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

[@robertcochran8876]

Bert, thanks for sharing this video and also thanks for sharing about your 2 year Anniversary of sobriety. Congratulations on such an important life choice. God bless you brother! Rob.

[@bertsadventures9974]

Thank you, Robert! One day at a time!

[@ativanob14]

Happy bertday! Thank you for your service and congrats on your sobriety. Awesome views too!

[@bertsadventures9974]

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

[@ManCaveMinistries007]

Happy Bert Day, great job keeping with it for 2 years. You got this Bert. Alpha Male!

[@bertsadventures9974]

I appreciate the encouragement! Life is good!

[@frowjah]

Yo congrats on the accomplishment, looks like a lot of fun

[@bertsadventures9974]

Thanks! Great trip.

[@TheFlyingAudiophile]

Bert, I just wanted to say that your channel and videos are just fantastic!!! We're in England and have taken to treating ourselves to watching one or two of your videos each evening with a glass or two of wine and you are such a compelling, engaging and interesting presenter and travel companion that my wife is convinced you must have had a career in television before! Most of the other kayak youtubers don't have anything like your gift for talking to the camera so naturally and describing what you are seeing and experiencing and we really feel like we are coming along on each of your little adventures! I kayaked a little in small plastic kayaks at school and she did the same thing at university around 30+ years ago but haven't done anything like that since. We have always enjoyed camping and mountain biking and after she recently dabbled with paddleboarding (which just didn't interest me) we have decided to purchase a Sea Eagle 465 FastTrack to explore the waterways of England and hopefully try some wild camping. Our boat has just this minute arrived and there's a load more gear like PFD's, splash trousers and jackets coming today and tomorrow so I'm looking forward to putting it together this afternoon. We're hoping to launch in the Wey & Arun canal on Friday or Saturday depending on weather (it was supposed to be Friday but there's a possible storm). Anyway I just wanted to say I would be really interested to see you do a video on the things you have learned in your year of kayaking and in particular how you chose your gear/equipment/clothing etc. We're keen to learn as much as we can as we follow a similar journey! We're both in our 50's now and have gone part time at work which hopefully will mean a lot more time for hobbies like this. Happy paddling! Jonathan & Eilish

[@bertsadventures9974]

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.

[@TheFlyingAudiophile]

@@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!!

[@bertsadventures9974]

@@TheFlyingAudiophile you have sufficiently piqued my curiosity!

[@TheFlyingAudiophile]

@@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!

[@bertsadventures9974]

@@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.

[@Regs1823]

Both uncles in one video!!! I can’t believe I missed this

[@cabledaug37]

Happy Belated Bert Day! Awesome outlook!! Awesome videos

[@bertsadventures9974]

Thank you, Joshua! Life is good!

[@christracewell1172]

Thanks for offering up another great find for us to check out someday. Once you get those sponsorship deals 😉, can you provide some info on your dry suit/gear for cold water?

[@bertsadventures9974]

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.

[@aubreybryant5792]

April 23rd is also the day I joined the Army in 2007!

[@bertsadventures9974]

There you go! Thank you for your service!

[@Regs1823]

I think Uncle J is an expert paddler. Can we see more Bert John and Seth content

[@davidporter5664]

I'm doing this trip in June. We're just doing the one night glamping.

[@bertsadventures9974]

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

[@georgemilinkovic4120]

Do you have to use their campsites? Can you just wild camp? Beautiful river.

[@bertsadventures9974]

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.

[@georgemilinkovic4120]

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

[@kevintod6075]

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

[@kevintod6075]

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

[@toddg2299]

Bert, I have been enjoying your videos particular the review of the 380X. Congratulations on your birthday two years is an accomplishment lots of respect. Now that you’ve had that boat for a while I was wondering if you think it would serve as a tender or dinghy for a small sailboat. I have been looking for something to play around on the water but also that I can take with me on my sailboat. Do you think it’s stable enough to stand up in if you were to pull it a stern a larger boat and on board or off board without capsizing?

[@bertsadventures9974]

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!

[@toddg2299]

@@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.

[@caroltaxman1343]

Great trip. Glad you were able to celebrate your accomplishments on the water. Question - were did you get the blue things wrapped around your paddle and what wre they called, and did you open the drain valves in the kayak during this trip?

[@bertsadventures9974]

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.

[@chicagohh]

Hi Bert - are you using a skeg down the rapids? Enjoy your videos

[@bertsadventures9974]

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.

[@tbreez7]

What camera supplies do you use for your videos? The quality is always great!! I ended up getting the 380 instead of the 420 with the motor Friday and put a coworker kayaking trip together for this weekend down the Chestatee river, I’m thinking about filming it. I have to check out this river when I visit the Williamsburg va area in a few months. Can’t wait to see your next adventure!!

[@bertsadventures9974]

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!!!

[@stacysmith5760]

Bert, what kayak you using?

[@bertsadventures9974]

Sea Eagle Explorer 380X

[@kevintod6075]

Why don't you have a fishing pole are you all a bunch of City slickers or what

[@bertsadventures9974]

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!