FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 10, 2014
MICROBIOLOGIST BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO COMPLETE FLORIDA’S CIRCUMNAVIGATIONAL SALTWATER PADDLING TRAIL
~Florida native journeys 1,500 miles in three months~
Mary Mangiapia (right) paddles in the waters near Rookery Bay Reserve.
TALLAHASSEE – Florida resident Mary Mangiapia has kayaked the state’s Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail. Following her initial launch from Big Lagoon State Park near the Alabama state line on Sept. 6, she became the 14th person, and first woman, to complete all legs of the trail without more than a day or two’s rest. Her journey concluded today at Fort Clinch State Park near the Georgia state line.
Loaded down with 130 pounds of gear, chart and compass, and a handheld GPS as a backup, Mangiapia’s sponsored Epic 18 kayak endured storms, waves and even a run-in with a bull shark, which hit her boat and bent her rudder as she paddled near Cayo Costa State Park one evening before sunset.
“The trip has been an incredible adventure,” said Mangiapia a few weeks before completing the trail. “I have battled through storms, had amazing wildlife encounters, explored some of the most wild and remote areas of Florida and met some truly incredible people. I am loving the adventure and am thankful for every day that I get to be out here.”
Mangiapia rescued a pair of jet-ski campers in the Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve, was escorted by dolphins into a marsh in the Chassowitzka National Wildlife Refuge and found safe harbor during a coastal storm at the home of Deborah Woods, a Team OCEAN volunteer for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve who befriended Mngiapia shortly before her trip began.
“I was following Mary’s progress along the trail and, despite 15-knot winds and light rain, was really happy to be able to escort her for a 12-mile stretch paralleling the reserve’s coastline on the Gulf of Mexico from Gordon Pass to Isles of Capri,” said Woods, an avid kayaker and longtime volunteer at Rookery Bay.
At many of her stops Mangiapia took advantage of opportunities to learn about the local wildlife, visiting state parks, nature centers and historical sites as she met up with other kayakers along the way.
The paddling trail is divided into 26 segments. Each segment is unique, ranging from the remote Big Bend Coast and Everglades/Florida Bay wilderness, to the more urbanized coastlines of Pinellas County and Fort Lauderdale. The trail is utilized by thousands of Florida residents and visitors alike who paddle the trail for a few hours, days, weeks or months.
Mangiapia, a Tampa resident, is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University and received her master’s in microbiology from the University of South Florida. She has been a kayaking enthusiast since the age of nine.
To learn more about Florida’s Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail click here. | 
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