Canoeing downstream

Robert Young

Crestview News Bulletin

Being in Florida has its advantages with having emerald waters, sugar-cured beaches and a plethora of underwater wildlife to observe and eat.

The only disadvantage is that the heat is constantly pulsating, proper irrigation from rain is random and one could cut the humidity with a knife.

Community pools are as existent as drive-in movie theatres and not everyone likes to swim in the salty ocean.

If I said there was an alternate activity you could jump into, would you go for it?

Blackwater State Park is the recreational megaplex in this local area. Its

58-mile river is open for canoeing.

Just make a phone call and you’re on your way to be cool and collected.

Before you run off and jump into a canoe, there are some topics that are important to understand.

How are you going to store your equipment while canoeing?

Since canoeing is mainly about balance, your vessel needs to be packed correctly so that if you tip over none of your belongings get wet.

Coleman makes an excellent storage unit called an “Action-Packer.”

The unit comes in several different sizes and is made primarily of hard plastic with sturdy clips to hold down the airtight lids.

Remember also to divvy up your clothing and food into days. From there put them inside Ziploc bags, pressing the air out to keep them vacuum sealed.

Now that your equipment is protected from both the packer and the Ziploc bag, everything will stay nice and dry.

Speaking of dry, while canoeing look out for what looks like vines hanging from low lying trees. Because of the temperature, snakes like to swim in the water and lay over tree branches to bask in the sun.

Even the majority of the snakes that do this are non-poisonous, its still good to keep an eye out or even just wear a hat.

Since the Blackwater River is heavily trafficked in the spring and summer time, you won’t see anything in the water like alligators or gaming fish.

There are areas where you can fish and will catch a nice big one, but since locals and even some passing tourists like to canoe, it’ll mostly be the water and you.

If you’ve never canoed before here’s some quick tips on how to tame the “beast.”

Always have the heaviest person in the back of the craft. Since steering is influenced the most from the rear, it’s easier to have a light front to turn.

If you and your partner ever swamp the canoe (tip it over) lift one end of the canoe up to break the water’s suction. Both you and your partner then lift the canoe completely out of the water, flip it over and walk/swim it to shore.

Getting your canoe stuck isn’t very fun. To unrig your canoe simply lower yourself to bog down the weight of the canoe, take your paddle and push off.

The reason you want to duck down is so you don’t tip you canoe from having too much weight above the rim of the canoe.

The actual river ends in at the Blackwater State Park, which consists of more than 500 acres and provides more than 30 campsites.

The sites off of the river also have restrooms, showers and electricity hook-ups for things like RV’s and generators.

Remember to have a first aid kit for emergency situations.

For more information on the on river and the state park please contact (850) 983-5363.

Offices and rental reservations are open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.