Leslie Angela Blanco // Staff Writer
It’s the middle of summer, and water activities are high in demand—at least for students based at the Biscayne Bay Campus. However, this wasn’t always the case.
“Kayaking has always been here at BBC campus. A lot of people just didn’t know about it. Participation has picked up where 2 to 3 years ago we couldn’t even fill 20 seats,” said Jonathan Torrey, department coordinator and recreation specialist.
Kayaking at the bay has become a more popular activity in recent years at FIU.
Subsequent to the day kayaking trip that came up this past Saturday, the night Kayaking trip that just passed on July 16 as well as the one coming up on Aug. 13 are different in contrast to the day ones.
During the day trips, which begin at 10 am and usually end around 12 pm, the guests are taken out onto the kayaks with their life vests and brought over to the Oletta State Park trail already in place. They follow the mangrove trails and reach the sand bar where other boats are usually docked. The students then tie up their kayaks and can hang out there for about 15 to 20 minutes and even have the option of swimming around the nearby area. After this, they are taken back onto the kayaks and kayak back to campus.
With the night time trips, in addition to kayaking through the mangrove trails of Oletta State park, the guests are also taken to an island. The island is called Sandspur island. It is a tiny island where boats can set up and where a cluster of people are there already relaxing and enjoying the water. There is also a forest of palm trees and you can also view an abundance of coconuts on the ground as well as on the trees.
In regards to kayaking, if it would be your first time, a little patience and practice is needed, at least in my case when I went on the night trip. However, soon we were able to do so effortlessly once we headed out into the open water. We tied up our kayaks and are given leave to explore the territory, hangout around the area, and swim in the newfound waters which are about 2 to 3 feet deep.
Once everyone gets settled on the island, normally a camp fire is set up and a cooler is also brought that has marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers
where you have the option of making s’mores around the fire. This is done depending on how many people would prefer to stay on the island, and if there aren’t enough people who can stay on the island, the fire is then set up when the kayakers return back to campus. In that regard, they have the option of leaving whenever they want.
Most of the night time trips are usually sold out within a week to two weeks of when registration opens. The feedback has been positive and it’s no wonder these trips are always sold out. The next nighttime trip will be on the 13 of August; registration just opened up this past Thursday.
“Now I have people screaming at me, ‘hey I have been trying to get on this night time kayak and I’m about to graduate and I can’t go. What can you do for me?’” said Torrey.
The last kayaking trips—both day and night will end by this October and start up again in Spring. The night time kayaking trips only take place only once a month. “My goal is to get everybody who hasn’t had a chance to get out here to come and at least experience the trips once before they graduate. My hope is that next year we get more days for the night time trips—because it seems to be the feedback that I’m getting.”said Torrey.
If you’re looking to go on a kayaking adventure, the price is 5 dollars for FIU students and 10 dollars for faculty, staff, guests, and alumni. Registration is at active.com and closes as soon as the 20 seats are full. If they are full, you can always still try to get a seat if you arrive on site at least 15 minutes beforehand in the case that there is a no show.
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