Manatees near the Panhandle?

[BioLogic]

Hi folks! Sabbath and I are planning a trip to do some cavern diving on the Panhandle later this month. We'd love to visit with some manatees; but we don't want to do any more additional driving than we need to to do that. So what spots would be good for manatees that are more northerly/westerly; and is there other good diving in that area?

Thanks for your opinions!

Jeanne

 

[scubaskipper]

You are aware you can't legally swim with manatees except at King's Bay and Homosassa. This is also the largest over wintering population in the state. They'll be there till the gulf temp. goes back up past 68-70.

 

[BioLogic]

I wasn't aware, so thanks! It seems one just contacts one of the dive shops in Crystal River or Homosassa to arrange a snorkel tour then? Any suggestions on operators?

 

[Katch]

I wasn't aware, so thanks! It seems one just contacts one of the dive shops in Crystal River or Homosassa to arrange a snorkel tour then? Any suggestions on operators?

I'm diving with American Pro next Wednesday. They have a combo snorkle with manatees, and dive a cavern. Apparently, manatees don't like bubbles, so no scuba on the manatee part. This place also has a $35 Padi Manatee Specialty class. What the he**, I signed up for that too.

Manatee Specialty - Snorkel with Manatees or scuba beautiful springs


Someone recently posted a bit on this shop and their experience (over 100 manatees in the area). I should be able to post an update shortly after the dive next week.


Steve

 

[BioLogic]

I'm diving with American Pro next Wednesday. They have a combo snorkle with manatees, and dive a cavern. Apparently, manatees don't like bubbles, so no scuba on the manatee part. This place also has a $35 Padi Manatee Specialty class. What the he**, I signed up for that too.

Manatee Specialty - Snorkel with Manatees or scuba beautiful springs


Someone recently posted a bit on this shop and their experience (over 100 manatees in the area). I should be able to post an update shortly after the dive next week.


Steve

I would never sign up for one of those _silly_ PADI classes! (Wanna see my Oriskany Diver card? ) I'd love to hear about the cavern dive. We plan to put some bottom time in on caverns this trip!

 

[scubaskipper]

As far as operators go, the trip is made by the Captain you get. The whole reason you are allowed in the water with them is for the education. The Captain should be educating you about the animals as part of the tour. This shouldn't be something you pay extra for to get a card. Call the shop you may be interested in using and ask them about how they operate the tour. If things don't add up, maybe call another shop.

 

[Katch]

I would never sign up for one of those _silly_ PADI classes! (Wanna see my Oriskany Diver card? ) I'd love to hear about the cavern dive. We plan to put some bottom time in on caverns this trip!

Not much bottom time, but fun for a newbie.
I went with American Pro Diving this past Wednesday. They did a manatee snorkle, and a cavern dive in the same area (finished by noon). We just swam back to the boat and suited up for the cavern. The cavern dive was only about a half-hour @ 50ft, but swimming through the dark caverns was an interesting experience.

The PADI class/card was a bit of a gimmick, but I learned some interesting stuff about manatees (they cannot drink salt water and can only hold their breath for about 20 minutes). It was mostly a PowerPoint with a few props including a case of real manatee bones. The heavy rib seems to be solid bone. It's not boat's props that are harmful, it's the boat hitting and shattering the ribs.

Anyway, I'm glad I actually took the class and would recommend the snorkle/dive, especially to newer divers (like me) that haven't experienced manatees and/or caverns.

Here's a couple pics:

 

[Wayward Son]

It's required that you attend a briefing on the manatees before swimming with them. It is not require to have any sort of local operator take you out.

My dive club does an annual trip to Crystal River. We brief our divers here prior to the trip & rent boats from the marina/dive shop there & run them ourselves.

You can watch the video at the dive shop once you get down there, it's about 30 minutes. It's rather important as there are things you can do & people watching with enforcement powers to make damn sure that you don't. It's a really fun trip, just make sure you know the rules before getting in the water.