Everglades Kayak Trip (2021 Season)

It started out so well… then the wind and waves shut us down–again. I haven’t had a “normal” Everglades trip since 2017! [Gallery]

I decided to try December to see if conditions would be better than the usual time in January. It did not make any difference in the end. On the plus side there were no bugs!

Roseate Spoonbills at the Put-In

The first day was low-key peddling the five miles out to Jewel Key. The day started warm and calm but by the time we arrived the wind was rising and the temperature was falling fast. We found a nice little place out the wind for our kitchen and I slept out in the open under the stars.

Rick slept in a small tent which we had to tie down to keep it from blowing away. We both used small cots to keep things comfortable. We saw over a hundred White Pelicans while we were there.

The next day began sunny and cold. We decided to make an attempt to sail downwind. We didn’t get very far because, even with reefed sails, there was so much wind we could not steer the boats!

Photo does not do justice to the waves!

We originally planned to do a big loop up the Lostman’s River. But we decided to bail out at Rabbit Key after being pushed around by the following seas. The problem is you can’t really see what’s coming. When a big wave strikes you are forced off course or nearly pitched out of the boat!

What had been the main campsite was in bad shape due to recent storms and perhaps lack of maintenance (?), so we took what used to be the secondary site on the point. I’ve camped here several times over the years and it’s only gotten better with powdered-sugar sand and healthy mangroves for cover.

Fortunately for us Rick brought a box of Cabernet to fortify our bivouac. We even had time for a driftwood fire on the beach.

Rick stayed in his tent while I went back in the woods to hang my hammock.

Note the cot!
Note use of the rainfly as a windbreak!

We walked the entire shore at low tide and met the local Ospreys nesting there.

Our Collection of Trinkets

After two nights the wind calmed and we headed back to the take-out. We finally had a chance to sail and there was enough wind for Rick to flip over. He self-rescued quickly but we had to stop to pump water out of his boat. We got back to the car just as the sun was setting.

Spreading Beth’s Ashes

Solo Everglades Sailing 2019

Just back from a foreshortened Everglades Trip due to adverse weather (thunderstorms, winds in excess of 30 knots). Had a great time in spite of the contingencies! [Gallery]

This was a proof-of-concept trip in many ways: first trip on a sailing kayak with akas (outriggers) and homemade hakas (benches) for hiking out and potentially sleeping on board.

The Federal Government was closed due to the #trumpshutdown so I had to self-register. Hats off to the National Park Staff who WERE working in the background to keep the place safe and clean. I assume they weren’t getting paid!

I happened to leave on the morning of the Super Blood Wolf Moon so the tides were extreme. This delayed my departure.

Once out in the Gulf the wind died and I peddled to the far end of Pavilion Key to make camp.

There were no bugs so I slept out under the stars on top of my benches. This worked remarkably well. Being four inches above the sand is much better than being down in it!

The wind rose the next day by the time the tide was coming in and I could set out. I estimate 20 knots or more with gusts above 30!  I reefed in my sail by half and proceeded to have a wild ride across the gap between islands. My homemade hiking stick failed so I had to steer with my foot. It was only a little terrifying.

At that point I decided not to proceed down the coast and instead circle back to the relative shelter of Rabbit Key. I had taken on 3-4 gallons of water but my gear was remarkably dry.

I did some reading and exploring until dusk when I again slept under the stars on my benches.

The next day I was unwilling to wait for the afternoon tide so I portaged my gear out to the water. There were many tide pool critters crawling around including several large conchs.

At that point another sailing kayak (!) pulled up using a small motor and two folks from Wisconsin got out. We had a nice chat before I cast off. I got back to my car after some more hairy sailing and sheltering behind islands.

Everglades 2018 – Post-Hurricane Irma

This was a difficult trip thanks to Hurricane Irma and multiple equipment failures. But we had good time in spite  of the challenges. [Gallery]

My fellow kayakers were Carlos and Nia Morales (also from Gainesville). Here we are smiling before running the gauntlet on Coot Bay Pond Creek.

The ranger station had told me the creek was “open” but that was being generous. We spent two hours to move a two hundred yards that should have taken less than twenty minutes! I spent more time out of the kayak than in…

Once on Coot Bay we attempted to sail but the wind was too strong and variable.

We had a long day and travelled after dark to get to Joe River Chickee. We all slept well. It had been cool enough that there were only a few bugs.

The next day we finally got to sail across Oyster Bay to the Shark River. (Our two oldest boats had developed serious leaks at that point.) We made it out to the Gulf and had a nice night camping at Graveyard Creek.

There was a new sand bar and many uprooted trees due to Irma. This was actually beneficial since the last time I visited the site it was very overgrown. Carlos did a field repair and we let it cure overnight.

The next day the weather finally cleared as we headed up Graveyard Creek itself on our way to the Shark River Chickee.

This was the year for hammock camping, which worked better on a chickee than I thought it would. I slept out in the open with a few bugs buzzing around.

Here’s a pano of our boats tied up to the chickee…

The next day we navigated our way through The Labyrinth and over to the Watson River Chickee. The next day we got to sail down Whitewater Bay.

At that point my boat started to leak again and my seat suspension came apart in three places. Here’s my temporary workaround.

We enjoyed our last night at the Lane Bay Chickee, where Carlos finally caught some fish.

Fortunately we did not have to go back through the mangrove creek from hell! Instead we made our way along the Hells Bay Canoe Trail and exited there.

For the record, here is a list of the equipment that failed on our 2008 and 2010 model year Hobie Adventure Kayaks

  • Leaks just forward of the peddle drive on both.
  • Missing rudder lock down on the older model.
  • Both my seat straps snapped just hours apart.
  • My right seat strap anchor point.

The seat straps were just plain worn out from almost daily use for several years. The leaks are apparently typical for older Hobie peddle kayaks. This is the one serious flaw of these otherwise resilient boats.