Kayaking in Southport, NC

Back at the beginning of February my wife and I went to Southport, NC to visit with a friend and to do a little bit of kayaking. We paddled out to Frying Pan Shoals on our first day out. It is at the end of the video below.

I had surfed on Oak Island and Bald Head Island back in my younger days when I lived in North Myrtle Beach. This was my first time kayaking in the area. We also did a little property searching while we were there.

If you are into kayak surfing this is a great place to do it. I really do not have any good footage leaving the Cape Fear Inlet and the huge swells do to camera mount issues. I got it back on for Frying Pan Shoals only to have a wave rip it off again. I guess it is time for a new mount ot to use a helmet mount for surf.

If you are not into kayak surfing there are black water rivers, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Cape Fear River. There is much water to explore. We will be visiting regularly.

So here is my boring video of paddling at Southport.

Paddle to Indian Key

One of our kayak trips while we were in Islamorada was out to Indian Key.

It was a 10.2 mile round trip. We were on a relaxing vacation and not looking to do really long paddles.

We paddled from the Kon Tiki along the shore and out to Indian Key.  There was a nice little breeze blowing in from the east and the tide was coming in so we had to ferry glide across two channels before we turned under a bridge and headed out into the Atlantic. There was a little chop of maybe a foot and a half under the bridge and maybe a foot once we were in the ocean so, it was easy going. There were some larger waves on the east side of Indian Key that were fun to play in as we circumnavigated the island.

Indian Key has an area for kayak landing. It is rocky so be careful if you have a composite kayak. 

Indian Key was the first county seat for Dade County.

The Lorax's Wife near the kayak landing area.

A nice black and white of the kayak landing.

A map of the path ways on Indian Key

A view from the boat dock at Indian Key.

After walking around Indian Key we paddled over to Robbie's to get some lunch at the Hungry Tarpon.

A selfie at The Hungry Tarpon, with The Lorax's Wife in the back ground.

Robbie's is a must visit place while you are in Islamorada. It is an interesting tourist place consisting of shacks that hold artist doing paintings, trinket shops, kayak rentals and of course The Hungry Tarpon.

After some excellent Dolphin Tacos  we got back in our kayaks and paddled back to the Kon Tiki to lounge by the pool.

Kayaking Florida Bay from Islamorada

For the holidays we spent a couple weeks in Islamorada over Christmas and New Years. It is the half way point between Miami and Key West. Islamorada, a "Village of Islands," is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida, United States. We find it to be a great central location to explore all the keys have to offer. 

We prefer to stay at the Kon Tiki Resort. It is a little village style resort with cottage style accommodation located on the Gulf side of the island. It is located in a sheltered area known as Little Basin. There are several Keys and areas to paddle within a mile of the launch making it a great spot for the recreational paddler that does not like to cover a long distance. The have a nice lagoon for swimming a heated pool and boat ramp.

This is the Kon Tiki.

We made several paddles from the boat launch to the surrounding keys.

Keys of note are Indian Key, Lignumvitae Key, Horseshoe Key and Shell Key. There are several Keys called Shell Key so it can get confusing. Also places to check out include Islamorada Fish Company, Robbie's and for you kayaking supply needs there is Backcountry Cowboy Outfitters.

This location also makes a good base to do some camping paddles and longer Paddles into Florida Bay. Little Rabbit Key is only about 12.5 miles from the Kon tiki. Carl Ross Key has been closed to camping but is only 8 miles from the Kon Tiki launch. And there are many other keys to explore in the Florida Bay from this location.

I will post our different paddles from our trip as separate post. 

Tiki Bar and fish cleaning station at the end of the dock.

Sitting at the end of the dock at the Kon Tiki drinking Key Lime Daiquiris 

The Tarpon at Robbie's

The Kon Tiki from the water