The first person to tell there was such a thing was John Osborne. A
county planner and kayaker, he mapped the recently created Paddle
Manatee Blueway trail system. When he told me about the Florida Blueway,
even though John is an earnest young man, I felt my leg being pulled.
"No such thing," I said, and John insisted, "Oh, yes there is."
It was difficult to imagine. Over 1,500 miles lie along Florida
coastlines.

When experienced guide George Kaiser, a knowledgeable fellow in great
shape, tried to paddle from Sarasota to Key West, he thought it would
take him ten days, as he reckoned he could make 30 miles a day. George
made his trip solo, a feat few of us would be confident enough to
attempt. On the tenth day, George (who guides for Economy Tackle) pulled
into Everglades National Park, a considerable distance short of his goal
but still an incredible achievement for one man in a 17-foot Aquaterra
Sea Lion kayak.

Russell Farrow, an kayak instructor and tour leader from Sweetwater
Kayaks in St. Petersburg, allows 15 miles a day progress for a fully
loaded kayak. With the right group, kayak, or conditions, he could go
farther, but considers this a sound average, because of the bad days
when weather and tides are against you. Thus a trip around the Sunshine
State could take a staggering 100 days.

Even a paddler in great shape, like George or Russell, may have trouble
crossing bays and passes because of tidal rip. With really large bays,
the best solution may be ducking in, increasing the distance, but
improving safety. No one person can be familiar with all the tides,
boating patterns, mud flats, and oyster bars and rock outcrops around
Florida, and then there is the wind and weather.

To paddle a sea kayak around Florida from the Perdido River, the state
boundary with Alabama, down the west coast and the Keys, and up to the
east coast to the St. Marys River, the boundary with Georgia, is a
journey of epic proportions. Such an odyssey would traverse 35 coastal
county shorelines or their portions of the Intracoastal Waterway.
This would make a saga worthy of Jason and the Argonauts. The reward
for such a journey would not be the golden fleece, or a return to
Hellas, but the experience and sights of a lifetime. In fact, it may be
a longer trip than Jason may have made. While very few have made an
entire circuitous sea journey around Florida, many have traveled
portions of the coastline. A exceptional few have done it all.

    Along the Blueway

Manatee County had the first blueway I encountered, but I quickly
learned there were more. To celebrate the Paddle Manatee  Blueway, a
group from the National Park Service sallied forth. Among the group was
Jaime Doubek-Racine, on loan from NPS to assist with the blueway
program. Jaime had helped with funding, lending NPS prestige to the
county blueway effort, and she had a major hand in creating their
brochure. Jaime informed me that neighboring Sarasota, Charlotte, and
Lee counties all had blueways in progress, and that designated trails
would stretch from the lip of Tampa Bay into Collier County - a journey
requiring two hours by car!

It was a bright, sunny day when the Paddle Manatee Blueway opening was
celebrated. The waters were placid, and even though one inexperienced
NPS paddler spilled, Sarasota guide Dick Pfaff, who works at the same
company as George Kaiser, was swift and effective in rescue. Meanwhile
pods of porpoises swam by, large fishes were seen in the sea grasses
through the clear waters of Terra Ceia Bay, while gnarled mangroves over
one-hundred years old lined the shore. It was idyllic paddling in a
beautiful surrounding.

Not so when Joy Scott crossed the channel from Boca Grande to Cayo
Costa farther south. It was her fourth crossing and very different from
previous ones. There wasn't much time to look at the scenery because of
the need to paddle so hard. "It was extremely rough - large swells - and
the sky was threatening. We crossed half way and decided to turn back.
We were in the pass about an hour, and we knew it was not a wise
crossing. I was extremely challenged at that attempt. The other
crossings to Cayo Costa were just fine."

The winds have blown so hard that tents sailed-off on trips Russell
Farrow led from Sweetwater Kayaks along the Wilderness Waterway in the
Everglades and into Florida Bay. Russell is an adventurer who has
paddled from St. Augustine to Key West. I first met Russell on a day
when Tampa Bay had rare whitecaps. While most paddlers would stay at
home, Russ had an itch to get his small boat out onto the bay to ride
the caps. Russell is a reminder that serious sea kayakers, like
astronauts and mountain climbers, have a calm but far off look in their
eyes, perhaps from scanning too many distant horizons alone.
One young librarian described paddling into Florida Bay and spending
the night camped with her boyfriend by permit on an island within
Everglades National Park. It was the greatest adventure of her life, she
said, and the part she liked the most (after it was over) was when the
shark bumped their kayak. Would she do it again? Absolutely.

These are all images of paddlers traveling portions of the Florida
Blueway, the circumnavigational trail around Florida, and on county and
federal trails along it. Every day, and certainly every weekend,
thousands of adventuresome paddlers put forth on Florida's coasts in sea
kayaks.

Florida's coasts have stunning natural beauty which is often
unsuspected and would not be seen without putting forth in a boat.
Because a kayak has such a shallow draft, it can go places many motor
boat enthusiasts cannot. It is thus a great exploring vessel, allowing
the paddler to turn into toward shore when the whim strikes and to cross
shallows easily.

With its enormous coastline and 1,500 rivers and streams, Florida has
become a sort of paddling capital. Its weather makes travel possible
much of the year, although the cooler months are most appropriate for
the Keys and South Florida because of the biting flies and mosquitoes.

    The Grand Sea Tour

In the Panhandle of Florida, named because of its shape like a pan's
handle when viewed on the map, perhaps the most staggering surprise is
the sand and the dunes. After passing along Florida portions of the Gulf
Islands National Seashore and the length of Eglin Air Force Base, near
Cape San Blas, sand dunes approach 200 feet in height. The sand there is
exceptional bright and white, because it was come over eons from the
Appalachian mountains.

Great dunes can be experienced land side at St. Joseph Peninsula State
Park. Deer or raccoons are likely to be sighted on the dunes, and just a
year or so ago a snowy owl was sighted at nearby St. George Island State
Park, a place of coastal scrub often bright with dune flowers.
Adjoining the Panhandle on a map, Florida makes its Big Bend between
the Ochlockonee River and the area of Cedar Keys National Wildlife
Refuge. Here the depth is surprising shallow in places, and paddlers
need to check tides to avoid being stranded on oyster beds.

Both Steinhatchee and Cedar Key are Florida towns from another era,
like Apalachicola to the north. Oysters and scallops come directly from
the waters nearby and not by refrigerated trucks.

The Big Bend has its own state-designated trail stretching from the
lighthouse at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the town of
Suwannee. This was the first segment of the blueway created.  It is said
to be 91.5-miles long, but I am told the creator of this trail, David
Gluckman, author of Sea Kayaking in Florida, is revising this with GPS.
This trail is state-designated through the Office of Greenways and
Trails, part of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection. In
2003, the state legislature extended this trail 25 miles to Yankeetown,
and David Gluckman is back at paddling work expanding it. Thus trail
will then connect to another, the Nature Coast Trail.

West Coast Central Florida arrives along three sister rivers, which may
be hard to distinguish in the coastal salt marsh: Crystal, Homosassa,
and Chassahowitzka. From here south, through the Keys, and up much of
the Atlantic Coast, is mangrove country. A 17 to 18-mile Nature Coast
Trail (sometimes called The Citrus County Paddling Trail) has been
established connecting the three rivers. This marked trail was largely
established through a state aquatic preserve and nearby national
wildlife refuges.

Manatee County has been holding discussions with Hillsborough and
Pinellas counties about extending a kayaking trail into Tampa Bay,
leading to their trail. Right now, some paddlers try to cross under the
Sunshine Skyway Bridge, treacherous powerful waters. If these efforts
are successful, six counties will be joined by blueway trails heading
south.

From Terra Ceia in northern Manatee County, blueway trails connect
Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties, passing islands like Cayo Costa
and Cabbage Key to stop at the Imperial River. The Lee County Paddling
Trail is not yet completed, but projected for completion next year.
Once the Everglades are reached, there is the 99-mile long Wilderness
Waterway, a trail of the national park to lead the paddler south into
Florida Bay and toward the Keys. The Wilderness Waterway has camping on
stilt platforms ("chickees") and is a beloved experience for naturalists
and many scout troops - if they come in the cooler months.

Monroe County considers the Keys a natural blueway. Paddling trips are
so extensive in the Keys that at least two full books have been
dedicated to them. Highlights of the Keys include: Bahia Honda State
Park, one of the remaining pristine Keys' beaches; Lignumvitae Key
Botanical State Park, a pristine island with its namesake tree; National
Key Deer Wildlife Refuge, where the diminutive subspecies of deer can be
seen; and John Pennecampf Coral Reef State Park, where paddlers can tie
to buoys and dive to coral reefs.

If visiting any of the Keys' parks or refuges, check in advance
concerning hours of operation and especially camping. Because the Keys
are only bearable to most mortal human beings in the cooler months, when
they draw thousands of tourists, reservations even for motels should be
made very far in advance, perhaps eleven months.

Heavily populated Southeast Florida is also home to Biscayne National
Park, where a series of untouched islands can be navigated.  Dade County
has a number of recreational kayak trips on its website, including one
in the moonlight through Biscayne Bay - talk about "Moon Over Miami!"
Broward County has Burt, not Burt Reynolds, but Broward Urban River
Trails.

In areas off Palm Beach County, the Gulf Stream reaches close to shore.
Otherwise, it has no influence on thru paddlers, according to Greg
Stammer of Orlando. Greg, who competes with natives in Greenland during
annual kayak competitions, says this is because most sea kayakers stay
close to land. Nowhere else along  Florida's Coasts does the Gulf Stream
approach so close.

The Intracoastal Waterway offers shelter from vigorous Atlantic tides
and will certainly be the path of choice for any thru kayaker heading
north. Most of the east coast can be traveled through the intercoastal
areas, which are themselves wide and almost sea-like in places.

Many of the intercoastal areas are named as "rivers." Some are included
in county blueways or as part of the thru trails. Some of these
beautiful rivers are areas of salt marsh and wide expanses, including
those with names like (alphabetically) the Amelia, Guana, Halifax,
Indian, Matanzas, and Talamato rivers.

Mosquito Lagoon offers miles of paddling in a sea like environment
right behind the national space program and Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge. At Canaveral National Seashore, kayakers on "play
boats" surf the waves.

Heading toward the end of a journey around Florida, some of the
prominent sights include the beautiful Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse,
Anastasia State Park with beautiful beach and dune flowers, the cities
of  St. Augustine and Jacksonville, the Talbot Islands with their
surprising cliffs, and Fort Clinch State Park where silent cannons still
stand guard. Every one of those, and too many other fine places to name
here, are extraordinary stops along the growing reality of the Florida
Blueway.

All but a few of the Atlantic Coast counties have a blueway program
under consideration or in varying stages of progress. Those perhaps
furthest along are Flagler, St. Johns, and St. Lucie counties.

St. Lucie County has an established blueway on the North Fork of the St.
Lucie River, considers Indian River Lagoon part of the thru Blueway, and
is working on creating additional blueway paddling. Flagler County and
the town of Marineland are creating a River to Sea Preserve along the
Matanzas River, and its overall trail system will connect with Pellicer
Creek, a state-designated canoe trail form Faver Dykes State Park. St.
Johns County is completing a Blueway Master Plan, and will announce the
trail system once complete.

Camping on the Blueway

Many paddlers guerrilla camp, that is sneak in at night and pull out at
day break. While exciting, this can cause serious problems, particularly
on islands in National Wildlife Refuges where one can be arrested and
fined. Likewise, private property owners may call the sheriff. It is
better to plan ahead by checking the area over the internet and perhaps
by a few calls.

Many state parks, state wildlife management areas, national wildlife
refuges, and national parks have camping options or camping near by.
Personnel at these public lands are generally a very helpful bunch for
thru paddlers. The state parks and wildlife management areas are
included with the others at www.myflorida.com. The national parks can be
contacted at www.nps.gov. The website for the US Fish and Wildlife
Service which manages national refuges is www.fws.gov.
Spoil islands are usually available for camping.

Contacts for Paddling Trails

Here are contacts for the trails mentioned in this article which have
information presently available. Maps and/or brochures are available.

Big Bend Paddling Trail. Office of Greenways and Trails, Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, www.myflorida.com.
Broward Urban River Trails. www.co.broward.fl.us.
Charlotte County Blueway. Charlotte County Parks and Recreation,
www.charlottecountyfl.com.
Lee County Paddling Trail (also known as the Great Calusa Blueway and
formerly the Lee Island Coast Paddling Trail). Lee County Parks and
Recreation and Lee Island Coast Visitor and Convention Bureau,
www.GreatCalusaBlueway.com.
Manatee County Blueway (also known as Paddle Manatee Blueway). Go to
www.manateecounty.fl.us, click on planning, scroll down to Comprehensive
Planning Division, where the blueway menu is available.
Nature Coast Trail. Internet
resource:www.visitcitruscounty.com/canoetrail.
Sarasota County Blueway. www.scgov.net.
Wilderness Waterway. Everglades National Park, www.nps.gov.

Safe Sea Paddling

While many people pick-up paddling skills naturally, a class from a
professional instructor is a very good idea before putting-out to sea.
Beginners should know how to remount their kayak in case a spill. No
matter how good a paddler someone may be, they will spill sometime or
other. There are also helpful techniques to avoid being turned over by
boat wakes or rough waves.

A list of essential safety equipment should always include a Coast
Guard approved personal flotation device. By law, children must wear
them, and wise adults will too. In addition, an extra paddle, flares, a
medical kit, provisions, sun block, and water are minimal companions.

Charts of the area can usually be purchased at local marinas, which
will have tidal information. Internet charts and tides don't beat the
wisdom on local information. Quimby's publishes a annual cruising guide
which includes marina locations on island and Intracoastal Waterway and
is sometimes found in reference sections of metropolitan libraries.

Novices planning to primitive camp on the journey might first take a
camping trip with an experienced guide. This would be a good shake down
cruise for the use of stoves, cleaning of utensils, and safe storage of
food.

Finally, try paddling once with your fully loaded kayak, preferably
when the seas are choppy, just to make sure you can handle the load and
balance it correctly.