Todays weather was better – less wind but much warmer, reaching 86 and that made me melt. I was able to have a faster day (same distance almost an hour faster) because there was less traffic and less waves/wakes to deal with. I was also able to stay dryer than yesterday, so not as sticky uncomfortable. I felt great and I am actually less stiff tonight than I was yesterday.

I saw more things too. There were 2 state parks along the route allowing me to see birds I haven’t seen (and can’t identify) as well as what seemed like three different Iguana species. I paddled through Ft. Lauderdale and alongside a cruise ship (sure made me feel small). I came upon about a dozen Manatees throughout the day, those traveling in my direction were cool to watch as I paddled along side them. One of the big ones I saw had a few propeller scars on their side. More folks on the shore spoke to me today than yesterday. One lady saying how relaxing that looks; well that was about mile 12 or so – not as relaxing as she may have thought.

My takeaways today were: 1 weekdays are for paddling. If I take a zero day it will be a weekend day. 2 Food after finishing for the day is important; ice cream and pizza were great.

Posted day 1 and Day 2 photos in the ICW 2023 Photo gallery