"Dave Van" wrote in message
...
Hello.

I have to go to Florida next week. I'll be flying into Tampa-St.
Petersburg
and be taking care of some business in Pinellas Park. I will have some
spare hours after my meeting. I'd love to paddle a little bit on the bay
if
the weather is cooperative. Can anyone tell me of a place to go to rent a
kayak for an hour or two that's not too far off 275?

1) Swee****er Kayaks (www.swee****erkayaks.com) is in mid-Pinellas county.
You can rent there and cartop it a mile or two along Gandy Blvd to the
beach. From there a two hour ride will get you into the Weedon preserve.
Great mangroves and waterbirds. Check the tides. Going into Weedon on a
falling tide means walking out. Get a map -- going into Weedon without one
means not coming out for hours.

2) Ft. Desoto Park. There's a rental concession in the park on a canoe/kayak
trail that has access to the Gulf. It's at the southern end of the county,
some 8-10 miles off the interstate. A good 45 min from Pinellas Park.

3) Osprey Bay Kayaks (ospreybay.com) does rentals. If I remember, they have
a put-in at their back door -- a short trip to the bay, but not to a
particularly scenic part of it.

4) Mad Paddlers -- on the other side of the bay, a few minutes from the
airport. Put in at the shop into a canal -- gotto go by a bunch of backyards
to get to open water.


--
David Kiewit
www.patent-faq.com
(1) 727 866 0669
5901 Third Street South
St. Petersburg FL US 33705

Choices!

I love it!

Thanks much, David. I will look these places up and call ahead.

Cheers

DV


"David Kiewit" wrote in message
om...
"Dave Van" wrote in message
...
Hello.

I have to go to Florida next week. I'll be flying into Tampa-St.
Petersburg
and be taking care of some business in Pinellas Park. I will have some
spare hours after my meeting. I'd love to paddle a little bit on the bay
if
the weather is cooperative. Can anyone tell me of a place to go to rent
a
kayak for an hour or two that's not too far off 275?

1) Swee****er Kayaks (www.swee****erkayaks.com) is in mid-Pinellas county.
You can rent there and cartop it a mile or two along Gandy Blvd to the
beach. From there a two hour ride will get you into the Weedon preserve.
Great mangroves and waterbirds. Check the tides. Going into Weedon on a
falling tide means walking out. Get a map -- going into Weedon without one
means not coming out for hours.

2) Ft. Desoto Park. There's a rental concession in the park on a
canoe/kayak
trail that has access to the Gulf. It's at the southern end of the county,
some 8-10 miles off the interstate. A good 45 min from Pinellas Park.

3) Osprey Bay Kayaks (ospreybay.com) does rentals. If I remember, they
have
a put-in at their back door -- a short trip to the bay, but not to a
particularly scenic part of it.

4) Mad Paddlers -- on the other side of the bay, a few minutes from the
airport. Put in at the shop into a canal -- gotto go by a bunch of
backyards
to get to open water.


--
David Kiewit
www.patent-faq.com
(1) 727 866 0669
5901 Third Street South
St. Petersburg FL US 33705

"Dave Van" wrote in
:

Choices!

I love it!

Thanks much, David. I will look these places up and call ahead.


I'll second the recommondation for swee****er kayaks. They're a top notch
operation.

When I was in Ft. DeSoto Park in February it appeared that all they had were
a few canoes and recreational kayaks.

"John Fereira" wrote in message
. ..
"Dave Van" wrote in
:

Choices!

I love it!

Thanks much, David. I will look these places up and call ahead.


I'll second the recommondation for swee****er kayaks. They're a top notch
operation.

When I was in Ft. DeSoto Park in February it appeared that all they had
were
a few canoes and recreational kayaks.

Thanks John.