Key West Paddling

[ExGMan]

I am headed to Key West for a few days later in February, and wonder if there is anyone with recent experience regarding rentals in the Key West area? I'd like to spend a day on the water, just looking around, but perhaps there's not much to see. There seem to be some "eco-tours" of the area, and some boat rental places. Any advice or insight, I'd certainly appreciate.

JG

[Lbeale]

I am headed to Key West for a few days later in February, and wonder if there is anyone with recent experience regarding rentals in the Key West area? I'd like to spend a day on the water, just looking around, but perhaps there's not much to see. There seem to be some "eco-tours" of the area, and some boat rental places. Any advice or insight, I'd certainly appreciate.

JG

Last week in the NYTimes there was article about paddling the keys and description of outfitters who rent boats -- the article was informative on what to expect to see--paddling on the backside of the Keys has mostly quiet, flat waters and remote islands.

I got the impression from the article that the boat rentals were mostly sit-on-tops--

search the NYTimes website--I am sure you'll find it--if not, I can try to locate the article for you--les

[ExGMan]

Last week in the NYTimes there was article about paddling the keys and description of outfitters who rent boats -- the article was informative on what to expect to see--paddling on the backside of the Keys has mostly quiet, flat waters and remote islands.

I got the impression from the article that the boat rentals were mostly sit-on-tops--

search the NYTimes website--I am sure you'll find it--if not, I can try to locate the article for you--les

Les - Thanks for the lead. I'll look it up now. Sit-on-top or not, just being out on the water will be a good thing. I'm sure I'll find the article.

JG

[ExGMan]

Les - Thanks for the lead. I'll look it up now. Sit-on-top or not, just being out on the water will be a good thing. I'm sure I'll find the article.

JG

Found it! Very informative. Here's the URL: http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/trave...king&st=cse

[jeffcasey]

When we paddled the whole chain a bunch of years ago (my gosh, was it 2002?) we put in at an outfitter on Key Largo that had a bunch of decent boats -- we didn't rent as we wanted our own boats and drove them down, but I think boats can be had there.

I've only been there for paddling the once, but Rick S. has done it a whole lotta times...Rick? Are you listening? Who was that outfitter?

My real advice: get a Feathercraft and thumb your nose at the lousy rentals.

- Jeff

[PeterB]

When we paddled the whole chain a bunch of years ago (my gosh, was it 2002?) we put in at an outfitter on Key Largo that had a bunch of decent boats -- we didn't rent as we wanted our own boats and drove them down, but I think boats can be had there.

I've only been there for paddling the once, but Rick S. has done it a whole lotta times...Rick? Are you listening? Who was that outfitter?

My real advice: get a Feathercraft and thumb your nose at the lousy rentals.

- Jeff

"yes I am a pirate

two hundred years too late."

( yeah, where is Mr. Blackship ?)

Hey John,

On paddling.net there is at least one high profile message board dude who is from that southern Florida area, or knows about it. ( Is it "greyak?") If you root around on the Paddling.net message board, you might find him or others and tap into some local knowledge.

[rick stoehrer]

When we paddled the whole chain a bunch of years ago (my gosh, was it 2002?) we put in at an outfitter on Key Largo that had a bunch of decent boats -- we didn't rent as we wanted our own boats and drove them down, but I think boats can be had there.

I've only been there for paddling the once, but Rick S. has done it a whole lotta times...Rick? Are you listening? Who was that outfitter?

My real advice: get a Feathercraft and thumb your nose at the lousy rentals.

barring buyin' some boat comes in a knapsack....florida bay outfitters at MM 111 or so in Key Largo.

there's a book by bruce wachob you can borrow if you'd like that has all sorts of keys day trips and such. still have the charts (i think? did anyone borrow those?)

not much tide/current but check where you are...there ain't much water either in some place so even though there isn't really appreciable tide...there's enough to make your day kinda miserable if you're in the wrong place. no matter what anyone says....ALWAYS have water under you...slogging through that muck is painful and really, really hard to do. unrelated slog offa long key...we had to get out of the boats and walk through the muck into one campsite after a 20+mile day...and we're sinking up to our waists in the most foul smelling, sticky, oozy (&*^*% ...it's been awhile and i can still smell it!

down right offa key west not too far there is marvin key and the snipes - both on the bay side...both are part of a white heron national refuge - very little traffic, lotsa birds, sharks, etc. beautiful, remote....you can see the big ole aerial on sugar loaf that's used (wink, wink nudge) for something that is definitely NOT spying on cuba....same with those blimps....they are definitely NOT taking photo's or anything. weather. yeah, that's it. nevertheless, they're great points of reference.

down there with jeff a loooong time ago and we came across a big ole turtle just swimming along and snorkeling on the surface....and i could see it plain as day and it was clearly a turtle but nonetheless i had no idea what it was simply because a giant turtle snorkeling along the surface was SO far out of the norm! i'm paddling along saying what the hell is that? what the hell IS that? Note also that flamingos are dumb as hammers and that if you see what you think is a small, bluish looking plastic bag floating along the surface and your immediate reaction is to go pick it up and toss it in the cockpit you should probably check twice and make sure it's not a portuguese man o war. ha! that would have been funny...mostly cause it wasn't me!

if you get a chance to go the little marina/bar on stock island (hawk channel - SE side) look up a brown as a nut, crusty scottish woman.

key west rocks....caribbean meets greenwich village with insomnia and everyone's on a bender...walk into irish kevins at 10am and have a beer...

oh, the stories....bubba, hope that o ring's okay and glad you got the medicine up inside you there dog. what was the name of the restaurant where they served us what tasted like camel? and remember every comment card is signed by jed luby.....sliding glass door, doctor?

have fun....we did!

[jeffcasey]

Hey Rickie....

Have fun indeed we dideeoo....I'd do it again, 'cept my wife wouldn't let me in the house with all them saddlesores from a week in salt water at tub temperature....not to mention what her car smelt like after the drive back with wet Rick, wet Scott, wet Jeff, wet neoprene, wet clothes, a lot of salt & sweat, and old donut crumbs....

You are indeed getting senile, however, old pal. The scottish waitress was at Geiger Key...lunch stop the last day before we hit Key West and poisoned the few remaining brian cells.

...and youfolks planning Key's trips....Rick is dead right on the slog through the mud. Worst day of my life. They dredge so much sand out of the channels near the rich folks houses that there are MILES of mud flats all around elsewhere from the drifting sand. Charts just ain't right. We spent a 30 mile day doing more hauling than paddling, worse than Monomoy, and this was with a week's worth of spam and sushi-helper stashed in the hatches...dragging those boats across the stinking slimy mud was not fun.

The stuff does wash off, however, so whatever Rick smells today must be of more local origin.

I've conveniently forgotten the camel meals....there is some benefit to senility, I guess. However, I got a great recipe for groundhog.....

Rick - if we move to LostWages, you gonna buy my boats? (I'll keep the knapsack one...)

[rick stoehrer]

Hey Rickie....

Have fun indeed we dideeoo....I'd do it again, 'cept my wife wouldn't let me in the house with all them saddlesores from a week in salt water at tub temperature....not to mention what her car smelt like after the drive back with wet Rick, wet Scott, wet Jeff, wet neoprene, wet clothes, a lot of salt & sweat, and old donut crumbs....

You are indeed getting senile, however, old pal. The scottish waitress was at Geiger Key...lunch stop the last day before we hit Key West and poisoned the few remaining brian cells.

...and youfolks planning Key's trips....Rick is dead right on the slog through the mud. Worst day of my life. They dredge so much sand out of the channels near the rich folks houses that there are MILES of mud flats all around elsewhere from the drifting sand. Charts just ain't right. We spent a 30 mile day doing more hauling than paddling, worse than Monomoy, and this was with a week's worth of spam and sushi-helper stashed in the hatches...dragging those boats across the stinking slimy mud was not fun.

The stuff does wash off, however, so whatever Rick smells today must be of more local origin.

I've conveniently forgotten the camel meals....there is some benefit to senility, I guess. However, I got a great recipe for groundhog.....

Rick - if we move to LostWages, you gonna buy my boats? (I'll keep the knapsack one...)

the car both scott and i presumed would have to be thrown out. not even a subie loving yahoo woulda seen the love of that vehicle "come monday"

i'da sworn it was stock (i think that's the last island before KW) but would defer to your memory....although, it's a memory bank that, it should be noted, glossed over the sliding glass door incident that brought clarification to the initials PhD....piled higher and deeper.

my wife makes me change out of the gear in the barn....that gear hardly ever gets rinsed/cleaned....about once a year whether or not it's required. me....a little more often.

i believe when the waitress at that "restaurant" asked us if there was anything else she could do for us when dinner was over that the beers may have gotten ahead of us when we (i?) responded that yes, she could go kick the cook square in the nuts as payment for that excellent repast. i remember through a haze (which could be time or all that beer) that there was an unhappy cook with an alien on his shirt flippin off all who would care to see present when we left the establishment....vaguely.

whychu wanna move to loswajes, mang? and a knapsack craft when your hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean? you're a better man than i....i'd just hear endless salty taunts outta the bag in the garage....nah...sell it all, buy some good mountain bikes and hit the trails.

when you leaving?

[ExGMan]

My belated thanks to everyone who offered some advice regarding paddling in the Florida Keys. Candidly, we had enough of Key West after 2.5 days, and moved North to Key Largo. There we took what turned out to be a great tour with Florida Bay Outfitters at 104050 Overseas Highway.

We decided to go on a guided tour, as Mrs. ExGMan has spent probably a total of three hours in kayaks in her life. She was avid, and is fit, and it turned out just fine.

We went on the 7.5 mile tour with Dave Williams (a New Hampshire resident in the summer) who took us through dense mangrove areas, some open water, some areas where powerboats were moving fast, across a the 1961-era Marvin D. Adams waterway, and back to the shop.

For those who might go there, Florida Bay Outfitters has a wide range of boats for rent. In my case, I was a little cramped in the boat they rented me for the trip, but it was fine with predictable stability. I can't say that paddling in the area was all that interesting. For those who'd like an extended dose of the Keys, there seems to be a kayak route which starts at Key Largo, and ends 110 miles later at Key West. There are many campsites along the way it appears, and opportunities to refill supplies. Local wisdom says this is a 9-day trip.

Again, thanks to all who offered advice.

[jeffcasey]

<<....There are many campsites along the way it appears, and opportunities to refill supplies. Local wisdom says this is a 9-day trip....>>

Glad you had fun! It is beautiful. We took six days, but we were neither local nor wise...some of those were very very long days. Rick is a mean slave driver....

Our biggest mistake was filling the hatches with camping supplies and food. Except for the first night, we never ate our camping food....excellent restaurants all along the way, hitchhiking distance from any camp, plus cold beer and/or margaritas...why make freeze-dried succotash? We sorta spaced our trip (after the first night in wilderness) from KOA type campground to KOA type campground...hot showers, cold beer, and food nearby.

For others who are inclined for short trips, split the difference between Key Largo and Key West, and head for Bahia Honda Key. It is the closest to the classical "leaning palms tropical wilderness", lots of nice beaches, not much mud, and very little built up. Good campgrounds. One place to buy a greasy hamburger, I think. When we were there, we saw a lot of kayak day-trippers there...more so than any other place. I could envision car-camping there and day-kayaking quite nicely.

[ExGMan]

<<....There are many campsites along the way it appears, and opportunities to refill supplies. Local wisdom says this is a 9-day trip....>>

Glad you had fun! It is beautiful. We took six days, but we were neither local nor wise...some of those were very very long days. Rick is a mean slave driver....

Our biggest mistake was filling the hatches with camping supplies and food. Except for the first night, we never ate our camping food....excellent restaurants all along the way, hitchhiking distance from any camp, plus cold beer and/or margaritas...why make freeze-dried succotash? We sorta spaced our trip (after the first night in wilderness) from KOA type campground to KOA type campground...hot showers, cold beer, and food nearby.

For others who are inclined for short trips, split the difference between Key Largo and Key West, and head for Bahia Honda Key. It is the closest to the classical "leaning palms tropical wilderness", lots of nice beaches, not much mud, and very little built up. Good campgrounds. One place to buy a greasy hamburger, I think. When we were there, we saw a lot of kayak day-trippers there...more so than any other place. I could envision car-camping there and day-kayaking quite nicely.

Jeff- Man, that sounds like fun! I'm tempted to find a place to rent in Key Largo next winter, and just move down there for a month with the boat, my bicycle, and my blender (heh-heh).

[rick stoehrer]

Jeff- Man, that sounds like fun! I'm tempted to find a place to rent in Key Largo next winter, and just move down there for a month with the boat, my bicycle, and my blender (heh-heh).

bahia honda is nice...long key is nice but the sugarloaf koa offered good tenting, great access to the backcountry via tarpon creek and various other routes AND you are within staggering distance to mangrove mama's across the road....which is an experience you don't wouldn't wanna pass up, especially with mrs x g man.