WaterTribe Boot Camp for Florida Events
The next Florida Boot Camp for the Everglades Challenge is
Friday, January 12, 2024.
And we have another scheduled for January 12-14, 2024. Both events will run. See below for details.
There is no charge for this event. However, it is assumed you are registered or plan to register for one of the upcoming Florida events.
All WaterTribe events are dangerous events as defined by Florida law and common
sense. You are responsible for your own safety. You must read and
understand the warning before you register for this event.
This bootcamp is aimed at newbies (but all WaterTribers are welcome) to provide some initial words of wisdom and a fun time in the Tampa bay area.
You should bring the boat you intend to use for the EC and pack it accordingly.
We will meet at Fort Desoto using Shelters 10 and 14. We will use the boat ramp for launching and long term parking. Note that there is a fee
for parking at the boat ramp and anywhere in the park. There are several pay stations throughout the park. Or go online and buy an annual pass.
Camping will be on Shell Key. You do need a camping permit.
Due to changes at the park and shelter availability, we will be scheduling two weekends for the BootCamp. Attendees can chose one or the other or both.
The details for each date are shown below. The important differences are shown in red.
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First Meetup Dates: January 12-14, 2024
Schedule
- Friday Night - Optional - Camping on Shell Key. I won't be there, but there probably will be other bootcampers there.
- Saturday 09:00 - Meet at Fort Desoto Shelter 14. This is the same shelter and beach area we
will launch EC2024 from. Bootcamp instruction, questions, answers.
- Saturday 12:00 - Adjourn the presentation and travel to the boat ramp to launch for Shell Key.
You cannot launch from Shelter 14 for this meetup. You must launch from the boat ramp.
- Saturday Night Optional - Camp on Shell Key. You will need a permit (not free anymore - see below)
Shell Key Primitive Camping Permit
- There will be a campfire. If you have a bit of extra space in your kayak, bring a log or two.
- Shell Key camping used to be free. Now you have to pay $6 per night. Each site is limited to 6 people. You
have to check a whole bunch of "legal and waiver type" boxes and fill in names for everyone in your group.
- Here is a link to a PDF showing Shell Key. Please note the cutoff point for camping. Last year we had a lot of people going too
far north. There is a "fence" but it can be hard to spot from the water. I will be scouting the area soon and get an
exact lat/lon for the northern limit for camping.
Shell Key Map
- Sunday Morning - Depart per your schedule.
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Second Meetup Dates: January 19-21, 2024
Schedule
- Friday Night - Optional - Camping on Shell Key. I won't be there, but there probably will be other bootcampers there.
- Saturday 09:00 - Meet at the Fort Desoto Shelter10 (First shelter at North Beach). Bootcamp
instruction, questions, answers.
- Saturday 12:00 - Adjourn the presentation and travel to the boat ramp to launch for Shell Key. There is
no long term parking for this shelter so you must use the boat ramp if you are going to camp. However, there is water access for
kayaks and Hobie AIs and TIs. If paddling in you will have to cross a shallow pass with water depth depending on tide. See the map
below for more info on this option.
- Saturday Night - Optional - Camp on Shell Key. You will need a permit (not free anymore - see below)
Shell Key Primitive Camping Permit
- There will be a campfire. If you have a bit of extra space in your kayak, bring a log or two.
- Shell Key camping used to be free. Now you have to pay $6 per night. Each site is limited to 6 people. You
have to check a whole bunch of "legal and waiver type" boxes and fill in names for everyone in your group. I registered for two weekends:
1/15/2020 to 1/17/2020 and 1/22/2020 to 1/24/2020 just in case we have bad weather and need to move it out to
the following week. Yes, it cost me an extra $12. If the weather is great I get to do it again.
- Here is a link to a PDF showing Shell Key. Please note the cutoff point for camping. Last year we had a lot of people going too
far north. There is a "fence" but it can be hard to spot from the water. I will be scouting the area soon and get an
exact lat/lon for the northern limit for camping.
Shell Key Map
- Sunday Morning - Depart per your schedule.
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Here is an overview of the area:
This image shows the location of Shelter 10 and the water access to it. It also shows the boat ramp for launching and long
term parking. Shelter 10 is the very first shelter at North Beach so turn into the parking lot as soon as you see the North
Beach sign. Go straight in and then look to your left (south). The shelter is hiding and easy to miss.
Here is a more detailed view of the boat ramp and and long term parking. It is not used for the presentation this year.
And here is another view showing the boat ramp and camping with a bit more detail:
A couple more pictures will be added soon.