Daily stats
Start: 7:50 AM- Chaz… Springs
Finish: 5:15 PM - Island off of New Port Richie
Time: 9:25
Daily dist: 35 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Chilly (by Florida standards) with a 10 mph north tail wind
Notes: Charlotte dropped me off at the landing and I had a great down wind run. I put on three extra miles and an extra 45 minutes to the time by paddling into Port Richy for a TV interview.
Start: 7:50 AM- Chaz… Springs
Finish: 5:15 PM - Island off of New Port Richie
Time: 9:25
Daily dist: 35 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Chilly (by Florida standards) with a 10 mph north tail wind
Notes: Charlotte dropped me off at the landing and I had a great down wind run. I put on three extra miles and an extra 45 minutes to the time by paddling into Port Richy for a TV interview.
Charlotte and I were up by 5:00 AM in order to have time to drive all the way back to the boat launch and get the Ikkuma re-packed and on the water as early as possible. We weren’t in such a rush that we didn’t have time for some pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast however. All my gear was nicely dried and rolled tight from yesterday so re-loading my boat was a quick process. Charlotte took a few pictures of me on the water and then we said our good bys and I was on my way with plans to meet up with a TV reporter for an interview later in the day.
Charlotte waves good by from the dock
I have to explain that for the Florida section of this trip I have been utilizing the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail guide. The guide has been a wealth of information regarding route information such as re-supply points, water stops, showers, restaurants, motels, and camp sites. For the most part I’ve been completely happy with the information the guide has provided. Today, however, I discovered an omission of some vital information that needs to be rectified for future users. Especially young men that have been on the water for two months.
Since early yesterday, I have been in contact with Chris from the local TV news station trying to figure out how I could meet up with a camera crew and reporter for an interview. We didn’t have time to meet up in the morning and the only camp site the paddling guide shows in this area is tucked back in the marshy shore line far from any road access. So, in order to meet up with the camera crew I needed a spot where both of us would have access so we could do the interview and I could continue on to the campsite. The town of Hudson, a few miles before the camp, looked like it might work but was less than ideal. Two miles down the coast from the camp a park near New Port Richy was indicated on the guide as a place to get drinking water which could work. However, I didn’t want to have to do a two mile backtrack for the interview so I fired up Google Earth and started looking around the water stop location to see if there might be a place to camp. What do you know a quick search revealed an island just a mile off shore from the New Port Richy entrance. Being just a couple miles from the park indicated on the guide, this spot would enable me to do the interview and still make it a bit further down coast to the island before dark.
Since early yesterday, I have been in contact with Chris from the local TV news station trying to figure out how I could meet up with a camera crew and reporter for an interview. We didn’t have time to meet up in the morning and the only camp site the paddling guide shows in this area is tucked back in the marshy shore line far from any road access. So, in order to meet up with the camera crew I needed a spot where both of us would have access so we could do the interview and I could continue on to the campsite. The town of Hudson, a few miles before the camp, looked like it might work but was less than ideal. Two miles down the coast from the camp a park near New Port Richy was indicated on the guide as a place to get drinking water which could work. However, I didn’t want to have to do a two mile backtrack for the interview so I fired up Google Earth and started looking around the water stop location to see if there might be a place to camp. What do you know a quick search revealed an island just a mile off shore from the New Port Richy entrance. Being just a couple miles from the park indicated on the guide, this spot would enable me to do the interview and still make it a bit further down coast to the island before dark.
Ok then...
Everything went well during the day today and the 10 mph north wind helped me make good time. As I neared the island I called the TV news producer in order to coordinate the exact location where we could meet. Somehow the producer’s GPS showed a different park (other than the one I had found) so I altered my course and ran inside the Port Richy river entrance looking for this other park. After paddling a mile inland, seeing nothing but huge houses, I started to doubt that there was a park where the producer thought there was. I pulled out my cell phone to discover that the reporter that was sent had called twice trying to contact me. When I got him on the phone we discovered that he was indeed at the original park my map showed a mile back out to sea and another mile up the coast.
After already paddling nearly two miles out of my way and with daylight rapidly running out I was not interested in back tracking to the other park. So we both turned on our GPS’s and were trying to find land/water access where we could meet. As I scrutinized the tiny screen on my GPS with my phone pressed against my ear I drifted around a large house on a bend in the channel. Right then I looked up and my eyes picked up lettering on the roof of a dock side restaurant a quarter mile away. One by one, past the edge of the house, ten foot tall bright orange letters of the name of the restaurant were slowly revealed; H-O-O-T-E-R-S. “No way,” I exclaimed to the reporter, “a Hooters!” Not only did we both instantly know where I was there was a boat ramp right next door. So that was it, “Meet me at the boat ramp by Hooters.”
After already paddling nearly two miles out of my way and with daylight rapidly running out I was not interested in back tracking to the other park. So we both turned on our GPS’s and were trying to find land/water access where we could meet. As I scrutinized the tiny screen on my GPS with my phone pressed against my ear I drifted around a large house on a bend in the channel. Right then I looked up and my eyes picked up lettering on the roof of a dock side restaurant a quarter mile away. One by one, past the edge of the house, ten foot tall bright orange letters of the name of the restaurant were slowly revealed; H-O-O-T-E-R-S. “No way,” I exclaimed to the reporter, “a Hooters!” Not only did we both instantly know where I was there was a boat ramp right next door. So that was it, “Meet me at the boat ramp by Hooters.”
Hooters Restaurant - a landmark every man can find.
Ten minutes later the bright red Channel 10 news van rolled into view and we did a quick interview and he shot some video of me paddling back out the channel to the island two miles away. The island itself turned out to be a real gem an absolutely perfect, easy access, clean, level, comfortable spot with a view of the interesting off shore stilt houses found along shore here. So here is my question. How on earth in the Florida Circumnavigational Salt Water Paddling Trail guide can the only campsite shown in this area be some back water spot stuck up in a mangrove swamp. Meanwhile, (completely unmentioned) just two miles away, sits an absolutely beautiful island WITHIN EASY PADDLING DISTANCE OF A HOOTERS RESTAURANT! It’s moments like these that make me question the overall integrity and content of the entire guide book.
Several of these stilt houses are found in the area.
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