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2012-06-29 tl;dr: I traded my paddling kayak for a sailing kayak. Moving down the Intracoastal Waterway much faster now. It turns out there was a great big sign saying "Camping Beyond This Point" right in front of where I camped. So I was not trespassing. It also turns out there were mosquitoes.Though I had been paddling on the bay side of Perdido Key, I decided that, because it was only a couple of hundred yards to the ocean, I should see what kayaking in the ocean would be like. So I dragged it over there. I kind of sucked. It literally took me five tries and about twenty minutes just to launch my kayak. The surf kept pushing me back and flipped me over once, filling the entire kayak with salty water. Once I was paddling the water wasn't too bad. I rolled with the waves and paddled along the shore. Eventually I made my way to Pensacola Bay Entrance and back into the Bay. I spent the rest of the morning paddling to Pensacola Beach. There I stopped at Key Sail and swapped my kayak for a Hobie Mirage Adventure Island -- basically another kayak, but with a sail. Swap isn't exactly accurate, because Key Sail didn't really want my busted up old kayak. But they gave me a little money for it just so I could leave it behind. The Islander is...faster. I don't know how fast, because my so-called waterproof GPS wasn't, and hadn't worked since my dunk this morning. But I made well over forty miles today, even with the time I took to buy this boat. Normally I'm lucky to achieve thirty miles. The Islander is also...easier. I may have to start eating healthy again. I don't think I burned many calories pushing the rudder lever back and forth with my finger. Eventually I pulled up on a small island near Fort Walton Beach and camped. |
 I was camping properly  good morning Gulf of Mexico  clear water  transferring gear from old kayak to new kayak  bad panorama of new kayak   Gulf Islands National Seashore  Navarre Beach  |