Margo Pellegrino being welcomed at City Park Beach by family friend Bill Keller.
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A personal quest to increase awareness of the value of our ocean resources brought a young mother to Cedar Key May 4. She is paddling from Ft. Pierce to New Orleans, landing at Cedar Key as she approaches the mid-point of her 1200 mile journey after just nineteen days on the water. Margo Pellegrino, the erstwhile paddler, covered the leg of her trip from Crystal River to Cedar Key in eight hours. That is nearly four miles per hour, a rate that should impress anyone that has ever paddled a boat. 
Ms. Pellegrino approaching her overnight accommodation at Gulfside Motel.
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Ms. Pellegrino`s boat is a 20 foot outrigger canoe that weighs just 25 pounds and is made of ultramodern materials by Outrigger Connection of Hawaii. Her trip is sponsored by Natural Resources Defense Fund, the Gulf Restoration Network and Ms. Pellegrino`s friends. 
A truely lightweight watercraft.
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Ms. Pellegrino is motivated by her recognition of many factors converging on the health of the ocean. She likens the ocean to a home aquarium, both closed systems that can get out of balance if not properly cared for. Her awareness stimulated her to paddle from Miami to Maine in 2007 to draw attention to her conservation cause. This year she is focused on the Gulf of Mexico. To date her longest leg of the trip has been 61 miles, starting from Pine Island. 
Ms. Pelligrino plotting the next leg of her trip with the help of Joe Murphy of the Gulf Restoration Network.
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Ms. Pellegrino, the mother of two boys, is in regular contact with her husband Carl and her boys by cell phone. Her network of support includes Nature Coast residents Joy Ezell, Lee and December McSherry, family friends Bill and Barbara Keller and several Cedar Key Energy Conservation Panel members. The welcoming committee joined Ms. Pellegrino for dinner at the Island Room Restaurant the evening of her arrival. Ms. Pellegrino said that she enjoys conversations along the way with people that share her concern for protecting the ocean. | 
