January 27, 2002

Sometimes we challenge ourselves to the most unrealistic situations to have fun in the outdoors. One such challenge was Cockroach Bay at low tide. We started out at the public boat launch where the water was deep enough to dip our paddles in. There were only several inches of water where the canoe trail started. We bypassed that part of the trial and headed into the morning haze.

We were wondering if the haze would ever burn off as we set out towards the bay. Within a few minutes we spotted a trail marker and paddled onto the canoe trail. The water was only a few inches deep but we were still afloat. The haze stayed with us most of the day.

Before I bore you with all the gory details I thought you might like a bit of history. For those of you not familiar with Cockroach Bay you are probably wondering about the name. It seems that the early Spanish explorers referred to the Horseshoe Crabs as "The Cockroaches of the Sea." The name stuck and I actually did see a "Cockroach of the Sea" scamper away as I was maneuvering along.

The bay is an aquatic preserve so the wildlife was abundant. It was a perfect time of the year for a serious bird watcher. There were plenty of white ibis feeding along the shore. Mixtures of other sea birds were also seen: Cormorants, Herons, and Sea Gulls. Treats for the eyes were the Roseate Spoonbills with their pink wings. I took photos of them but as I paddled away I saw pink reflections in the water. What a shot that would have been.

Before long we encountered very shallow waters and it was time to take the kayaks for a walk. Hiking in the bay is not for the squeamish. I got out of the kayak and sunk into the muck up to my ankles. I thought to myself "The crazy stuff we do to have fun." What were we thinking? Shouldn't we have checked the tide schedule? Checking the tide schedule would have not done us a bit of good. We later learned that today was a very long sixteen hour tide. I was not about to postpone the trip because of low tide. With or without the tidal information we would have gone anyway.

Actually the low tide probably worked in our favor. We could partake of a good portion of nude time. How many other persons would be crazy enough to do what we were doing? None! The few other kayakers that were there stayed in the deep water. Providing a sanctuary for us naturists in the mangroves where sometimes only two inches of water flowed. We really fooled the birds since they thought they had first dibs on this sanctuary of theirs.

We "Docked" in between several mangrove islands to partake of nourishment at noon. The tide was starting to flow inward as we munched away. With the flow there was some green algae and this strange looking reddish brown plant. It appeared to be dead but when you picked it up it was very much alive. Bob held some of it up to his crotch and created a photo op for Harold. Harold told him "you better watch out, you do not know what kind of critter might be in there ready to latch on." Bob said he would take his chances. Unfortunately there was nothing "Reaching out to touch someone" today. Bob will have to try again later if he is planning on getting lucky in this aquatic preserve.

We paddled naked to a wash over beach where there were two men. One guy was fishing and the other was just strolling on the beach. As we exited out kayaks, sans clothes, a young boy came running up the beach apparently to his father (the guy strolling). He very discreetly put a protective arm around the boy, turned him around, and walked away as we put our shorts on. I do not believe that the boy ever even noticed us. We strolled on the beach for a little while and ended up having a very nice chat with the father. The man fishing did not even acknowledge us, to busy casting the bait.

On the way back the water was deeper and it gave me a chance to do some serious paddling for a few minutes. During my outings I always like to paddle fast for ten or fifteen minutes. Racing ahead of my group testing limits and stamina, making my heart pump faster with the extra efforts. I always get an adrenaline rush when stepping into the wilds, today was no exception.

It was a beautiful day kayaking (and hiking) in Cockroach Bay. We always challenge ourselves when we are out on a trip. That is why we go, to experience the outdoors and all it has to offer, even if we have to take our kayaks for a little walk and drag them to deeper water. That is the challenge we experience living in Florida and paddling on the shallow Cockroach Bay.

© Copyright 2002 Dustin P. Ro�b�re All Rights Reserved