Hi Bill Newman here. Back in September I posted the same question to the list and was directed to Sweetwater Kayaks. They are a BCU - Nordkapp Trust Training Center, but don't worry they will let you carry a paddle float and they won't make you include a "hot drink" as part of your kit. Great folks and they have good gear for rent. I stopped in back in September and had a nice paddle out to Egmont Key near Fort DeSoto. Sweetwater is easy to find, just head across the bridge from Tampa to Saint Pete, and then follow the signs to Fort DeSoto. They are located at 1136 Pinellas Bayway just before you get to the Park. Give them a call (727) 906-0708. I was able to rent a demo Romany and they set me up with a chart for Egmont and a good description of the trip. There are interesting fortifications on the key and at Fort DeSoto from the Spanish American war era. The crossing to the island pretty easy although you do cross a clearly marked shipping channel (bouys easily visable on each side) and at peak flow there is a tide current up to 2 knots or better at one point. Talk to the folks at Sweetwater and they will let you know the best point to cross the shipping lanes and give you the heads up on the tides and tide currents. I would consider it an intermediate level trip (in BCU lingo a 3-star level of skill required). *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:19 PDT