Tampa Bay Paddle Distractions - St. Pete's Most Famous Debate!

How can I admit that I went to St. Petersburg in Tampa Bay, Florida with a camera that I hate and fell in love with the city the first few hours and refused to take any pictures of it out of respect. "I'll be back with a better camera. This is just a scouting mission for places I like enough to visit twice."

After several hours of exploring the city by car, nature called. Where to go? It's not the land of fast food stops that I usually only use for things other than food. "Head to the marina, there must be something there."

A sweet historic looking Byzantine style little octagonal brick building on the water across from the boats in the marina suddenly caught my eye.

"No way, it's a public restroom!" Never mind more immediate needs, out came the camera I hate to snap a shot of it.

"Why am I doing this? I've never taken a photo of a bathroom before!"

People needing to enter the establishment are stopping to let me take a shot unobstructed. Tourists with puzzled expressions are wondering why I'm taking a picture of it. "Why are you taking a picture of a restroom?"

Me: "I'm not sure. Go ahead, don't let me stop you!"

A happy jogger passing by stops, jogs in place and says, "Do you know the story of this bathroom?"

Me: "Ummm, no. There's a story?"

Jogger: "As legend has it, there's a church, St. Mary's, only a few blocks from here on the corner of 4th Street and 5th Avenue. The architect of the church was not paid as promised for his work. Out of spite, he had this public bathroom built to resemble the church and had it constructed before the church was built."

Me: "Great, thanks. A bathroom with a story! Have a good jog!"

Now I've got to find the church without a map and spend time researching the story. Stories are passed on for a reason? I wasn't looking for one.

Sure enough, the church is nearby and easy to find. You'll likely find the bathroom replica first though! And it seems to be more popular!

According to the church website, the church was built in 1929, seats 1,000! Impressive!

Mini St. Mary's on the marina seats many less! And was apparently built in 1927.

The story makes sense. The church was built during the Great Depression. The architect was likely underpaid. The church has its own version of history though. No mention of the public bathroom it resembles! http://www.stmaryolg.org/history.html

I'd like to visit the interior (of the church) one day.

And the debate rages on. Is it a true story or not . . . ?

Tour guides and passing joggers (and now me) have kept the story alive.

Kudos to Henry Taylor, architect. What a beautiful and useful design of both buildings and a brillant way to make a point! Out of spite, you made the church more famous with a remarkable replica of it in the form of a restroom in a more noticeable location than the church (on the water at the marina) and helped more people find the church and learn more about it!

What's the moral of the story?

Interesting to ponder! Ha!

(Don't tick off your smart and savy architect!)

Boats for Cockroach Bay Paddle, Big D's Kayaking

Cockroach Bay boat launch, Tampa Bay, Florida

Cockroach Bay, Tampa Bay, Florida - Kayaking with manatees and dolphins

Finally, a blogworthy paddle from a beautiful boat launch in Cockroach Bay, paddling a sweet Romany S with a Werner paddle in open water with views of St. Petersburg across Tampa Bay, and deep enough in high tide to get through miles of mangrove islands, manatees, dolphins, and leaping mullets all along the way, and the photo that makes the post is a guy straddling a little 13 foot Tampico demonstrating wind and water dynamics using a banana for a kayak?

Yes!

That's Don Thompson of Big D's Kayaking. Who else does that? He calls it "banananimation" but the rest of us paddlers called it a snack after the lesson. Hmmm, maybe I've been edging my boat wrong in a cross wind too? Bananas are convincing teachers.

At the end of the 4-hour paddle Don also showed us how to chop open a watermelon with a Lendal paddle. I thought he was just joking, but he actually made a perfectly clean cut with it. I hid behind the German paddlers, they were my "splatter-guards" just in case. Something to remember if you find yourself alone on a beach one day with a huge watermelon and no knife to cut it with.

And thanks to Don for letting me commandeer his boat! When we arrived at the launch and all the boats were lined up on the beach, the only one I could see was the Nigel Denis Romany S.

Me: "I'd really like to paddle this boat!"

Don: "But this one over here, the Tampico, was the one planned for you."

Me: "I know, but I REALLY want to paddle the Romany S! Can I?"

Don: (Pause) "Well . . . OK."

When Don hopped into the boat planned for me, I realized I'd taken the guide's boat. I felt a little guilty, BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT!! I hope not just for me. Other paddlers wanted to test paddle it too. It handled like a dream and I didn't think skeg once. And he let me paddle it for the entire trip.

Me: "Has anyone else ever taken your boat before?"

Don: "Well, no. You're the first."

Me: "Sorry, maybe we should keep this a secret!"

Two thumbs up from the Baffin Paddler for Big D's Kayaking and the Romany S!

Don is a great guide, supplies good equipment, takes you to a beautiful location, and we all came home happy paddlers full of fresh cut watermelon!  http://www.bigdskayaking.com/

The paddle gods were with me that day.

Directions to Cockroach bay in Tampa Bay, Florida

To get to the Cockroach Bay boat launch in Tampa Bay from the northwest part of the bay, take the 275 south, cross the Skyway Bridge, catch Hwy 41 north until you get to Cockroach Bay Road. On Hwy 41, there is a handy Shell K gas station and market right across from Cockroach Bay Road. Otherwise, you're likely to miss the little road sign in the middle of nowhere.

Cockroach Bay is in the southeastern entrance of Tampa Bay and is a manatee protected area, so go slow with motorized craft. We were told that the average adult manatee has about 15 motorboat scars. Ouch! So please be careful and go slow if you operate a motorized craft in the area.

And we did encounter a few manatees in the Cockroach Bay area. Ever see a manatee? Another place you can find them in Florida is Crystal River. If you do head out to see manatees, it is important not to disturb them as there are protection laws.

The tides in Tampa Bay are minimal, only a couple of feet. You need to watch out for the low tides though, so you don't get stuck in low spots, especially in the mangroves. Paddling in a few inches of water is not fun or safe if the bottom is deep and soft!

Happy paddling!
The BaffinPaddler

Mangroves, Caladesi Island, Barrier Islands, Tampa Bay, Florida

Looks nice? Enjoy the pic. It's better than being there. I'm wondering why other paddlers around here would recommend this? Not me. Come to Canada and paddle! Short and sweet at least. Only took 10 minutes to get through it in murky water and no room to move the paddle. The paddle to get there was not interesting. I wouldn't rent a rec boat to do it for $30 for two hours in this area. But the beach around the corner from the mangroves is a nice place to hang out in swim gear and get toasted by the intense Florida sun, if you like that. On the way back from the shallow water, hit a deep spot with some wind and boat wakes and some dolphins passing by.

I was the only one in rash guard and neo shorts. Ha! There are so many places I'd rather paddle . . . so far.

Pier along my beach cycle path, barrier islands

Giant Jellyfish