DEEPSEAWOLF
Contributor
On a cool winter morning a large collective of people began arriving in a sleepy town called Crystal River. Some were donning wetsuits for warmth, others to prepare for an exciting day of adventure. The group packed "Cravings on the Water," a small diner with an attentive staff. Captain Suzie Holstead of Captain Suzie's Charters met the group and had them watch a short video on how NOT to enter the water. The group divided into two smaller groups to board boats Captain by Suzie and another by Captain Jim. Both Captains checked their radios, took head counts of tourists aboard and headed out to find manatee-infested waters. Unfortunately, at the same time there were two other boats leaving the same port with a large number of new teen divers seeking the same adventures. Captain Jim's lot checked out numerous sites only to find a few non-interactive manatees and to throw NetDoc overboard to see how cold the water really was. Seems after all the air WAS colder than the water, as evidenced by Pete's white legs. OOPS, that was their NATURAL color. Sorry.
Meanwhile, Captain Suzie's load of miscreants had come across King's Bay, to find themselves in King's Spring. There were a few manatees and a ton of silters making things a touch nasty looking. After playing "Marco Simon," they received some assistance from a law enforcement officer who cheated and simply asked, Are you Simon? Spoilsport, youre supposed to just continue yelling his name until he answers. Oh well. Finally, the two boats met in a small cove where manatees seemed quite interactive.
H2Andy however, absolutely terrified by the large creatures swimming around him, screamed like a young girl in absolute horror and collapsed to the deck faintheartedly. Smelling salts and five point restraints later, he composed himself and returned to normal operations. Although he could occasionally be heard mumbling, My precious. Filthy hobbits. We hates em! Did I mention hes a lawyer?
(Sorry, was caught daydreaming again. We luv ya Andy!)
After the larger bunch of swimmers vacated the area, three large creatures swam out from the protected area and we found out how interactive they were. NetDoc dove back in along with Maneater to play with the mermaids of Crystal River. This entire trip was planned around a key idea. Getting Maneater near a manatee for a close encounter of the aquatic kind. It worked magnificently as the three danced around a camera shutter for many minutes. Soon two other sirens joined them. For what seemed like an eternity, the serenade of Crystal Rivers clear water and wildlife entertained the camera, and the senses. Eventually, Pete and Holly climbed back onto the boat and we headed back to port. Hollys eyes were aglow from the experience of a lifetime. The trip was a success, knowing this, and that many others had at least seen and swam near enough to make contact with such passive creatures as manatees.
Everyone met at Crackers for a mid-day lunch. Many jokes and stories of the morning were quite entertaining. We also met up with some that had not accompanied us on the trip, but were happy to meet and greet over lunch. Some parted company after the Scubaboard Photo, others joined up on Captain Suzies boat for the second outing of the day. Thanks to all were had, especially to Simon for carrying ScubaJennys gear to the boat for her.
As the boat headed out, the headcount was taken; Gibbon, NoFish, ScubaJenny, Deepseawolf, Cardzard, Roxanne, and of course captain Suzie at the helm.
As we coasted through the bay, the boat seemed to be riding a bit off, and the engine had gulped some grass and crud making the trip a bit uneasy. For the sake of her visitors and peace of mind, we headed into port for a different boat. Back out to water, many sinking jokes were made for the rest of the trip. Captain Suzie took us to Kings Bay, which was incredibly silted up. A small class was there as well, helping situations that much more. Roxanne and DSW stayed at the rim of the spring watching the hundreds of mutton snapper looking fish schooling everywhere. There were also many mullet the length of an arm, and dodging in and out of the mullet was a small tarpon, feeding on whatever he could find. There were many small and a few large sheepshead roaming about. Some had fight scars from territorial disputes all over their backs. Gibbon stayed aboard and the other three divers went poking around the cave entrance. We all headed back to the boat for a second location, hoping for clearer sites and a manatee larger than the one on the statue in the basin. We returned to Three Sisters Spring area, which was my personal favorite of the outing. After NoFish finished chewing on a strangers fin and growling, we swam into the distant single basin. This was really cool, and we headed off to the most distant area beyond a fallen tree. There were huge bass swimming around, including one with a huge bream jammed in his throat. This will be the end of him if he does not manage to finish his meal. Biting off more than you chew has never meant so much. I felt someone tug on my fin. I turned to see a huge manatee entering the small spring area. We watched as it glided around the basin and came to rest less than five feet from me. I was afraid that my erratic breathing and the bubbles from my reg would frighten it off, but instead, it shifted closer. Eventually, it came to rest next to me so I could pet it. It rolled slightly so I could rub its back, then it slowly swam towards the river. I turned to see Cardzard knealing in its path and another manatee leaving the area as well. There had been two coming in one after the other.
Cardzard copped a feel on each as they slowly swam past him headed for another spring area. We swam slowly past other divers entering the area and headed back to the boat. We joked about being delighted that it was still afloat and it was good to see Suzie joking with us. The trip back to port was fun as the weather had become windy and chilly. The Canadian NoFish and Cardzard were bantering back and forth about the temp as Suzie and I were discussing local spearfishing opportunities. Gibbon had been second mate for the entirety of the second outing, being as helpful as always. Again I say, YOU ROCK DUDE! We arrived at port to stow gear and make final preparations to head home. Captain Suzie and Captain Jim had made this a very pleasurable experience. I look forward to using them again on separate or joint charters. They knew the area well and were incredible hosts. Thank you from Ken DeepSeaWolfAdams, (the organizer of this trip), and also to NetDoc for maintaining Scubaboard and providing us the opportunities to meet new divers and lifelong friends.
Meanwhile, Captain Suzie's load of miscreants had come across King's Bay, to find themselves in King's Spring. There were a few manatees and a ton of silters making things a touch nasty looking. After playing "Marco Simon," they received some assistance from a law enforcement officer who cheated and simply asked, Are you Simon? Spoilsport, youre supposed to just continue yelling his name until he answers. Oh well. Finally, the two boats met in a small cove where manatees seemed quite interactive.
H2Andy however, absolutely terrified by the large creatures swimming around him, screamed like a young girl in absolute horror and collapsed to the deck faintheartedly. Smelling salts and five point restraints later, he composed himself and returned to normal operations. Although he could occasionally be heard mumbling, My precious. Filthy hobbits. We hates em! Did I mention hes a lawyer?
(Sorry, was caught daydreaming again. We luv ya Andy!)
After the larger bunch of swimmers vacated the area, three large creatures swam out from the protected area and we found out how interactive they were. NetDoc dove back in along with Maneater to play with the mermaids of Crystal River. This entire trip was planned around a key idea. Getting Maneater near a manatee for a close encounter of the aquatic kind. It worked magnificently as the three danced around a camera shutter for many minutes. Soon two other sirens joined them. For what seemed like an eternity, the serenade of Crystal Rivers clear water and wildlife entertained the camera, and the senses. Eventually, Pete and Holly climbed back onto the boat and we headed back to port. Hollys eyes were aglow from the experience of a lifetime. The trip was a success, knowing this, and that many others had at least seen and swam near enough to make contact with such passive creatures as manatees.
Everyone met at Crackers for a mid-day lunch. Many jokes and stories of the morning were quite entertaining. We also met up with some that had not accompanied us on the trip, but were happy to meet and greet over lunch. Some parted company after the Scubaboard Photo, others joined up on Captain Suzies boat for the second outing of the day. Thanks to all were had, especially to Simon for carrying ScubaJennys gear to the boat for her.
As the boat headed out, the headcount was taken; Gibbon, NoFish, ScubaJenny, Deepseawolf, Cardzard, Roxanne, and of course captain Suzie at the helm.
As we coasted through the bay, the boat seemed to be riding a bit off, and the engine had gulped some grass and crud making the trip a bit uneasy. For the sake of her visitors and peace of mind, we headed into port for a different boat. Back out to water, many sinking jokes were made for the rest of the trip. Captain Suzie took us to Kings Bay, which was incredibly silted up. A small class was there as well, helping situations that much more. Roxanne and DSW stayed at the rim of the spring watching the hundreds of mutton snapper looking fish schooling everywhere. There were also many mullet the length of an arm, and dodging in and out of the mullet was a small tarpon, feeding on whatever he could find. There were many small and a few large sheepshead roaming about. Some had fight scars from territorial disputes all over their backs. Gibbon stayed aboard and the other three divers went poking around the cave entrance. We all headed back to the boat for a second location, hoping for clearer sites and a manatee larger than the one on the statue in the basin. We returned to Three Sisters Spring area, which was my personal favorite of the outing. After NoFish finished chewing on a strangers fin and growling, we swam into the distant single basin. This was really cool, and we headed off to the most distant area beyond a fallen tree. There were huge bass swimming around, including one with a huge bream jammed in his throat. This will be the end of him if he does not manage to finish his meal. Biting off more than you chew has never meant so much. I felt someone tug on my fin. I turned to see a huge manatee entering the small spring area. We watched as it glided around the basin and came to rest less than five feet from me. I was afraid that my erratic breathing and the bubbles from my reg would frighten it off, but instead, it shifted closer. Eventually, it came to rest next to me so I could pet it. It rolled slightly so I could rub its back, then it slowly swam towards the river. I turned to see Cardzard knealing in its path and another manatee leaving the area as well. There had been two coming in one after the other.
Cardzard copped a feel on each as they slowly swam past him headed for another spring area. We swam slowly past other divers entering the area and headed back to the boat. We joked about being delighted that it was still afloat and it was good to see Suzie joking with us. The trip back to port was fun as the weather had become windy and chilly. The Canadian NoFish and Cardzard were bantering back and forth about the temp as Suzie and I were discussing local spearfishing opportunities. Gibbon had been second mate for the entirety of the second outing, being as helpful as always. Again I say, YOU ROCK DUDE! We arrived at port to stow gear and make final preparations to head home. Captain Suzie and Captain Jim had made this a very pleasurable experience. I look forward to using them again on separate or joint charters. They knew the area well and were incredible hosts. Thank you from Ken DeepSeaWolfAdams, (the organizer of this trip), and also to NetDoc for maintaining Scubaboard and providing us the opportunities to meet new divers and lifelong friends.
LOL Where was he when we returned??? Geesh!
