Inflatable Kayak Blog

by Victoria L. Holt-Adams

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.)

Lake of the Ozarks is a beautiful place to paddle and for our second paddle of the trip we went to Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Even though it is fall and the boating traffic is down from the busy summer months, we like to find places where the speedboat traffic is minimal. We asked several residents what they might recommend and we were told we could put the kayak in from the beach at the State Park.

It was another beautiful sunny day and as the locals had mentioned. The area was quite peaceful. We pumped up the inflatable kayak in no time and just launched the boat from the shore. It wasn’t a very sandy beach but it was great for getting in the water easily.

There was a bit of a breeze, which was nice, and we just paddled along checking out the scenery and watching the fish jumping in the distance. As we paddled into one of the little coves a blue heron flew from his perch on some dead trees further back into the wooded area along shore. Once we saw the bird we had to see if we could get close enough for a picture.

As we were leaving the cove we passed by two fishermen trying their luck along the shoreline. As we passed by we got to say “Hi” and I asked what kind of tiny fish we were always seeing jumping out of the water all over the lake. One of them told me they were “Shad”.  Well, these shad provided endless entertainment throughout the trip as we watched them all over the lake.

We had the wind behind us as we returned to the beach so we pulled out the Windpaddle sail to help get us back to the beach. This sail is still new to us and we like to experiment with it whenever we get a chance. There really wasn’t much of a breeze but it did a pretty good job of moving us, even with such a light wind.

Following the paddle, we packed up the kayak and while there was still some daylight left, headed to one of the trails along the shoreline and hiked to check out more of the area. What a great park, it’s something you really should see if you are in the area.

By Victoria Adams

Sailing is all about excitement, feeling the misty cool drops of water as they caress your skin, the exhilaration of the winds playing with the strands of your hair like a new toy, gliding with the speed of a bird over the water, and being content in the knowledge that you can control the direction and course of your own craft. You don’t have a sail boat? That’s ok, you can still sail away on the open sea…well perhaps not the sea for you first time sailors, but rivers and lakes will work too.

I bet you’re wondering just exactly what I am going on about here. I am talking about the WindPaddle Kayak Sails. A Kayak sail is a detachable or permanent modification to a kayak for the purpose of propelling the craft across the water utilizing the wind as your power source. WindPaddle Sails are of the detachable variety so there is little to no modifications to make to your vessel, and will work with virtually every type of small water craft on the market today. And they can be used by solo or tandem kayakers.

Wind Paddle offers two different types of Sails the Adventure Sail, and the Cruiser Sail. The WindPaddle sails are circular in appearance and operate on a pop style deployment which makes for easy unfurling and stowing. With its ease of use and smaller diameter, the Adventure Sail is a great start to teaching a novice how to sail, while still offering a lot of speed and maneuverability to a sailing expedition.

Sailing a Kayak is a great way to go green and to protect the environment, instead of using a boat with a motor that could potentially pour pollutants not just into the air, but also into the water you are boating in. Try sailing your small water craft instead, use wind power not gas power. Sailing is also a great way to use your communication skills with your friends and family. Kayaking in tandem with one of you operating the sail and the other using a paddle for a rudder can build a more lasting relationship with your friend or family member. It’s a great bonding experience. Sailing a kayak makes for some wholesome fun you can do with just about anyone, and it’s healthy for anyone. Just remember to be safe, follow any boating rules for your chosen venue, and always wear a life jacket even if you think you’re the best swimmer in the world. Happy sailing everyone!

NOTE: Click here to see some videos of WindPaddle Sails along with more detailed information and prices.

(The author, Victoria 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.)

Planning on getting someone a kayak or kayak accessory as a gift? If so, I have a few suggestions. Make sure you buy them something they’ll like. In other words, you might not want to make it a total surprise. A little research goes a long way and you’ll be glad when your gift is welcomed with open arms rather than a confused facial expression.

In the case of avid kayakers, you should be familiar with what they are paddling now and whether your gift will fit their preferences. Kayaks are kind of like shoes. One size or type doesn’t “fit” all. Ask their friends, fellow paddlers or significant others for advice. A portable (inflatable or folding kayak) may not be the perfect choice for someone who’s used to paddling a hard shell kayak. However, if they’re tired of storing or car carrying the hard shell, a portable kayak might be the perfect gift. Accessories, especially paddles, can also be very user specific. Find out what they have, then buy them what they’d like to have.

If you’re buying for a newby it’s even more important to research your choice. I’ve seen a few situations where a wife or husband has purchased a tandem (two person) kayak without consulting (or even hinting to) the other person only to be disappointed when they experienced that “confused facial expression”. The hassle and expense of returning the kayak could be easily avoided if you could have discovered in advance that the “giftee’s” idea of water sports is lounging on a Caribbean Cruise or maybe they have an aversion to paddles or … you get the idea.

If you need a few gift suggestions, maybe these will help you out. A Sea Eagle 330 or 370 is a great gift for a beginner who wants to start out paddling. Sea Eagle Explorer Kayaks (340, 380 or 420) or any of the Innova inflatable kayaks are terrific for someone who wants to upgrade from a beginner level kayak. PakBoat’s Arrows or Puffins folding kayaks are nice for a hard shell kayaker who’s tired of carting around and storing that hard shell kayak. PakBoats track very much like a hard shell, too. And, of course the TRAK adjustable kayak is perfect for the kayaker who has everything and wants more. All of the above also travel very well on planes or in car trunks or the back of a minivan. Some kayak accessories you might look at include these items that can all be used by any type of kayaker, traditional hard shell or portable. You could buy someone a new, lighter fiberglass or carbon Cannon paddle, a PakPod Deck Bag/Paddle Float or one of the new WindPaddle™ sails that fit most any type of small boat, kayak or canoe. If there’s a paddler on your list that’s also a photographer, an AquaPac 100% waterproof/sand proof case is a nice gift. There are also AquaPac cases for cell phones and MP3 players.

There’s some great gift ideas here, made even better by a little advance ‘gift giving’ research.

Awhile back I wrote a blog post about the WindPaddle™ sail and how well it works with kayaks, canoes and other small craft. But what really excites me about this sail is how well it functions with my inflatable kayak.

One of the problems that occur when paddling an inflatable kayak is that the wind can affect them quite a bit. I find that I have no trouble paddling into the wind, however a cross wind and, especially, a tail wind seems to want to turn my boat around. That can get very frustrating. We also seem to choose paddling destinations that have more open water, rather than small rivers, which may be less affected by wind. My wife and I have avoided paddling on windy days because it’s just not any fun fighting with that problem. The WindPaddle™ changes that mindset completely. We’ve been able to paddle out into the wind, then when we decide to turn around, we launch the sail. She usually sits in the bow (front) of our inflatable kayak, so she handles the WindPaddle™ steering while I rudder and paddle a little in the (rear) stern to adjust the course. It sure is a lot more fun now and we actually look forward to a windy day so we can use our WindPaddle™ kayak sail.