I love to sail along the waves, taking in nature’s magnificent vistas and watching out for unique glimpses of wildlife. One particular creature, the Manatee, has been high on my personal “bucket list”. In a recent effort to see Manatees in their natural environment, I journeyed to Florida hoping to check that activity off my list. In the process of visiting some areas where Manatees were plentiful, I found that many of these were also excellent spots for sailing.

Crystal River/Kings Bay
This is a wonderful spot to just kick back and enjoy the scenery with all it has to offer. The river is tidally influenced because it is fed from Crystal Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. I honestly could not tell you how long the trip was as I spent a full day on the water and tried my hand at some diving. Sadly, I only saw one Manatee and it was rather far away from me, but still quite a majestic experience. I fully intend to go back again and maybe next time I will be lucky enough to see one up close.

Honeymoon Island State Park
This is a prime spot for a good sail. A good haul at 9 miles around the island, but it also offers a pet beach in case you are kayaking with a pet on board (though I do not recommend doing this unless your experienced with sea kayaking, and definitely not if you’re using a sail). The hiking trails on the Island offer opportunities to do a little bird watching and to take in some spectacular scenic views. You will also find a snack bar and gift shop on the Island, so you can enjoy lunch as well as your time on the water.

Weedon Island Preserve
This is a 1,046 acre park on the south west side of old Tampa Bay offering a decent spot to explore, but I don’t recommend sailing in this area because of the mangrove tunnels. Mangroves are made up of various kinds of trees growing up to medium height that are coupled with shrubs and grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics. Weedon Island also has an observation tower that is 45 feet above sea level offering breathtaking views of the surrounding area.

Anclote Key Preserve State Park
This Park is three miles off the west side of Florida and is North West of Tampa. The park is a very popular spot for boaters and sunbathers, so keep on the lookout for boat traffic and bikinis. Once you get going through the water traffic it is an opportune spot for marine life. Keep your eyes open as you may spot a Dolphin or two. Anclote Key also boasts a lighthouse. There is generally a ranger in this area, so if you’re interested in taking a tour of the lighthouse, check with the ranger on duty. Anclote is a great spot for photos and the sunset view is spectacular.

Key Largo
Key Largo is south of Florida and the most northern Key in the Florida Keys chain. It offers some of the most picturesque sites, in my humble opinion, as well as lovely cerulean waters teeming with ocean life. Coral reefs and white sandy beaches are begging for your adventures. It is home to Americas’ first undersea park, where you can Snorkel, Kayak, Fish, and Dive. An exciting treat for kayakers is that you will find a scuttled Navy ship off the coast, put there to encourage a coral reef to form, but ready and waiting to be explored.

I am predominantly a kayaker, however I often use my portable WindPaddle sail to turn my kayak into a mini sailboat. I found these Florida locations to be excellent for combining paddling and sailing. Florida is a stunning State to discover and revisit. So pack your bags, bring your sunscreen and bug repellent, but most importantly just enjoy Florida.

This article was originally published it’s author, Victoria Louise Adams in eZine Articles under the title “Five Of Florida’s Most Scenic Sailing Destinations“.

(Victoria L. Holt-Adams is the mother of two wonderful children, a stay at home mom, semi-professional photographer, and self taught graphic artist. She enjoys a myriad of other activities to stimulate her creative processes.)

Hiking is very popular at Crooked River State Park. There are three trails you can follow and it is best to stop by the visitors center to get a copy of the trail map to help you navigate the trails. Cherry Point trail is a 4-mile trail, Harriett’s Bluff is a 6 mile trail and Grover Island is an 8 mile trail. All are round trip distances. Dolphins travel in groups upriver to fish and are spotted 50% of the time on all three trails. Once the dolphins corner a school of bait fish, they will surface often to breathe while feeding. You can hear their blows to locate them. More than 100 gulls, cormorants, and egrets often perch on a raised boardwalk across the marsh. Bald eagles and osprey have also been spotted.

Elliott’s Bluff public launch is probably the best launch area for kayaks. If you take an chance and launch at a random location along the shore you may experience the oyster beds that will cut your feet and may do some damage to your kayak. An inflatable kayak might be more prone to damage than a hard shell kayak, although the Sea Eagle Explorer kayak material has been known to stand up to oyster beds quite well. It’s also best to launch your kayak when the tide is coming in, so it’s best to check the tides before planning your paddle.

Now that I’ve discovered Crooked Lake State Park, it’s right up there on my list of places I want to kayak. And the dolphins might move it to the top for our next trip!

I realize that this is the ‘inflatable kayak blog’ and I know Mr. Murrell uses a hard shell kayak, but this story was so interesting, I thought it would appeal to anyone who’s ever been in an inflatable or folding kayak or any small boat for that matter. Just imagine what it would be like to be that close!

I’ve spoken with the manufacturers of the PakBoat and TRAK folding kayaks that we sell at PortableKayaks.com and they have assured me that all their kayaks are safe for ocean kayaking as long as the paddler has experience enough to handle them. So, if you know you can handle it, “happy ocean paddling!”