I started teaching SCUBA way back in the 1970’s. I was always a fan of canoeing and slow to move into to kayaks, my first whitewater kayaking as 1975, that continued to grow as I moved from recreational kayaking to teaching whitewater kayaking and opening a kayak retail shop in 1994. At that time there were only 3 kayak retail location in Florida, and I lead the way with sales of whitewater kayaks and with many trip to NC.
McFarlane’s Kayak & SCUBA, a division of McFarlane’s High Tech High Touch Systems opened its doors in the summer of 1994, 1/2 miles from Weeki Wachee Springs. The retail business, was famous for eco-tours before anyone knew the meaning of the word. 93% of the business was world travelers mostly Europeans visiting Disney and traveling to the West Coast of Florida, to see what our natural world was all about. With the tourism success, I was involved with the Tourism council as we promoted eco-tours and the formation of The Nature Coast. Many kayaking shops sprouted up across Florida by 2000, many were the results of training and trip with me.
J.W. McFarlane's 