Is there a full moon? Then it's time to hit the kayaks! By Judy Green -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, August 18, 2005
Lapping water and dipping paddles may be the only sounds kayakers hear if they take a full-moon tour this weekend on a lake or along the coast. Away from city lights, they can expect to see the bright lights of Venus, Jupiter, Scorpio and Sagittarius - even by the light of the moon.
Paddlers of all abilities can enjoy nature's monthly bright light on Lake Tahoe through a tour planned by Kevin Hickey of Tahoe Adventure Co. in Tahoe City. The cost is $60 per person.
Company owner Hickey said first-timers often are amazed at how easy the sit-on-top boats are to maneuver after a short lesson. "Ninety-nine percent of people fear it's too hard, and most are surprised and wonder afterward what they were worried about."
Tahoe participants will meet on the beach for outfitting and a short paddling lesson before slipping a single or double kayak into the water and following the guide to make basic turns. Depending on the group, Hickey will guide participants out about a half-mile or farther, paddling a total of about two miles.
"We start out at just before sunset," Hickey said from Truckee. He expects the air will be cool and the sand warm from the day. The water will be calm and quiet as the wind dies down and other boats button up for the night. Kayakers can anticipate watching the sunset's colors glowing and changing as the sky fades to dark.
Although visibility will be fair in the moonlight, Hickey attaches green glow sticks to the bow and stern of guests' boats, and red ones on the guide boats and paddles, for safety.
After about two hours on the water, paddlers go back to shore and warm up with hot drinks and snacks.
Visitors Love To Adventure With Us
"Did the Sunset Tour and it was great, the weather was in our favor. The tour guides were friendly, it's not rushed and they don't bombard you with non stop information, just enough to keep you interesting and for you to enjoy." -AVP.
I took my daughter and her children for a kayaking experience on July 4th and signed up 2 single kayaks and a paddle board with Mark who was in charge on July 4, 2009. Mark gave excellent instruction to my grandchildren and to my daughter and everyone had the time of their lives. Although we ran over our hour by a few minutes, Mark kindly charged us only for the first hour. This was at a time when some people would have milked the customer for every last dime because it was one of the busiest days of the year. As a result of his kindness, we purchased two shirts. My daughter's size was apparently unavailable but Kevin showed up, did some more searching and came up with a perfect shirt with a perfect fit. All of this is to say that anyone looking for superior customer service will find it with the kind and competent people at Tahoe Adventure Company. We will definitely be repeat customers in the future. -R. Garland
I do wish to thank you for the GREAT time we had with your instructors up at Tahoe, we all had a blast. The Teambuilding events we all competed in were very fun and creative. The evolution game was a great way to loosen us up. And you were right, all those "blind" games were fun. Everything worked like clockwork and after each event there were great applications which Kevin mentioned we could use around the work place. In the future if we ever need to do more teambuilding in Tahoe we will consider using TAC again it was a great experience. -Josh, TCS Healthcare Technologies
"Great people and location. Priced so you can enjoy the lake and not break the budget. Afterwards, the beach is a great spot to chill and enjoy what nature has to offer." -Jeff B.
-- Jeff B.
"Brian was an excellent guide for our recent sunset kayak tour! He was funny, kept a great pace, and provided lots of interesting info about the area and lake. We highly recommend!" -Christy J.
-- Christy J.
"Sophia was our guide and we absolutely loved the experience! She was kind, knowledgeable, friendly and obviously skilled with a kayak. She also snapped this great photo of our group." -Ashley B.