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Work made simple

Diane and Dennis Peters gave up careers in law enforcement for a quieter life on the water.

By NICOLE HUTCHESON
Published March 4, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Ted McLaren] Dennis Peters helps Kelly Conerly into her kayak during a recent tour of the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs. Watching are Diane Peters, far left, and Theresa Presley. Diane and Dennis Peters, former law-enforcement professionals, now operate Simply Kayaking.

PALM HARBOR - With kayaks careening around mangroves in the gulf dotted with pelicans and egrets, it's hard to imagine the life Diane and Dennis Peters once lived.

Not so long ago, Dennis was a weapons instructor for the state and Diane was a Largo police detective. They spent their days buttoned up in uniform and strapped - ready for the worst.

But now, as owners of Simply Kayaking, a private kayak and eco-tour company in Palm Harbor, their work attire is simply shorts and sandals.

On a recent evening on the water, the closest the Palm Harbor couple came to a menace was a stubborn blue heron standing his ground.

"He's the top bird on the island," said Dennis Peters, 38, paddling to a sanctuary island where a statuesque heron was staring down the couple paddling by.

The two opened Simply Kayaking about a year ago. It offers private and group kayak tours from Pop Stansell Park in Palm Harbor, the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs and Crystal Beach. Their tours offer diverse bird watching, and kayakers often see fish, the occasional dolphin and perhaps even a stingray.

After clocking in 30 years collectively as Florida law-enforcement officers, the couple decided it was time for a career change.

"The idea was we wanted to be working together," said Diane Peters, 42. "And doing what we loved."

The two found it easy to agree on a business that included the open water.

Both Dennis and Diane grew up as Air Force dependents hopping from state to state. Dennis lived in four states and Germany before settling in Panama City as a teenager. And Diane called 49 of the 50 states home before she was 10 years old.

But once the teens found roots - Dennis in Panama City, Diane in Lancaster, Ohio - they developed a respective love for all things aquatic.

As a youngster in the Panhandle town, Dennis learned to boat before he could drive a car. And as a student at Ohio State University, Diane spent summers working as a white-water rafting instructor in Colorado.

In another similar move, the two took cues from their public servant fathers and followed careers in law enforcement. Diane studied criminology at Ohio State University and later took a job with the Largo Police Department. Dennis decided to jump into the field feet first and became an officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Both climbed the law-enforcement career ladder quickly. Diane became a detective in Largo, and later was an investigator for the State Department of Environmental Protection. Dennis spent years as a search-and-rescue diver and SWAT team member in Columbia County before moving to Tallahassee to be a weapons instructor for the state.

The couple met in 2004, when Diane traveled to Tallahassee for weapons training.

A year later and engaged, the two took a trip to Colorado to raft with the company Diane previously worked for. The company had a new owner, who inspired the couple.

"Here's this guy that is doing what he wants to do and you feel like if he can do it, why shouldn't we be able to do the same thing," Dennis said of the trip.

Dennis asked Diane what her favorite job had been. Hands down: white-water rafting instruction, she said. And some of Dennis' fondest memories were on the boat with his brother and father.

"It was like the Flipper episodes," Diane said jokingly. "That's the life I wanted to have ... it seemed so carefree."

Living their dreams meant some serious financial considerations. Both had the "live-below-your-means" mentality, Dennis said. They tapped their savings for start-up money.

The couple spent less than $20,000 to get the business going. They didn't take out business loans and decided to go small scale.

The pair pooled their money to purchase 10 kayaks and gear. No storefront meant no occupational license, so they decided to keep the boats stored in their back yard on a rack system along the fence.

Their only set annual fee associated with the business is a $25 parking permit.

But the simplicity of their business model didn't keep them from running into problems when they were getting started.

Dennis said kayak companies tried to sell them equipment in a piecemeal way, with big price tags.

"We started figuring out there's a lot of people gouging people trying to get out on the water," Dennis said. "I didn't want to gouge."

With Simply Kayaking, the couple wanted a simpler, all-inclusive approach. In addition to the tours, they also sell kayaks.

"If we're going to sell you a boat, we're going to sell you everything you need to get out on the water," Dennis said.

They sell kayaks ranging from $519 to $1,049. As for tours, $50 per person gets a customer five minutes of instruction, a two-hour sightseeing tour and a complimentary photo album on CD of their trip. The Peterses also do group tours for up to 12 people, and there is a longer sunset tour that includes cheese and crackers.

"Life really is so easy, if you treat people right," Dennis said. "Working cases taught me that."

Beyond the financial preparation for opening a new business, the couple had to do a bit of mental deprogramming, as well.

In law enforcement, "You can lose sight of how good people are," Dennis said.

Before, "we were dealing with people on their worst days," Diane said. "Now we want to enjoy and them to experience what we do every day."

Since opening shop, the two average about two trips a day during peak season.

They came up with the routes from taking their family and friends on trips around the Gulf of Mexico and the Anclote River. They tweaked their tours based on the feedback.

To drum up business, the couple participate in such sporting events as triathlons. In July, the pair loaned five kayaks to the Morton Plant Mease triathlon. In return, they were given a booth at the event.

The two are also members of the chambers of commerce in Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs.

"They have such a wide variety, they'll take you in open canals or more scenic mangroves," said Suzanne Henslee, a local race director, who manned one of the kayaks during the Mease triathlon. "They'll cater to what you're looking for."

On a recent day, the couple snaked through red mangroves out in the gulf, just off the shore at Pop Stansell Park, in separate kayaks.

Dennis flexes some of his water savvy. There's a saltwater lake right out in the Anclote River, off Howard Park, he says.

"It's some of the prettiest water you'll ever see and best fishing," he said. "But you can't get to it on a power boat."

When asked if they miss their days on the force, there's a pause. Diane stops paddling and really thinks about the question.

"We're still protecting," she said. "If you want to go out, you couldn't be with safer people."

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at njohnson@sptimes.com or 727 445-4162.

Simply Kayaking

For more information, go to www.simply kayaking.com

or call 727-481-0184.

Tours include instruction, gear, tour and a photo album of your trip.

Trips leave from Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs and Crystal Beach.

No experience is needed.

[Last modified March 3, 2007, 20:30:40]