sandy beaches; luxury hotels; tons of shopping malls; golf courses; sunshine; orange groves; great weather; Disneyworld, of course…and the Everglades.”

They’d be correct…but only partly so. They’d be describing the costal Florida, the  tourist Florida, the commercially developed Florida — the popular, modern, manmade Florida within a few miles of its 1,200 statute mile coastline — the attractions that make Florida the #1 travel destination in the world and draw 1,000 new residents each day!

Exploring the vanishing Florida

Richard explored deep into waterways in the Silver Springs area, discovering and recording a seldom-seen Florida.

The common conception of Florida skips right over the native, natural, original Florida with its more than 11,000 miles of waterways, rivers, and streams…its savannas and salt marshes…its groves of longleaf pine, saw palmetto, mangroves…its crocodiles, sea turtles, manatee, bald eagles…and many more rarities that make up a wild and little known Florida.

That’s the secret side of Florida that award winning photographer, Richard Auger, captures in  his remarkable photographs…with help from his Sea Eagle 370.

Boating deep into Florida’s native wilds

“I started as a landscape photographer,” Richard tells us. “I’m currently working on a photo documentary of Florida’s water ecosystems, titled ‘Florida 67.’ I’m creating one of the last records of the original Florida.” His series explores and documents the “wild Florida, the Florida off the beaten path,” says Richard. “This is Florida as it was before parking lots and malls.”

Where is the wild Florida? It’s miles away from civilization and the best way to get there is by kayak. “Even when you go to State Parks,” says Richard, “You may have to kayak several miles to see Florida in its pristine form.”

On a mission

Though he’s a professional photographer on a mission by boat, Richard chose Sea Eagle for the same reasons many recreational boaters do. “I needed a boat that was easily portable. The performance is great. It’s light, easy to turn, great on narrow rivers. I can dodge branches and obstacles easily. I’ve traveled many miles on many of Florida’s rivers in my Sea Eagle 370 and I love it,” he says.

Like other Sea Eagle boaters, Richard goes places where the only boat available is the one you bring with you. “I go to remote places where you can’t rent a kayak within 25 miles,” he says. “I’m on the road a lot and carrying a big, hard hull kayak with me isn’t practical — I’m already bringing a lot of stuff with me.”

Richard prefers to work in black and white. "Color can distract the viewer; black and white equalizes all the features in the photograph," he says.

“I got Interested in inflatables and looked at Sea Eagle’s website on the internet. Sea Eagle looked the nicest. No crazy colors, good reviews. I realized I could keep it in my pickup truck, always there for spontaneous adventure or anytime I want to pull off the road. Since I bought my Sea Eagle, I have gone on lot more rivers.”

Richard chose the 370 with deluxe seats. “I thought about the Sea Eagle FastTrack , a large, sleek, fast, light, more rigid inflatable kayak but I ended up with the larger of the lowest priced Sea Eagles.” His 370, at 12’ 6”, is almost a foot and a half longer than the smallest Sea Eagle, the Sea Eagle 330. The 330 is rated for two passengers; the 370 for three. “I can inflate it in just 10 minutes. As I’m setting it up or taking it down, I see other boaters with hard kayaks rigging their hard hull kayaks on roof racks — it takes them 25 minutes.”

Richard’s cargo includes  thousands of dollars worth of photo equipment so boating stability is critical. He keeps his camera in a waterproof case, and says, “The boat’s stability is excellent. I’m constantly getting in and out. Other kayaks turn over easily but Sea Eagle is solid in the water.”

“When I’m on the river, people as me two questions. First, ‘What are you doing?’ And second, ‘What kind of boat is that?’” Most people don’t know you can buy a pro-grade kayak affordably. I recommend it because it’s the easiest, most portable, most maneuverable boat I’ve found. Everything about it has been good.”

For a striking view of Florida as it was, visit Richard’s website or check out his booth at one of the many Florida weekend art festivals where he shows and sells his photos. Or, if you want to see “wild Florida” with your own eyes, kayak deep into Florida’s remote backwater water system. You might just run into Richard and his Sea Eagle.

Richard Auger is a full-time fine-art photographer and workshop educator with a Masters Degree from Florida State University. Richard documents Florida’s woodlands in a traditional black and white photo processes. His most recent work in black and white is titled ‘Florida Noir Series’.

Do YOU have Sea Eagle boating photos and stories to share? E-mail (link here) us. Our blog readers want to know!