Florida - A New Start

Leaving California and especially the San Francisco Bay Area was tough but when paddling in Florida in the middle of winter looks like this...

We moved to the West Coast of Florida in June 2025 to be closer to the kids. Our daughter Shea is at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and our son Kai is at IMG Academy in Bradenton so it was a relatively easy decision for us to move to Florida as we navigate towards retirement. Gina is still working for SFFD and commuting back and forth and I work at Kai's school doing security which give me plenty of opportunity to paddle after work or on my day's off.

The paddling here is of course nothing like as diverse as California but it is extremely enjoyable all the same. The Gulf is usually crystal clear and the bays and bayous are full of fish and there's always lots of birdlife, dolphins, manatees and the occasional turtle to see. I've paddled past alligators and over hammerhead sharks but the most dangerous things out there are the jet skis and powerboats who travel at insane speeds in often very shallow water.

I've met some other surf ski paddlers and I've joined them on a few downwind and surf sessions. There is almost now groundswell here and so the only surf comes from wind waves that create somewhat chaotic surf on the sandbanks offshore of the passages that lead into the many bays. There's a decent amount of tidal current in those passages and in the Manatee River during Spring Tides. The Braden River provides some nice flat water and I even got myself a K1 with the idea that I may get back into distance and sprint racing at some point. There's a very nice sprint course, Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota just south of us but I've yet to test myself over 500 or 1000 meters - I think I'd be pretty disappointed at how slow I am these days!

For now I'm just going to keep enjoying my paddling, exploring new areas and working on my fitness. When the temperature in 95F with 90% humidity the very best place to be is on the water!