(WSVN) - Two adventurers on board for quite a journey across a South Florida lake. They didn’t just cross any lake, but the massive Lake Okeechobee.
The journey spanned 34 miles and many hours.
Two Florida men, Jordan Wolfram from Lakeland and Mason Gravely from Palmetto near Sarasota, paddled the length of the lake Okeechobee.
“That amount of distance isn’t crazy on a paddle board. Plenty of people do it, but it was just putting together the idea of being the first to go anywhere across this lake that has anywhere between 10 and 30,000 alligators. That was kind of the kicker.” said, Jordan Wolfram.
Despite the gators and a frigid morning, the men say the water was calm and the weather was clear.
“Just wanted to do something that no one has ever done, something crazy and help bring attention to this really cool project that affects all Floridians.” said Wolfram.
Both men are trying to raise awareness about the importance of conservation and supporting the restoration of the Everglades and the Florida wildlife corridor.
“Florida is changing, a lot of people are moving here. A lot of land is being converted into home and what we were trying to do is raise awareness for the amount of efforts to conserve wild Florida, and how much goo and how much progress is being done.” said Wolfram.
The journey began at five in the morning, where the Kissimmee river floes into Lake Okeechobee and ended at the start of the Miami canal. The primary outflow that spreads into the Everglades.
The quality of the water impacts the whole state, impacting the water that we drink and even how healthy the water is at the beaches.
Conservationist said population growth and development across our state has changed the way our water flows throughout the sunshine state, and that could be detrimental to the environment.
Jason and Mason said they were able to see the impacts while they were paddle boarding.
“The water use to flow through the Everglades very, very little of it ends up there. Now, it’s managed, it’s flowing out the sides. These aren’t historical pathways and you see the impact of that, and so me being able to witness it made a huge difference for myself.” said Mason Gravely.
The trip lasted a total of 11 and a half hour of paddle boarding.
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