Caladesi Island and beyond…

DOTTIE RUTLEDGE
Guest Columnist
boating@lbknews.com

My good friend and cruising mate, Phil Annunziato, decided it was time to do a little exploring. We had heard about Caladesi Island State Park, one of the few completely natural islands along the Gulf Coast near Dunedin, Fla. Caladesi Island is not its own island but shares its geography with Clearwater Beach Island. As our interest grew in these strange neighbors — one completely developed and one completely natural — so did our float plan. We decided to visit both.

We boarded “SEAESTA,” a very comfortable and well appointed 50-foot Ocean Alexander on loan to us for the weekend that is docked at Snead Island Boat Works on Snead Island, Fla. Pulling out of the marina at 7:45 a.m., we decided to cruise the inside route taking us through Tampa Bay toward Pinellas Point. This cruise, weather permitting, would have been faster out on the Gulf but not as visually interesting.

Set your course for the Skyway Channel (ICW) and all we can advise is enjoy the view, but the Skyway Channel is very shallow so stay in the markers at all costs. And if you drift over four feet, you better watch the tides through this area carefully. As we continued north under the Terra Ceia Bridge into Pass-A-Grille, we seemed to be the only boat out today and were accompanied by dolphins for most of our journey. They surrounded the boat and, considering all that had gone on this year in our waters, there couldn’t have been a more welcome and happy sight. Note the Pass-A-Grille Yacht Club is in this area, as well, with dockage and great places to eat nearby.

We were in Madeira Beach by 10:30 a.m., and we had arrived at the Belleaire Causeway Bridge by 11:15 a.m. Caladesi Island sits off to our port side, but the channel into the island is a hair-raiser for a boat our size. Phil had studied the chart prior to our departure and called the dockmaster at Caladesi, and he suggests you do the same. From channel marker 14, just west of the Dunedin Causeway Bridge, take an approximate 212-degree heading on your compass for approximately one mile. Then, follow the channel markers very, very (did I say very) carefully into the Caladesi Island State Park Marina. You’ll bite nails watching the depth sounder fall below depths of four feet in some places. But just take it slow, enjoy the beautiful mangroves and before you know it, you come around a bend revealing an extremely well maintained state marina. There is limited dockage for a 50-foot boat, although there are 108 slips available and all dockage is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. We were lucky and arrived early enough (12:15 p.m.) to snag an end T-dock.

Dockage at the time of our visit was $6 for a day pass, and $2 per foot, per night for overnight. You may stay up to 14 days. I think we counted 15 boats in the marina on this beautiful summer weekend. All sizes of boats can be accommodated (power or sail) as long as your draft requirement is less than four feet at mean low tide.

However, there is one tidbit of information of which we were not aware — there is no 50-amp service available. And, all gensets must be turned off nightly at 10 p.m. Bring a splitter if you are planning on staying overnight. We did not have one. What we observed are many smaller day-trippers arriving for picnics or a few hours on the beach. The dockmaster told us in the four years he has been assigned to his post, he only recalls the marina full on one occasion, July 4th weekend. This is a very populated area with tons of boaters. Caladesi Island was shaping up to be a real find.

Not being an avid hiker I left Phil to fiddle with the lines and have an ice cream cone, while I headed off to explore on my own. Caladesi Island is outstanding. It offers three miles of hiking trails through natural vegetation and oak hammocks. There is abundant bird life and if you’re lucky, you could see the threatened gopher tortoise. Quiet, secluded and still wild, this three-and-a-half-mile-long barrier island is one of the best shelling beaches on the Gulf Coast. The trail weaves through a beautiful landscape formed by red bay, sabal palm, live oak and Southern red cedar ending at a completely natural beach — secluded and virtually empty. Crawl marks left by nesting loggerhead turtles are evident as the dunes covered in sea oats are a favorite nesting area. Sea birds own this beach, and the closest human seen was a half-mile away from me.

My only concern on Caladesi were the alarming notices posted every 1,500 feet warning me to be wary of rattlesnakes. Although I did not see one, a few of the caretakers I spoke with that day told me, ‘why yes, there was one just right over there.’ And I strongly recommend bug spray for the trail. So even in paradise, there are pitfalls.

Amenities include picnic pavilions, very nice bath houses and a park concession selling food, ice, sandwiches and of course t-shirts. Kayaks are available for rental. This is the kind of place that you go to completely disconnect when you’re on a tight schedule. Want to know what it would be like to be stranded on a deserted island? This would be the place to go. And if you’re planning a local family boating picnic or rendezvous, Caladesi Island would be a perfect venue. The covered picnic pavilions are available to rent for around $32 a day.

I could go on and on about the charms of Caladesi Island, but Phil was not keen on spending a hot summer night aboard without air conditioning. We decided by late afternoon that Clearwater Beach Marina only one hour away made more sense.

Leaving a pristine, secluded location such as Caladesi and pulling into Clearwater Municipal Marina is culture shock on steroids. This is a large, 210-slip, busy marina within easy walking distance of Clearwater Beach. There are 23 transient slips available, and the marina is home to a collection of charter boats, dinner boats, sightseeing boats, parasailing and annual customers. Transient rates are an affordable $2 per foot per day.

Caladesi is where you go when you don’t want to see anyone. Clearwater Beach is where you go when you want to do and see it all. As a year-round top vacation spot, Clearwater Beach has some of the widest, most active beaches on the west coast of Florida. Standing on Pier 60 Park fishing pier, the beach scene looks like a 1960s beach blanket bingo movie or Fort Lauderdale during spring break. Volleyball is big on the beach and played all day long.

The car traffic pouring over the Memorial Causeway onto the island was endless. There are fishing charters, wave runner and boat rentals, a pirate ship excursion, shopping, endless dining options, an aquarium and plenty of arcades. We spent most of Sunday simply wandering around, taking it all in. It’s just too much!

It is hard to believe that it’s possible to walk from Clearwater Beach Island to Caladesi Island, but after a 1985 hurricane you can do just that. The contrast of these two neighbors is so striking and for boaters the very best of both worlds.

Combining these two destinations made for a well-rounded weekend getaway. There are few places left that offer you a look at old Florida so very close to one of the premier beach resort destinations in the country. Try it out.

Caladesi Island State Park
1 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin, FL
(727) 469-5918
Open year round, 8 a.m. to sunset

Clearwater Municipal Marina
25 Causeway Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33767
(727) 462-6954