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2012-07-07 tl;dr: I'm finally sailing on The Gulf of Mexico. After a hard portage. Because the map changed. Look, jellyfish. I didn't pay close attention to the map. Or, at least, the correct map. After leaving Panama City, instead of exiting through the channel, I stayed inland until I ran out of water. So I had to pull my kayak over nearly 300 yards of what used to be a channel near Shell Island to the ocean. And I thought I was finished with portages. It turns out this new kayak is heavy. So heavy that I cannot drag it unless I unload most of my gear first. I had to make several trips across that strip of sand.I'm finally sailing in The Gulf of Mexico. I spotted more dolphins. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of them. I also saw some jellyfish. About a thousand. All day long. The wind was out of the south. For the most part I traveled south. I got very little use out of my sail. Peddle, peddle, peddle all day long. For whatever reason there are mats of vegetation floating in the gulf. These get tangled up in my rudder constantly. I still don't think I'm enjoying sailing. I stopped early on St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, because I could see houses ahead, and I knew that once I hit the houses I wouldn't find camping again for many miles, if at all. I checked the beach for walkers. Then I retreated back into the dunes to strip off my salt-soaked clothes. That's when a group of kids appeared from the dunes behind me. I have no idea how they got back there. It's very thick. Unsurprisingly, they gave me a wide berth and headed back up the beach. |
 sea turtle  shallow seagrass  dolphin  tow boat  portaging  Shell Island...er...Peninsula   jellyfish   vegetation  dunes  good night St Josephs Peninsula State Park |