Big Bend Archives - Susana Field

Waccasassa River Camp: Day 49, Florida CT Paddle 4.02.18

April 2nd, 2018susanafield6 Comments

Dear Reader, Despite our love affair with Cedar Key and our staying up late (for us) to watch Return of the Jedi on tv, we got up at 6 a.m. and got going. It’s been so rare to have calm, beautiful, paddling days from first thing in the morning that we couldn’t pass it up. We were even half tempted to do the 17.5 nm open-water crossing towards the blinking lights of the distant power plant, saving ourselves a day’s paddle. But chose to be conservative because of our age. No need to take unnecessary risks. Paddling the shoreline is …

Layover #2 Butler Island: Day 45, Florida CT Paddle 3.29.18

March 29th, 2018susanafield1 Comment

Dear Reader, Last night the winds stayed down, as if they had better things to do than flap at our tent fly, but by 2 a.m. they’d returned. And by 6 a.m., when it is still pitch black in Florida and you’d think it was still the dead of night but for the clock on your phone and the hunger in your belly, the winds were at full force and John scrambled out of the tents with the stakes, guying out the rain fly’s corners to prevent damage to our tent. We weren’t going anywhere today. That we knew from …

Sink Creek: Day 41, Florida CT Paddle 3.25.18

March 25th, 2018susanafield1 Comment

Dear Reader, This morning we had a grand sendoff by the local pelicans at the Good Times Motel in Steinhatchee, and then were escorted by motorboat wake out the river and onto the gulf. Gone was the flat, clear water of two days ago. Instead, our 9 nautical mile paddle to Sink Creek was in a headwind and light chop. The tide was high so our only concern with getting grounded was as we made our way between grass mounds. And it was pretty deep around their edges as well. For a pee break, I just paddled straight into some …

Steinhatchee: Day 39, Florida CT Paddle 3.23.18

March 23rd, 2018susanafield3 Comments

Dear Reader, Today was a perfect day of paddling, and my favorite so far on this trip. It had all the perfect ingredients: Flat seas Blue skies 66 degrees Variety Underwater views No pain Anticipated destination Sense of accomplishment New things to think about We pulled into Steinhatchee after paddling 13.9 nautical miles today from Sponge Point, with only one quick jump out of the boat in the shallows to take a pee. The sea was so incredibly calm and clear, you could see right through its surface to the grasses and sands below. We saw fish and a turtle. …

Storm Layover, Spring Warrior Fish Camp: Day 35 & 36, Florida CT Paddle 3.19-20.18

March 20th, 2018susanafield6 Comments

Dear Reader, We are in Florida’s remote Big Bend, where the panhandle ends and the mainland heads south (blue and white dot). The smaller blue pin shows where we started and the red pin shows our intended destination for this season. I like looking at this map. It makes me feel like we’re making progress, no matter how slowly. And it makes me feel less frustrated about being held up again due to weather. We arrived here at Spring Warrior Fish Camp and Motel on Sunday after paddling our second-longest day yet in order to get here before the storm. …