Everglades - Winter 1999-2000

Week long trip w/ NOLS Alumni in the outer mangrove islands of Everglades Nat'l Park flanking the Gulf of Mexico. Had been sea kayaking for several years prior but had yet to go kayak camping so was looking forward to using all the storage space in kayaks for some camping.  Launched from Everglades City and spent 7 days paddling about with frequent racoon encounters in the p.m. Perfected the subtle art of installing the dead-man tarp stake-down. Came to realize that the Boreal Designs "Beluga" Double-kayak can probably hold enough gear for an expedition of several years duration! Truly a massive boat. Revisited the area in 2006 for some solo paddling. Great spot. Maps essential in the mangrove maze.  Surprisingly few birds - think I see more nesting egrets in NY than we saw on this trip. We did get to see a loggerhead turtle pop his head up and also a manatee make a massive and suprising "sounding" right under one of our kayaks (it was either a manatee or a submarine).

Kayaking and Coastal Ecology

Here's a link to an article I wrote for Atlantic Kayak Tours - a BCU kayaking center running trips and instructional programs in the NYC Metro area.

Article includes some information and photos of local plants and animals you're likely to see from your cockpit and discusses tips for responsible enjoyment of coastal habitats.

LINK:
http://enviroyak.googlepages.com/KayakingandCoastalEcology12.06.pdf

5 Star Sea Training - SKUK Symposium, May 2007 - Curious Cows

Big winds, a bit of rain, and coldish temps - what better time to visit Wales for a bit of Five Star Training and schmoozing with sea kayaking types from around the world. (Including two guys from Iceland who I thought would burn a hole in their drysuits with continuous cigarette smoking at every boat loading or lunch break opportunity - perhaps reason for a nicotine patch made especially for kayakers.) 

Am definitely inspired to return for a second go at the tide races all around. Crossing to Skerries w/ Nigel Dennis a high point. (Photo of curious cows just prior to disembarking on that paddle.) Airline "misplacing" all my luggage for four days including all gear a low point. SKUK's Phil Clegg came to the rescue with loner gear, although he's not quite as big as me so I was a bit squeezed until my own drysuit arrived.

Block Island Crossing - May, 2005


 


GPS Track of our crossing

 

Jack rounding Sandy Point

Left photo shows our actual track to Block Island in GPS - a little swaying with the ebb/flood current but not bad. Lower photo of Jack during a relaxing paddle around the north end of Block Island the day after a more strenuous crossing from Point Judith (mainland). Took public ferry back in thick fog - same route as paddle over so a clear warning to check the forecast to avoid becoming a "speed bump" for the ferry.

What a great paddle and one I'd like to try again some day. Off-season (mid-May) was the perfect time to hit Block Island. Inns just opening in the Spring and cheap - stayed at the one shown, Narrgansett Inn, nearly empty except for us. Restaurants are open for business but no crowds. (AKT Paddlers - Jack, Bob, Tony, Chuck and Jim - 5/2005)





Paddle-up kayak parking at the Narragansett Inn



Rounding the NE side of Block Island on way to Ferry Day 2



Rhode Island 2006

Slippery footing at Whale Rock. Such landings on barnacle-encrusted rocks illustrate why I haven't taken the time to fix scratches in my gel coat in recent years - what's the point. (Sid and John on rock, fellow staff on AKT 4 Star Training)

Blue Hill Falls, Maine 2007

FLA 2006 - Apalachicola to Key West - A LONG Drive

Drove from NY to Key West in February of 2006 - paddled along the way.  Highlights were Apalachicola River, St. Vincent Island, Everglades 10,000 Island and the Keys.  Pintail offered a little less freeboard than I would have liked on the Apalachicola with alligators diving into the water (and under my boat) at every turn of a narrow tributary.

Put-in on Apalachicola

Pintail and Mangroves

Tarpon and Pelican



Canal on Keys carved through Limestone/Coral




Photo of canal (bottom left) carved in the fossil coral joining Largo and Blackwater Sounds. Up close you can see the remnants of brain coral and coral fan shapes in the retaining wall. Ah yes, almost run over by a motor boat in the mangroves minutes prior to this.

Biggest take-home message from this trip to the Keys was the density of development on such a narrow strip of land. Some beautiful places to paddle still, yet much of the Keys suffer from the strip-mall syndrome of stoplights, multiple curb cuts, and lack of open space. Sewage and untreated stormwater runoff rapidly destroying the only coral reef ecosystem in the continental U.S. Had a snorkel at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park - it's still alive but by all accounts doing poorly. Big barracuda I saw didn't seem to mind, but there was certainly evidence of coral bleaching all around.

Interesting Factoids - 1. The Florida Keys receives the bulk of its drinking water via a 130-mile long pipeline from the mainland. 2.The first desalination plant in the United States was built in the 1840s in Key West to serve troops at Fort Zachary Taylor. 3. After extending the railroad through Florida and giving birth to what would become the city of Miami, guilded-age oil baron Henry Flagler built the "over-sea railway" to Key West, which functioned for about 20 years until the Hurricane of 1935.

http://www.keyshistory.org/flagler.html