St Tropez is one of the best known towns on the French Riviera, situated between Marseilles and Cannes. Made famous initially by Brigitte Bardot, St Tropez continues to be a favourite destination with the rich and glamorous, know the world over for its beaches, celebrities and ‘beautiful people’.

So if you are heading to the Riviera this summer, what are the best places to visit in and around St Tropez (apart from star gazing)?

The main attraction of St Tropez is – of course – those famous french riviera beaches. Head a few kilometres southeast of the town and you’ll find sandy beaches like Plage de Tahiti and Plage de Pampelonne. There are plenty of beaches around here that are ‘bikini optional’, like La Mouette.

If you need a change from french riviera beaches, pay a visit to the Musée de l’Annonciade, a local museum boasting an excellent collection of modern art by the post-Impressionist masters. Many of the pictures are of the port of St Tropez including a famous work by Paul Signac, as well as Van Dongen’s ‘Women of the Balustrade’, along with many other paintings and sculptures by Matisse, Dufy, Utrillo and Derain.

Cycling is also a great way to explore the area, along with horse riding. The nearby mountains are the perfect place for hang gliding, paragliding and climbing. Canyoning is popular here too, and can involve walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping and even abseiling in the local gorges. The rivers have some great fishing spots; during the winter months skiing is even popular! There are two local ski stations at Greolieres-les-Neiges and at Andon-Thorenc.

Shopping is legendary in this fashion-conscious city. Although there are plenty of fashion boutiques, Choses is considered the best in St Tropez. With a great range of fashion garments, it specializes in clingy T-shirt dresses which are worn all along the Riviera. Galeries Tropeziennes has hundreds of gift items to browse in its extensive shop near Place de Lices. If antiques are your thrill then don’t miss Jacqueline Thienot on Rue Clemenceau. You can find anything from antique wrought iron to farm implements.

After dark things really wake up in St Tropez. There are several hot spots where the yachting crowds hang out and the Café de Paris is one of the best known. Chez Maggi is a popular *** and ******* bar while Les Caves du Roy in the Hotel Bibes is a raving nightclub. Entrance is free but drink prices tend to have a zero added to regular drink prices elsewhere, but who knows which millionaire you will be rubbing shoulders with at the bar!
About the Author:

North Carolina, where I currently reside, is a paradise for water lovers. People flock here from all over the United States, as well as from other countries, to enjoy the abundance of boating and fishing opportunities offered by the state’s Outer Banks, barrier islands, sounds, marshes and rivers, as well as the waves and surf of the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

Paddling sports are especially popular in the state, and growing more so. Pam Malec has addressed the need for a good pointer to the area’s best coastal paddling spots with her indispensable book, Guide to Sea Kayaking in North Carolina; The Best Day Trips and Tours from Currituck to Cape Fear.

Malec outlines 35 kayaking routes, each with detailed directions and maps along with estimated round-trip times and difficulty ratings. She also provides tips on nearby sights, places to eat, and so on. This information is accompanied by evocative black-and-white photographs of lighthouses, town waterfronts, bridges, wild ponies and windswept dunes.

As I live in the central part of North Carolina (known as the Piedmont), I do most of my paddling at a nearby lake. The first time I went to the coast after buying this book, I leapt at the opportunity to put my kayak into the salt water and to follow one of Malec’s suggested tours – which happened to be the trip from the mainland to Bear Island and Hammocks Beach State Park. The route was exactly as she described (right down to her warning about how changeable the tidal current is in that area!). I’m looking forward now to going back and trying some of her other suggested routes.

Pam Malec had been kayaking for more than 25 years at the time this book was first published. She is considered one of the leading authorities nationally on surf kayaking, and she wrote the curriculum for one of the top recognized surf kayaking instruction courses.

Guide to Sea Kayaking in North Carolina is published by The Globe Pequot Press of Guilford, Connecticut; ISBN # 0-7627-0817-4.
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For those looking for an inflatable kayak that can seat two people comfortably, the RST Marine Pathfinder II 2-Person Inflatable Performance Kayak is worthy of consideration.

Construction

The kayak itself seems to be pretty sturdy when fully inflated.  It is made from reinforced Denier polyester (but shouldn’t every inflatable kayak be reinforced?) and should do a good job of resisting the cuts and abrasions that are inevitably going to happen to any inflatable device, especially if used on rivers and streams.

The manufacturer says this kayak can handle up to Class III rapids, but we would suggest testing it out on lesser water, such as slow moving rivers and streams before trying it on rapids. The kayak contains two main air chambers, along with an I-beam inflatable floor with a drain plug.  This kayak comes equipped with a pump so getting it in the water should only take a few minutes. The two fabric seats are removable, and the two foot rests are even adjustable. As with most of these types of crafts, there is a storage pouch. Actually, there seems to be enough room for extra gear if you have it.

Handling

This kayak features two directional “fins” on the bottom for improved handling. The sides of the craft have carrying handles as well.  When inflated to the proper air pressure, this kayak stays firm in the water and seems to move quite well.  It does not include an air pressure gauge, so be sure to have one handy. This inflatable craft should be able to handle a total of 375 pounds of “cargo”.  Push that, however, and you could find that this kayak will lose much of its handling ability. It is a fun kayak, especially for younger riders who are short in stature.

Transporting

The kayak, out of the box, weighs in at about 36 pounds.  It does come with a carrying case, so transporting it immediately comfortably should not be an issue.  Many inflatable kayaks do not come with carrying cases, so that is a plus in this case.

Documentation

Assembly should not be a problem for people of average intelligence, but you can tell that the instructions were written by a Chinese person that had little grasp of the English language.  (One would think that the manufacturer would at least find someone to write the instructions who is from the U.S.)

Accessories

Along with a carrying case, this kayak does come equipped with a pump and paddles, but the quality of these accessories are not A+ for sure. You may be better off getting a pump that has more power, and more sturdy paddles as well.

Price

The Pathfinder II 2-Person Inflatable Performance Kayak is not the cheapest, nor the most expensive inflatable kayak available.  It is middle of the road in price.  Plan on spending around $300 or so.

The fact that it comes with a pump, carrying case, and paddles is worth something however. Shop around at places like Amazon or even eBay. You may be able to find a better model at, or even lower, than this particular Pathfinder kayak model.
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Gerald Fusil is a man who always puts his ideas into action and others follow. The founder of the Raid Gauloises, The world’s first true expedition race is always on the lookout to expand the sport. The cost of competing in adventure racing has reached a level that few teams can now afford. Organisers and adventure racers are faced with high travel and insurance costs. One way to attract racers is to offer large sums in prize money, and top teams can make a living, but what about the average racer.

Last Year, During the annual Reunion D’Aventures race, Gerard Fusil added a bike and run discipline which required the four person team to share two mountain bikes during a couple of legs of the race. The trial was a success as teams were forced to think of tactics to complete the legs in the fastest possible way. Some teams doubled up on the downhill sections, others stayed, whilst the more successful set up a relay system with the rider going a set distance before leaving the bike at the edge of the track for their team mate, who would get on and then leapfrog them.

Gerard Fusil saw an opportunity to return once again to the basis of Expedition Adventure Racing. Providing teams the chance to explore a country, interface with the local population and race in exotic locations with out the need to transport large amounts of gear. Gerard Fusil announced his ideas at the Reunion D’Aventures prize giving and the world waited with bated breadth.

September 2005 saw Gerard Fusil Launch the Bike and Run Concept to the World with the Oman Adventure. Details were brief, two person teams to share one bike with only one person to be on the bike at one time. The race would be run in a number of stages including a night stage and teams had to be prepared to camp in the wild. Time was short so Gerard Fusil used the course notes from the 1992 Raid Gauloises for parts of the course.

Gerald Fusil made one other departure from the norm by pre-announcing the lengths of each stay and the names of the overnight camps. The race was to take place on the East Coast of Oman, however some of the place names were only known to the locals.

December 2005. A barmy evening camped by the sea saw Gerard Fusil briefing the gathered teams from France, Oman, UK, Réunion, Austria, Holland and Australia. Most teams had arrived in the morning so had little time to prepare. Support vehicles were shared by two teams, so competitors spent the night poring over maps and packing gear into the vehicles by torchlight.

The following day at dawn a convoy of vehicles transported the team to the start line in a nearby Wadi. The first day included a section of running only along goat tracks and this proved to be decisive as the Australian and one local Omani team got lost allowing a French team to build an unassailable lead.

Later in the week Gerard Fusil had mapped out the course with a 17k twisting climb from the sea to 1500 metres and also a section of canyoning with a number of swims.

Gerard Fusil had arranged camping or bivouacs in a number of scenic areas, with the stages starting in the early morning most teams would finish around mid-day or early afternoon.

The terrain in Oman is varied from lush oasis to harsh rocky hillsides and of course seas of sandiness where the teams finished the race. Gerard Fusil held the prize giving in Muscat the winners being a husband and wife team Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen from France. Second place went to the Australians and a Local Omani team came in third.

Teams came from many different backgrounds, Adventure racers, tri-athletes, marathon runners, mountain bikers; the final count saw adventure racers however leading the way.

Virtually all teams adopted the general tactic of leap frogging, however there were at least a couple of incidents when teams missed the bike, including one on the long climb for an all female team which required an extra 4k to be covered to collect the bike!

The Inaugural race proved to be a success and now Gerald Fusil has announced the second race of the series which will return to a different area of Oman at the end of November 2006. email me to request more information
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Can i get a raft of samples of the same for a large church (2000 members) which would like to have workable dynamic systems?
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To most outsiders New Jersey is best known for its busy highways, less than scenic views from the turnpike, and as the home of HBO’s hit series the Sopranos. However, those of us who live and kayak fish in the Garden state know better. The truth is that New Jersey offers a wide variety of both fresh and salt water fishing opportunities for kayak anglers.

Have Kayak, will Travel

The good news is that if you plan on kayak fishing in NJ you will not have to travel very far. In fact, you can drive from the top of NJ to the bottom in less than 3 hours making day trips very easy to plan. There are also many campsites, bed & breakfasts, and hotels throughout the state if you want to get away for the weekend or longer.

Northern Region

The northern part of the NJ is dotted with fresh water lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams that hold many popular fresh water game-fish and pan fish including: large mouth bass, small mouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, pickerel, walleye, hybrid bass, rainbow trout, brown trout, Lake Trout, salmon, common carp, grass carp,channel catfish, bullhead catfish, yellow perch, white perch,white crappie, black crappie, blue gills, sunfish, rock bass, and more. All of these fish species are available within a 1 hour drive of New York City and Newark Airport. If your are not sure what bodies of water are open to the public you can visit the NJ Fish and Game website. There you will find a list of places to fish, the state fishing regulations, licensing information, and a wealth of resources about NJ’s fisheries.

Although the northern section of NJ is not well known for its saltwater fishery there is one notable exception. The NJ Meadowlands offers relatively easy access to a salt water marsh system that holds a good number of fish species including: striped bass, blue fish, weakfish, winter & summer flounder, and many more. The Meadowlands is also a kayak friendly system complete with launch ramps, good parking facilities, and a River Keeper who is dedicated to protecting this fragile ecosystem from pollution and development. The River Keeper Center also offers guided kayak tours of the ecosystem for a reasonable fee.

Central & Southern Regions

The Central and Southern sections of NJ are also very rich with freshwater fishing opportunities which include most of the species available up north. However, the biggest draw to the central and southern portions of the state is the access to the salt water bays, beaches, and the open ocean. New Jersey has over 100 miles of beach front, many inlets, and an extensive intracoastal systems of bays, estuaries, salt marshes, and tidal rivers. The top saltwater game-fish in this region include: striped bass, blue fish, weakfish, winter & summer flounder, black fish, sea bass, false albecore, mackerel, porgies, cod, northern kingfish, hickory shad, many species of sharks, and the occasional red or black drum. For those willing to venture out a little farther tuna can also be targeted in season. All of the salt water fishing regulations can be found on the NJ Fish and Game website. NJ does not require a salt water fishing license at this time, but that may change in the near future.

Launching

New Jersey is a highly populated state with lots of private property and no trespassing signs, but there is still plenty of public access for kayak anglers to launch safely without breaking any laws. Always be sure to do your homework before launching to avoid unnecessary parking tickets or fines. Launch locations and public access points for NJ can be found online with a little effort. The NJ Fish and Game web site is great place to start. There are also online paddling resources that offer this type of information as well including the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association, the Hackensack River Keeper Website, and Kayak Fishing Stuff. Great care should be taken when launching a kayak through the surf zone into the open ocean. If you have never surf launched a kayak before you need to practice in the warm summer months with no additional gear. Once you have become proficient at surf launching you should find a friendly group of kayak anglers to join out on the open water. When kayak fishing in the ocean there is definitely safety in numbers. Note: You can find home videos of kayak surf launches online and will learn much from others mistakes.

Safety

Kayak anglers are required to carry a Personal Flotation Device (PFD), a whistle or sound making device (air-horn), and a signaling mirror. PFDs MUSt be worn by kayakers 14 and under, adults need only have it withing reach, but why take chances with your safety. A PFD will only save your life if you are wearing it. Coastal kayak anglers should also carry a VHF Marine Band Radio, a compass, GPS, and possibly a satellite locating device. It is also a very good idea for all kayakers to leave a float plan with a friend or family member. A responsible kayak angler should take every precaution to avoid becoming a statistic! When kayak fishing during the cold water periods of Spring, late fall, and winter it is very important to be wearing protective clothing in the event that you fall off of your kayak and into the water. Dry suits are the best option. Wetsuits will suffice, but will not be as comfortable as a good dry suit.

In Conclusion

New Jersey is without a doubt one of the best kayak fishing destinations in the Northeast. Kayak anglers can fish from early spring until late fall for both fresh and salt water species all within a relatively short distance of home. If you live and fish in New Jersey and do not fish from a kayak – get one! It will greatly increase your fishing opportunities, get you closer to the action, and because kayaking is a green activity you will be doing your part to make the world around you a better place.
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