Paddling has followed me through nearly every chapter of my life. It started with lakes, ponds, canoes, fishing trips, and those quiet New England places where being outside just felt like where I belonged. Over the years it became whitewater, sea kayaking, long road trips, Everglades canoe routes, Florida mangrove tunnels, Gulf sandbars, and now a big part of my retired life down here in Pinellas County.
The old version of this page was created in January 1998 as a simple paddling links page. Back then, the internet was still young, and a few good links to paddling clubs, river-flow numbers, and whitewater resources were valuable. But paddling became far more than a list of links for me, so this page now tells more of the story.
New England Beginnings
Long before Florida, paddling was wrapped into my New England life. There were canoes, lakes, fishing, frozen ponds in winter, and summer days around Bare Hill Pond. The homemade houseboat, fishing with my father, and all the simple lake memories were part of the same larger pattern: if there was water nearby, I wanted to be on it, beside it, or exploring it.
As my outdoor life grew, paddling became one more way to get deeper into wild places. It fit naturally alongside hiking, backpacking, climbing, fishing, and working in rivers and wetlands. Water always pulled me in.
Whitewater, AMC, and Learning to Read Water
My New England whitewater years were a huge part of my paddling life. Through the AMC whitewater program, I spent years as a safety boater and later as an instructor and safety boater. That changed the way I looked at rivers. It was not just about getting downstream. It was about reading current, anticipating hazards, setting safety, practicing rescues, and helping other paddlers build confidence.
Those years taught me lessons I still use every time I paddle: respect the water, dress for conditions, watch the weather, stay aware of the group, and always leave yourself a way out. I still love adventure, but I like adventure best when it is backed up by judgment and experience.
Road Trips, Hostels, and Wild Water
Paddling also showed up again and again during my travel years. There were canoe and kayak memories from long road trips, hostel adventures, wild coastlines, rivers, and swamp routes. The Snake River in the Tetons, the Green River in Utah, Vancouver Island, Everglades canoe trips, and other places all became part of the same story. Sometimes I traveled with old friends, and sometimes I met people along the way through hostels and shared adventures.
Those trips gave paddling a bigger meaning for me. A boat was not just gear. It was a way to reach islands, beaches, quiet backwaters, springs, and places that most people never really see.
Paddling With the USGS
Paddling even became part of my professional life. My path into the USGS really began with a six-week canoe project on the Ipswich River, mapping and assessing the river from the water. That job pulled together so many things I already loved—rivers, field biology, careful observation, maps, wetlands, and long days outside. It was exactly the kind of work that made sense to me.
Years later, when I was working for the USGS in Florida, I almost always had a kayak on my work truck. I probably kayaked thirty different rivers around Florida as part of my job, moving through places that most people only see from bridges, boat ramps, or flood reports. Sometimes it was beautiful, sometimes muddy and buggy, sometimes full of snags, current, heat, or gators, but it always felt like real fieldwork.
That USGS paddling life connected the practical and the personal. I was gathering information, mapping, measuring, and assessing rivers, but I was also doing what I had always done—following water, reading landscapes, and learning directly from the places themselves.
Florida: Mangroves, Passes, Springs, and Sandbars
Retirement in Florida opened up a whole new paddling world. Hurricane Pass off the Dunedin Causeway became one of my favorite places, with Caladesi and Honeymoon Island, sandbars close to the launch, dolphins, seabirds, Gulf light, and some of the most beautiful skies anywhere. It can look mellow one minute and turn into washing-machine chop the next, which is part of why I like it. You have to pay attention.
Cross Bayou and Long Bayou gave me mangrove islands, quiet loops, tide-driven exploring, and weekday escapes close to home. Weeki Wachee, the Cotee River, Chassahowitzka, the Hillsborough River Seventeen Runs, Everglades wet walks, and all the little local routes around Pinellas and Tampa Bay each have their own personality. Some are peaceful. Some are wild. Some are full of current, oysters, wind, tide, gators, or confusing channels. That variety is what keeps it interesting.
Safety, Judgment, and Small Groups
I still like a little challenge, but I also take paddling safety seriously. I wear my PFD, carry a VHF radio when appropriate, use live tracking, watch real-time weather and tides, and practice rescues. Forecasts matter, but the sky, the wind, the tide, and what is happening right now matter more.
I have also learned that small, quiet groups are usually best. I love paddling with good people who want to see birds, dolphins, mangroves, light on the water, and the subtle things that make a place special. Loud music and party paddles are not really my thing. The water already provides the soundtrack.
Sharing It With Others
One of the best parts of paddling now is helping other people experience it. Through Pinellas Paddlers and other community outings, I have enjoyed showing people safe launches, mangrove routes, sandbars, springs, and beginner-friendly trips. I especially like the idea of using paddling to help people who may need nature the most—veterans, people dealing with stress, kids, and anyone who has forgotten how much healing can come from simply being outside.
Paddling is exercise, exploration, community, and therapy all at once. It is one of the simplest ways I know to reconnect with the natural world.
Boats, Places, and the Joy of Still Learning
Over the years I have owned and paddled all kinds of boats, from canoes and whitewater boats to sea kayaks and the kayaks I use around Florida today. I have favorites, of course, but the best boat is usually the one that gets you safely onto the water for the kind of day you are trying to have.
After all these years, I am still learning. That is one of the things I love most. Every tide, river bend, pass, spring run, storm cloud, and group of paddlers teaches you something new.
RockADock, Training, and Staying Connected
Every year I spend the first week of October at RockADock, a full week of paddling and camping with people from throughout the eastern United States. It is seven days on the water, around camp, sharing stories, learning from each other, and enjoying the kind of camaraderie that makes paddling feel like a real community.
I also take numerous multi-day advanced kayak instruction courses every year. Even after all these years on the water, I still believe in training, practice, and staying humble. There is always more to learn, and every good class makes me a better and safer paddler.
Favorite Paddling Themes
Quiet Water
Sunset paddles, mangrove tunnels, calm mornings, dolphins surfacing nearby, and the sound of birds instead of traffic.
Moving Water
Whitewater roots, tidal passes, current lines, ferrying, reading water, and respecting how quickly conditions can change.
Wild Places
Everglades routes, springs, back bays, islands, oyster bars, gator country, and places that feel far away even when they are close to home.
Community
Mentoring paddlers, organizing trips, sharing local knowledge, and helping people find confidence and joy on the water.
The Original 1998 Paddling Links
The first version of this page was mainly a collection of paddling links, especially for New England whitewater. Some of these old links may no longer work, but they are part of the page’s history, so I am preserving them here.