At a chickee in Florida Bay
Every summer I spend a clothing free week in the Everglades National Park. Normally, I have the place to myself, because most people don't go there in Summer. On a trip in Florida Bay (part of the park), I was staying at a chickee.
I was on the lower platform putting water jugs up on the next level where my tent was. I turned around and about 10 feet away was a boat with 2 middle-aged couples on board. I had not heard them because they came from downwind. They wanted to tell me a storm was coming, which I knew, but I thanked them for telling me. I didn''t try to hide, and no one said anything about me being naked.
That's great!
I've done some sailing on the more open parts of Florida Bay, off Key Largo. As soon as I was away from the dock, and raised the sails, I always stripped and stowed my shorts below in the cabin for the rest of the day. With the seats along the sides, about a foot lower than the gunwales, I never needed to cover up when other boats passed a short distance away, as long as I was sitting down. Out on the open water and around the islands, any time I needed to get up from the cockpit and walk on deck to raise or lower the sails, I just did it nude. Most boaters that passed out there were far enough away that they probably wouldn't have even noticed, and even if they did, weren't likely to care.
During one trip, I had towed a kayak to some mangroves that were only a mile or so away from the dock. Anchoring the sailboat, I paddled some of the trails through the mangroves, some of which intersected with the ICW and connecting channels. While paddling, I had stowed my swimsuit behind the backrest, thinking nobody would pass close enough to need it. Without much warning, a cabin cruiser came around a curve in the narrow channel, leaving no time to grab the suit. It slowed to "no wake" speed, but passed me within just a few yards. From the higher boat, everyone onboard could see right down into my kayak. They just waved.
How do you deal with the mosquitos and other insects when you're paddling and camping nude in the glades?
Timing. I am in my tent before sunset, and don't leave the tent till the sun hits it in the morning. Also, I stay out of the brush, out in the open where the breeze blows the skeeters away. I rarely have to use insect repellent.
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