I am partnering with NRDC to paddle my outrigger canoe 1200 miles around Florida and west to New Orleans. My goal is to build support for a Healthy Oceans Act and steps to protect our oceans from global warming and ocean acidifictaion. For those who do not know, I paddle to inform and for those who don’t care, I paddle to inspire. I am documenting my journey on this blog during the month-long paddle. You can read more about the paddle, see photos, and take action here.

Another beautiful day. More boats on the water today than yesterday. Could be the weather, could be the extremely affluent neighborhood I was paddling through (Jupiter, Palm Beach). I did retrieve a couple of the usual plastic bags, but mostly it was a relaxing paddle with wind at my back.

I ran into an old friend, Woody, who drives a TowBoatUSA boat in the Stuart area. He's a great guy, and two years ago escorted me into Stuart to the Pirate's Cove. Once again I got to stay there, but this time with my family. Woody told me that his boat is now powered by bio-fuel. Pretty cool, and it really says something about the state of things in this area when TowBoat is switching fuels.

But fishing is a big deal in Stuart, there are lots of charter boats that go out, and it frustrates many to no end that they can no longer eat the fish they catch in their immediate waters because of water quality issues. The folks of Stuart watched their crystal clear blue water turn murky and dark due to nutrient overload when the Army Corps rerouted the water from Lake Okeechobee that would have normally have drained through the Everglades. Clean water here in the land of fun, sun, and fish is a serious issue, and the folks down here are keenly aware of the negative impacts of things like nutrient overloading. My little family is heading back north now, and my husband, Carl, so sweetly made my day by locating me (using this most awesome "Spot" thing) so I could hug and kiss him and the kids, since it was a bit impossible to do that at this morning's launch.

Thanks so much for the Pirates Cove dock-hands for storing my boat on their property last night, and thanks to Andrea Spencer and Bruce Grout of the Newport Cove Marine Center for also taking part in this effort by hosting my boat at their facility tonight. And thanks to Robin Rorapaugh for hosting me tonight at her lovely home! And of course, thanks to the good folks at NRDC for giving me another opportunity to spread the word about the need for sound policy for a healthy ocean.