Friday, July 4, 2014 Paddleboarding in Sarasota

Several years ago, an author friend Gina Greenlee told me about paddleboarding and how much she enjoyed it. At the time, I was writing Women of the Way and did not take time to try this new sport. Today, Elizabeth Chandler, Dennis and I slathered ourselves in sunscreen to try SUP, stand up paddleboarding. Gulfside Padddleboards had a special introductory price that included a brief lesson, board rentals, and a convenient location for us.

Wanting to beat the holiday beach crowd and the glaring Florida sun, we arrived at the boat launch at 9:30 A.M., just as the truck with the boards and kayaks was pulling in. We wore boat shoes, but since shoes are not required, we decided to go “naked,” at least on our feet. Nate Dunn, the proprietor, showed us how to get on the board and basic paddling techniques. He offered us a waterproof bag for our shoes, water bottles, etc. In the excitement of getting started, we forgot the camera, so no pictures of us on the water.

At first, I was a little shaky but I quickly learned how to keep my balance. For some reason, my stroke on the left side is stronger, so I had to make an effort to stroke deeper and more often on my right to prevent from going in circles. It didn’t take long for Elizabeth and Dennis to leave me behind…I am a slow paddler. Without them near me, I enjoyed the quiet and took time to look around. I imagined what it must have been like for Huck Finn to paddle down the Mississippi. Unlike him, I was paddling past mansions, condos, and hotels, but it was still an adventure.  I loved the way the water lapped the board with little smacking sounds.

From the dock, we floated down the canal, past Midnight Pass, and then into the Jim Neville Wildlife Preserve, a 35-acre protected area that surrounds Midnight Pass in Little Sarasota Bay. There are a lot of possible paths through the mangroves. We chose one that dead-ended and had to turn around. From there we paddled over oyster beds, stopped at a sandy beach, and then walked across the dunes onto Turtle Beach. Today, the water was picture-perfect green and, for the bay, surf was up. This is so unusual that I could not resist a quick dip before returning to our boards and back to the rental place.

Though we were on the water for a little over an hour,  we saw a manatee swimming slowly and then surfacing with a snort, schools of large, medium, and small fish, and jumping mullets. I experienced wakes from boats and ski-dos, the latter almost threw me off the board, and felt my paddleboarding skills improve. Though I enjoyed paddleboarding, next time, I might rent a kayak to better explore the wildlife preserve.