We hijacked the dry suit thread and went into discussions of hypothermia and adverse weather. I am starting a new thread. Please feel free to share your thoughts and plans for dealing with adverse weather. I will post my plan below. If you know of good bug out spots along the way, please share. If you have a good strategy for dealing with cold, thunderstorms, high winds fog or other adverse weather, please share that as well.
In the past I have routed outside from Choco to Flamingo. I am doing the wilderness waterway this year and it is new territory. I am especially interested in knowledge of these waters and strategies for dealing with weather and other dangers in the Everglades.
Here is my plan for adverse weather:
Tampa Bay: Wait at the start for the calmest conditions if possible. I have 16 hours to spare between the start and cp1. I would like to use some of this sleeping, but I am not crossing Tampa Bay in sloppy weather and I will forego sleeping and pull a superhuman paddle if needed. Kayak Vagabond can make this distance in 12 hours. That means it will probably take me 20.
Charlotte Harbor: Choose the least sloppy shoreline. I want a close windward shore to reduce fetch if possible. If the forecast and conditions are really bad, I use the same tactics as Tampa Bay. Sit and wait it out.
Intercoastal waterway and run from Ft. Meyers to Marco Island. If the forecast is bad, paddle as long as I can and find a hotel with a nice tiki bar.
Marco Island to Choco: There is a sandy beach within 3 miles until one commits to Indian Key Pass. If storms are moving in, I will sit it out on an island. Lightning is an issue, but there is nothing I can do about it and I probably won't know it happened.
Choco to Flamingo: It is sheltered and should not be as bad for sea conditions. If there are bad storms, I will try not to be on the bays when the storms hit. I would rather be in a narrow channel. If possible, I will be at a campsite. If it gets wicked cold, I will find a campsite and wait it out.
Flamingo to Key Largo: This is a short hop and can be done in half a day. Hopefully I will have about 4 days to play with for this leg of the trip. Most of islands here are mangrove and nearly impossible to land on. I will wait out any sloppy weather forecast at Flamingo and hope that it passes in time for me to paddle on to Key Largo. Google Earth and prior watertribe forum posts indicate a few places to land and I have them marked on my map. Aleutian and I saw a waterspout on this section of the EC back in 2014. My contingency plan for that is paddle like a mad man and hope for the best.