{"id":2774,"date":"2011-05-07T23:14:33","date_gmt":"2011-05-08T03:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/?page_id=2774"},"modified":"2011-05-08T19:45:52","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T23:45:52","slug":"everglades-canoe-trip-2011","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/everglades-canoe-trip-2011","title":{"rendered":"Everglades Canoe Trip 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Source: nps.gov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another great trip this year with a new wrinkle… a Sail!<\/strong> We did a three day loop starting with Picnic Key<\/strong>, then Rabbit Key<\/strong> and up the Lopez River<\/strong> to Sunday Bay<\/strong>. [photo gallery<\/a>] On the last day we explored the mangrove tunnels of Half-Way Creek<\/strong> as an alternative to the slog along the Chokoloskee causeway. This turned out to be an excellent choice!<\/p>\n

After pulling our permit we got breakfast and waited for the tide to rise so we could give the new sailing rig a dry run<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I bought a sail kit<\/a> that clamps on to my canoe. I’d been experimenting with the configuration to allow the bowman to stay in his seat<\/strong>. This turned out to work well. The boom was just tall enough to clear our heads. I also repositioned the downhaul<\/strong> to clear the space in front of the mast. The wind was cold, gusty, 12-18mph out of the north, but the boat handled well in spite of this. (The tide never did rise in Chokoloskee Bay that day, the wind was strong enough to keep it out!)<\/p>\n

The next day we waited until about 11am to depart<\/a>, in theory to wait for the high tide that never came. Our first leg took us northwest through a series of bays until we found the unmarked West Pass<\/strong>. The wind was on our aft quarter and the sailing was amazing! [video<\/a>]<\/p>\n