I am all for breezy days, who doesn’t love the sound of the wind blowing through the trees? In fact, one of my most favorite things to do is lay in a hammock on a deserted island feeling the wind and listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. By the amount of tourist that flood to Florida every year, I would say that is the ideal vacation picture for a lot of people, and why Gasparilla Island is one of the top vacation spots. The teal seas and old Florida island vibe is something we love to share with visitors but we don’t give up our secret deserted island hideaways, locals gotta have some hidden treasures to keep the spirit of Gasparilla alive.
The wind feels great, but it creates quite the soupy mess in the sound, especially where we paddle and explore which is basically a pass with man-made structures that creates water pressure like when you plug one end of the hose with your thumb. That whole atmospheric pressure thing affects the way water moves in an intense way and it can change rapidly. When the winds get between 10-15mph it becomes a question of tide movement and wind direction if we are going to be open for adventures. If there is a new moon or full moon there is a much larger tide exchange with very high, high tides, and very low, low tides making that water pressure coming through the pass even faster. Basically, turning where we paddle into a soupy mess of rip currents, add in a few more mph to the wind speed and we get small craft advisories. SO, my point to this wind ramblings is, it’s been lame that we have been closed a lot the last two weeks due to it being ridiculously windy. Most people visiting Florida or first-time kayakers have no idea that the wind affects the water the way that it does, especially when there is an east wind, and the gulf side looks like glass. I will tell you that if there are east winds above 12 mph the Gasparilla sound has some pretty good size chop and currents, and the gulf side is calm. Which can sometime make our customers think we are crazy for being closed, but I assure you we miss being out on the water and are hoping this wind trend gets closer to the March average of 10mph.
Keeping active is an important part of living a healthy life and feeling your best, and I am someone who needs random physical activity that gives me a little adrenaline fix. Some days I feel like I need that OMG this is going to hurt feeling; you know those days when you have had a bit too much coffee and the world is crazy, and your stress level is a tad elevated. The days I am not able to be out on the water I get my adrenaline fix, riding my longboard, hiking and climbing trees, or now I’m learning to ride my bike through the woods. Flat land doesn’t do it for me quite like riding down hills between trees, over tree roots, over whoops and wood bridges with a whole bunch of “this is going to hurt” if I fall moments. I guess that means I’m a big kid now and have a lot of practicing to do. My first aid kit is always ready. I am so ready to slip back into my mermaid tail and into the salty sea. I am a mermaid after all.
Until next time, stay salty
The mermaid