Bill Riddle
M.S. Real Estate Development, Columbia University
Serious expertise with a lighter touch
Lake Guide
The following information about our local lakes is from the Tampa Bay Water Atlas website.
You may also wish to learn more about our lakes and waterways by exploring the Southwest Florida Water Management (SWFWMD) website.
Pretty
Surface Area
84.52 acres
Mean Depth
12.0 feet
Maximum Depth
30.0 feet
Approximate Volume
350,482,024 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Rock
Surface Area
53.98 acres
Mean Depth
7.0 feet
Maximum Depth
21.0 feet
Approximate Volume
113,864,497 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Josephine
Surface Area
48.29 acres
Mean Depth
7.0 feet
Maximum Depth
24.0 feet
Approximate Volume
111,487,453 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Armistead
Surface Area
33.12 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
28.0 feet
Approximate Volume
96,612,517 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Keystone
Surface Area
434 acres
Mean Depth
11.0 feet
Maximum Depth
24.0 feet
Approximate Volume
1,509,570,177 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Island Ford
Surface Area
94.27 acres
Mean Depth
10.0 feet
Maximum Depth
23.0 feet
Approximate Volume
299,040,197 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Maurine
Surface Area
51.49 acres
Mean Depth
13.0 feet
Maximum Depth
21.0 feet
Approximate Volume
257,524,000 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Alice
Surface Area
87.75 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
23.0 feet
Approximate Volume
278,789,045 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Taylor
Surface Area
43.83 acres
Mean Depth
10.0 feet
Maximum Depth
25.0 feet
Approximate Volume
155,207,146 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Calm
Surface Area
114 acres
Mean Depth
9.0 feet
Maximum Depth
31.0 feet
Approximate Volume
370,052,196 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Mound
Surface Area
83.71 acres
Mean Depth
13.0 feet
Maximum Depth
35.0 feet
Approximate Volume
338,327,876 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Hiawatha
Surface Area
61.66 acres
Mean Depth
12.0 feet
Maximum Depth
24.0 feet
Approximate Volume
293,519,627 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Pinellas/Anclote Watershed
Osceola
Surface Area
59.31 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
22.0 feet
Approximate Volume
146,696,961 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Leclare
Surface Area
43.25 acres
Mean Depth
5.0 feet
Maximum Depth
17.0 feet
Approximate Volume
60,139,500 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Church
Surface Area
69.63 acres
Mean Depth
7.0 feet
Maximum Depth
24.0 feet
Approximate Volume
181,048,927 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Echo
Surface Area
28.53 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
18.0 feet
Approximate Volume
88,874,377 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Carroll
Surface Area
210 acres
Mean Depth
10.0 feet
Maximum Depth
25.0 feet
Approximate Volume
1,070,501,055 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Rainbow
Surface Area
48.28 acres
Mean Depth
9.0 feet
Maximum Depth
22.0 feet
Approximate Volume
14,396,121 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Crescent
Size and Volume
Surface Area
48.04 acres
Mean Depth
11.0 feet
Maximum Depth
23.0 feet
Approximate Volume
164,462,280 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Magdalene
Size and Volume
Surface Area
252 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
24.0 feet
Approximate Volume
609,842,098 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Thomas
Size and Volume
Surface Area
61.43 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
23.0 feet
Approximate Volume
209,152,369 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Cooper
Size and Volume
Surface Area
79.98 acres
Mean Depth
11.0 feet
Maximum Depth
25.0 feet
Approximate Volume
299,217,000 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Stemper
Size and Volume
Surface Area
115 acres
Mean Depth
6.0 feet
Maximum Depth
18.0 feet
Approximate Volume
219,169,965 gallons
Watershed
Hillsborough Bay Watershed
Strawberry
Size and Volume
Surface Area
39.78 acres
Mean Depth
8.0 feet
Maximum Depth
18.0 feet
Approximate Volume
100,808,730 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Hobbs
Size and Volume
Surface Area
60.90 acres
Mean Depth
10.0 feet
Maximum Depth
22.0 feet
Approximate Volume
204,953,000 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
Chapman
Size and Volume
Surface Area
42.29 acres
Mean Depth
7.0 feet
Maximum Depth
19.0 feet
Approximate Volume
101,662,488 gallons
Watershed
Coastal Old Tampa Bay Watershed
A true prior boating experience to whet your appetite for lake living.
How I wish “Holy crappadappa” was in my repertoire when Bill Sink met me in Marblehead to show me the finer points of sailing his boat. Rather than take the public launch to reach the sloop in the vast harbor, I suggested my own craft. It was a small, rectangular aluminum boat with three seats and an ancient outboard attached to the stern. To make the outing more memorable, I’d invited my girlfriend Carol. She asked if she could bring her mother Doris and I agreed, expecting to impress all of them with my seamanship skills.
Doris arrived at the boatyard wearing a white knee-length skirt, blue and white striped blouse with anchor buttons and navy colored epaulets. Completing the wardrobe was a fashionable white scarf, tan pantyhose, and two-inch white heels. I wasn’t sure which took longer, coordinating the wardrobe or applying the makeup. Her foundation was at least an inch thick with dark commas for eyebrows keeping the mauve eye shadow from covering her forehead. Doris’ sprayed her sandy blonde hair in a way not even a nor’easter could dislodge. If this were Vegas instead of Marblehead, she’d have fit in perfectly.
To add to the cooler of beer already stowed aboard the dinghy, Doris contributed a clear plastic tray with deviled eggs held down with Saran wrap. I was relieved Baked Alaska wasn’t on the menu. As I considered the growing number of variables, I began to think about skipping the sail in favor of more modest ambitions, like window-shopping. I could develop a sudden case of amnesia. “What do you mean we’re going sailing? We don’t even have a boat!” A sudden call to deliver a baby would’ve been the perfect excuse, except I’m not an obstetrician. With limited options, I decided to take my chances on the water.
To her credit, Doris managed to descend the gangway to the floating dock where the dinghy was, while wearing her heels. Perhaps I’d misjudged her. Maybe this was all a clever disguise intended to conceal a salty woman, the veteran of many high seas adventures.
We climbed aboard the boat without incident. Doris and her deviled eggs occupied the bow. Bill and Carol sat in the middle while I worked to fire up the 1930’s outboard. After five minutes of pulling the starter cord, adjusting the choke, and spraying starter fluid, it came to life in a great thundercloud of blue smoke. We cast off to the fanfare of tugboat horns, sprayed fireboat salutes and a flotilla of well-wishers screaming, “Bon Voyage.”
Before we were 100 yards from the dock, the bow nose-dived and a rush of cold harbor water washed over Doris and into the boat. I cut the engine. What little I knew about powerboats was that they are supposed to travel above the water, rather than below. Doris’ skirt had turned from white to a wet gray and her heels sat in two inches of water. I thought, if we could just reach the safety of the sailboat, we could salvage the day. I asked Doris to move from the bow and sit on the cooler amidships. With the weight redistributed, I tried again. Thinking speed was the answer, I coaxed the engine to go even faster. This time, an even larger wave filled the boat. We were sinking. Doris looked like they'd hosed her down to get rid of radioactivity. A 14-year old boy who’d witnessed the spectacle from the shore rescued us, except for the deviled eggs. I’d expected my guests would have a memorable day on the water, not in the water. If only we’d gone window-shopping.