January
2008
Triple Lakes -- Always an Interesting Paddle
By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking The Triple Lakes area is one of the best, yet probably one of the least known, paddles in Charlotte County. Why this is, I’m not quite sure. The north entrance is only a mile or two from Port Charlotte Beach Park, an easy paddle across Alligator Bay to Muddy Bay, then into the mangrove channel south of Lewis Creek, one of the main boat channels to the Bay. The south entrance (or exit) on the north side of the Myakka Cutoff is a little more difficult to locate, but a couple of prominent landmarks, and/or GPS coordinates, can help identify the opening. ‘What makes the Triple Lakes such an interesting paddle?’, you may ask. Well, the variety of the scenery, and the paddling experience for a couple of things. On this single paddle you first get to experience the broad, open expanse of the Peace River, often choppy and rough. Then a quick transition to the relative quiet of the mangrove area on the southwest side of Alligator Bay. The mangrove channel opens into a fairly wide, shallow pond, but staying right of center gets you through without touching bottom – most of the time. The mangrove channel makes still another transition, at the south end of Midway Boulevard, into the Manchester Waterway, with beautiful homes, lawns and boats on the right and more mangroves on the left. After a mile or so on
Water LIFE
the Manchester, a hard left turn takes you into the Triple Lakes Channel, 20-30 feet wide, and usually with an abundance of wildlife. As you continue on a generally southern course, you will pass through, in rapid succession, the three wide, open ponds called the Triple Lakes. Better make sure that the tide is reasonably high for this transit, or you may have to drag your kayak through some of the very shallow spots in the ponds and channels. As you exit the Triple Lakes channel, suddenly you find yourself in the relatively open water of the Myakka Cutoff. The Myakka Cutoff is fairly wide at this point, with Hog Island directly south of the channel opening. A hard turn to the left, a mile and a half paddle, and voila, the Peace River (Charlotte Harbor) once again. The remainder of the paddle north, back to Port Charlotte Beach, can be quite a challenge, depending upon the direction and force of the wind. Still, the 2 + mile paddle along the beaches and mangroves is interesting and there is always something unusual to see. A series of beaches along
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shore of the mangroves is about the only place on this entire route to stop for a break and a snack. But pick your spots to approach the beach carefully, as the water close to shore can be quite shallow! In general, stay several hundred yards east of the beaches on the northbound trek, to avoid the shoals. Overall, the Triple Lakes paddle covers about 9 miles, so allow about 3 hours for the outing including the break. One of our club members, John Keaveny, has explored other routes from the Manchester Waterway to the Myakka Cutoff, and has found an excellent variation to the route described above. The route John has found adds some variety to the paddle, as our club does the Triple
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Lakes several times a year. And, there may be still other undiscovered ways to complete the paddle. Aerial maps, such as Google Earth and others aerial charts, help identify potential, new routes. Then, GPS coordinates can be used to locate entry and exit points for the routes. If you are looking for an interesting, sometimes challenging paddle, try the Triple Lake route. You won’t be disappointed.
The Port Charlotte Kay ak ers meet each Wednesday ev ening at 5:30 PM, at the Port Charlotte Beach Complex . All paddlers, or potential paddlers interested in finding out more about the sport and our club, are welcome. For more information, contact Dav e Allen at 941-235-2588 or: dlaa@comcast.net