Is that my reflection?
Val and I had the opportunity to join Becky and Dave on their annual winter manatee trip down to Crystal River, Florida. We packed our gear and headed down to Tampa. An hour later, we were pulling up to the hotel in Crystal River. Over the last few years, I’ve had some great trips down to this area. There’s been a load of training for myself, as well as my training others. The caves and sinkholes are difficult to blow out, so it’s a good area for scuba training for deep dives.
This trip was just for fun. We planned to dive with the manatees, then spend the weekend relaxing. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative. We left NJ just after a snowstorm. This winter has been one of the coldest I remember. Now that we were down in Florida, we were hoping for a little warmth. No such luck. Thursday morning was in the 30s with a bit of a breeze.
With the cooler conditions, Becky decided to keep the boat trip short, and head to King’s Springs. The water clarity is not as good here, but the Manatees were active, and inquisitive. While you were petting one manatee, another would come up behind you and nudge you for attention. Staying in the water was the key to keeping warm. During the entire day, there was steam rising off the surface. Yes, it was quite cold when we got out. After getting lots of photos, we headed back to the shore to warm up. While it may have been cold, we had a lot of fun.
Sanctuary
Val had filled her fun quota that day, and decided to head to Homosassa Spring Wildlife State Park on Friday. Apparently this is a wildlife preserve that also provides wildlife rescue services. There she found many animals that had been rescued, and were now recovering before release.
The weather caused a few cancellations on Becky’s next trip, so there was room for me to join them again. Friday, the manatee excursion headed out to the Three Sisters Spring. There is a large sanctuary area around the springs that was filled with manatees. Most were quietly resting, but some would come out of the sanctuary and interact with the divers. Speaking of divers, there were quite a few. Probably because it was warmer, but also because it was Friday. When we arrived there were 5 boats, and numerous kayaks. With this many people I’m sure it can be overwhelming to the Manatees. Everyone stayed away from the sanctuaries to give the manatees their space. Most of our crew were experienced divers, and very calm and careful in the water. This made the manatees more relaxed, and many freely interacted with us.
Becky and Camera
Back in the springs, the water was crystal clear and warm (72), but there were very few manatees, and they were resting. (You can’t disturb them when they are resting.) We got a few shots of the one or two in the springs, then headed back to the river where they were more active.
After several hours trying different photo techniques, angles, and subject, we headed back to the boat. The ride back was much warmer this day. We quickly got changed and headed out for some hot food to warm up.
Tags: Florida Manatee Dives