SUP'ing in the Florida Keys

I had a February business trip to Miami and had some free time outside of work.   Plan A was to go windsurfing.  There is a nice waterfront windsurfing rental business on Biscayne Bay called Sailboards Miami.  It would have been real nice to sail there but unfortunately the wind wasn't quite strong enough that day.  Plan B was to go stand up paddling.  So based on a recommendation from a friend, I drove 1.5 hrs south to Tavernier Key (between Key Largo and Islamorada) and parked at PADDLE, the local SUP shop.  They set me up on a nice 14' race board and showed me a nice route to paddle.  It ended up being approx 8 miles including some mangrove exploration.  Here's a map of my route...

The water was crystal clear and I saw a lot of fish, including several small sharks, mostly nurse sharks and some bonnet heads that were very skittish.  As luck would have it, the SE wind picked up as soon as I exited the mangroves and into open water towards Cowpens Cut, which made for a challenging paddle in cross, up, & down wind.  Great exercise, great sights, and a fun welcome respite from the cold winter days back in NC.  Here's a short video of my paddle, as well as some pictures...


Tavernier SUP from WaterTurtle Media on Vimeo.