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Cancelled - Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve - Level 2

  • 01 Mar 2020
  • 8:30 AM
  • Emerson Point Park (Palmetto)

Registration

  • Four-hour paddle in bay, bayou, and mangrove tunnels

Trip has been cancelled due to plans to close the Skyway Bridge for a race on March 1.

Trip leader: Therese Eby      therese@tbsk.club         425-802-2281

Description: Four-hour paddle from Emerson Point Park (Palmetto) to Bird Key and Rattlesnake Key. We'll launch at the kayak launch 6/10 of a mile from the park entrance and follow mangrove tunnels to enter Terra Ceia Bay. We'll paddle over seagrass beds along the north shore of Snead Island towards Gus Point, then paddle mid-bay to Bird Key, which supports a large breeding colony of pelicans, cormorants, anhingas, herons, egrets, ibis and spoonbills. We'll enter Critical Bayou in Rattlesnake Key via Flounder Pass and then will follow a smugglers route used during prohibition, exiting on the Tampa Bay side of Rattlesnake Key.

On our paddle south along this shoreline, we'll stop at a beach for a snack and bio-break. There are tunnels to explore on the southern tip of Rattlesnake Key. We'll cross Terra Ceia Bay and perhaps check out Emerson Bayou before returning to our launch site.

Low tide 0.7' at 10:01 a.m.; high tide 1.9' at 4:06 p.m.

I plan to eat a picnic lunch after returning to the launch, then explore trails on foot. The park has an observation tower and some temple mounds. 

Location: Emerson Point Preserve, 5801 17th St W, Palmetto 34221. The canoe launch is 0.6 miles from the entrance. Free. Directions

Schedule: Sunday, Mar 01.  Meet 8:30 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. launch. Approximate return time at 1p.m.     

Additional information: There are no restrooms or water at the canoe launch. There are restrooms at the welcome center near the park entrance and porta toilets at the far west end of the road almost a mile past the canoe launch.  If the parking lot is too full at the canoe launch we will launch at the beach at the west end of the road  (which adds a couple of miles to the paddle). Neither lot is trailer friendly. Emerson Point Preserve map

Difficulty: Level 2, for distance. Terra Ceia Bay may be choppy with boat traffic and/or wind.

Required:  Min 15' sea kayak, PFD, spray skirt, water, snack, sunblock.  Suggested: bug repellent, binoculars, kayak cart, camera.

See the Skills Self Assessment Chart on the web site and contact the leader with any questions. Please register (or cancel) on the web site.

http://www.tbsk.club/resources/Documents/Skills_Assessment-_Chart_March_2017.pdf



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