The Kayak Experience: A Paddling You’ll Enjoy
By Bruce Collier July 29, 2004 Issue

The Kayak Experience sits on the harbor in Destin, so buyers can paddle their acquisitions right off the lot and into the water. Owner Marlice Brown has been in this business since 1997, and in boats practically before she could walk. A native of New England, Brown grew up in and around watercraft in Connecticut and Boston. She sailed, raced, and earned her captain’s license in charter and courier boats. Coming to this area in 1983, she operated a marine bookstore, which was located near her current business. Her interest in kayaking began in the early 1990s, while teaching a course in water safety for triathletes. “I was sort of dared into getting into a kayak,” she says. “It was easier than a rowing skiff.”

The Kayak Experience showroom is crowded with kayaks, ranging in length from 9 feet to 18 feet. Most have space for one paddler, but a few have two (“we call them ‘divorce boats,’” says Brown). The boats are variously constructed from molded plastic, fiberglass, and “Carbonlite 2000.” The molded plastic craft are most common, and least expensive. Carbonlite 2000 is mid-weight and mid-priced. Fiberglass is lighter and more costly. Boats constructed from Kevlar, the material used for protective military and police gear, are the lightest and most expensive. “The slicker the surface, the faster the kayak,” says Brown. Speed can be a consideration, but kayaking is more about relaxation and recreation than competition.

Originally—and currently—used by Alaskan Indians for transport and fishing, kayaks have become a popular means of getting out onto the water to sightsee or fish without the hassles and expense of sail or power boats. Kayakers travel on freshwater rivers, lakes, and bayous as well as in the harbor and in the Gulf. The boats are easy to transport, and can be operated by children as young as eight years old.

A number of kayaking clubs operate in and around the area, including the Emerald Coast Paddlers in Fort Walton Beach, the West Florida Canoe Club, and groups in Panama City and Tallahassee. The median age is 50 years old, but 80-year-old kayakers are not unusual. Brown is a member of Emerald Coast Paddlers, which meets in Fort Walton on the second Thursday of each month to socialize and plan its next trip, usually made the following Sunday. Popular spots for paddling are Boiling Creek, Shoal River, Turkey Creek, Holmes Creek, and the Choctawhatchee River. “We tend to stick to the creeks in summer,” says Brown. “The water is cooler.”

A young man enters the store, and is greeted by Brown and her “number one employee,” Julie O’Donnell. He also meets Chaco, the store cat. Named for a popular brand of kayak footwear, Chaco greets customers and patrols among the boats for lizards. The young man is Josh Bart, a visitor from Plano, Texas who is looking to buy a kayak. Bart and O’Donnell exit the store, heading down to the harbor to test-paddle several models.

“We do rent,” says Brown, “but mostly we sell the boats, along with paddles and safety equipment.” Required gear includes a life jacket, whistle, and flashlight for night paddling. The Kayak Experience also sells roof racks, charts, maps, cruising guides and government publications for boat captains. Customers can rent a kayak for two hours for $30, or four hours for $40. If you want to purchase, the boats start at around $400, and go up to $2800. Specially constructed boats can be higher. “We also service the boats,” says Brown, “but they don’t need much service.”

The clientele are mostly locals, but word of mouth has brought in customers from Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and, of course, Texas. At waterside, Josh Bart is trying out a kayak. He steps carefully into the boat, listening to O’Donnell’s instructions as he paddles a few feet out into the harbor. He turns the boat around and returns to the shore. “We launch rentals right out here,” says Brown, “and they stay in the harbor and bay. Some people like to go out into the Gulf, out of sight of land. Probably more than ought to.”

Brown and her two employees operate the store six days a week. She vacations “once in a while,” usually to go paddling. On the first Saturday of the month, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Kayak Experience hosts free demonstrations in the harbor. Visitors can get information and learn the basics of kayaking, while observing or trying out various kinds of boats. “Sometimes the people stay past closing,” says Brown. “That’s the best part of the job, the people. And I’m not cooped up in an office.”

If you want to un-coop yourself and get the paddling you deserve, the Kayak Experience is located at 600 Highway 98 East, in Destin. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The next scheduled demo day is Saturday, Aug. 7. Call 837-1577 for more information.

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