Boating and kayaking in Pine Island Sound
Lure: Let your base camp be your guide
Location: Pine Island Sound, Florida
This is the way to do southwest Florida—from a crewed, floating B&B loaded with kayaks(皮船), limes(酸橙), rum(朗姆酒), and five of your closest paddling buddies to split the cost. The Mirage, a shallow-draft 70-foot (21-meter) outrigger catamaran, cruises through the barrier islands of Pine Island Sound, dropping your gang off at a new location each morning along the just expanded Great Calusa Blueway, a 190-mile (306-kilometer) marked canoe and kayak route. A loose itinerary(旅程) leaves room for spontaneity(自发性) and takes into account(考虑) the skill level and ambition of the group.
Poke around(闲逛) the grassy fringes(外围) of Sanibel’s J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, where manatees(海牛) roll in the dark green water; paddle through the chop(河口，港口) with a posse(团队) of dolphins to the empty beaches of Cayo Costa State Park; or cut through a channel to play in the Gulf of Mexico on the islands’ western shores. And if you simply want to drift, that’s cool too.