031: Nice Run and Manatees!

On Monday December 4th we finally left Steinhatchee to make our way south.    We were headed to Crystal River, 78 n/m away, so we got an early start at 7:30 a.m.    We stayed four nights there waiting for smooth seas, and we got our wish with the waves less than one foot.  It is nice to report that the ride was completely uneventful.

The town of Crystal River is approx. six n/m up a river from the coast, and parts of the trip are relatively shallow.  In fact, the cruising guides steer away boats with more than a 4.5’ draft.  That is probably a bit extreme as we saw plenty of larger boats in the marina, but you definitely want to stick to the channel and come in at high tide of you draft much more than that.  At 2.5’ draft, we were fine through the channel.  We couldn’t get a spot at the one marina in town, which turned out to be just fine as a) the anchorage was great and b) the marina was ridiculously expensive for not much in the way of services.

We anchored in Kings Bay, and I took Nancy to shore to meet up with her sister Susan who lives in Ocala, Fl.   Nancy drove back with Susan for an overnight visit and to do some much-needed laundry (the last marina not having washers and dryers back on-line yet).   I microwaved a Dinty Moore Chicken Dumpling meal, having bought some for just such an inevitability.

Hygge and Katmat at anchor:

I did a poor job of taking a picture of these teenagers catching a shark, I was too late, and they had just released it back.  But note the picture, we’ll use it later.

Got a nice sunset shot:

Nancy and Susan came back the next day and we went over to Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.   The land had been privately owned and the owner wanted to develop it with condos but from what we heard, “The deal fell through,” and he sold the land to the government which turned it into a great wildlife refuge.   The Refuge contains natural freshwater springs that are literally crystal clear and provide a safe haven for the manatees.

We attended a short talk about the manatees from a volunteer.  The volunteer and her husband divide their time between the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest and Crystal River (so I guess we'll catch her "Orca talk" when we do our Alaska trip) and as marine biologist by training, she was very knowledgeable:

The manatees come upriver to the springs for a) the fresh water and b) warmth in the winter.  Manatees don’t have a lot of body fat and the water comes out of the ground at a constant temperature of 72F.    Here are some views from the land.

Freshwater spring:

Manatees:

The scene all day on the river.

After the visit to the Refuge, Nancy, Susan and I got lunch and some pictures of the town.

City hall:

Manatees are a big theme:

We also noticed that a boat had run aground at some point since I tried to get a picture of the shark the boys caught.  Note the picture above of the boys taken the afternoon before.  This is a low tide the next day:

That night we went to dinner with Matt and Kathy at a local restaurant after first looking at the weather forecast for the next day (Wednesday).   It was calling for some decent sized waves offshore (twenty n/m) and two to three closer in.  The problem is that it is relatively shallow up to ten miles offshore on the run down to Clearwater for most of the trip.  We decided to wait until Thursday when the wind was supposed to switch from Northwest to North and calling for more like one-to-two-foot waves.

The next day, Nancy, Kathy and I did an morning run over to see the manatees by water.

Me looking all "skipperly" and serious.   Actually, you have to be careful and on your game so you don't hit a manatee.   We couldn't really hurt them with our dinghy and anemic electric outboard motor, but still.   

Manatees:

You are not allowed to touch the manatees, but it did not stop this person from giving belly rubs and getting right in the manatees' face.   Not cool, these are wild animals, and though gentile they still weigh twelve hundred pounds, and mothers are naturally protective of their calves:

They also don't want manatees to turn into aquatic versions of pelicans, who always know where the fish cleaning is happening:

The rest of the morning Nancy and Kathy went shopping while I worked.   This involved Nancy’s first use of the dinghy, and she took to it like a pro.  Speaking of the dinghy, after the repair work noted in the prior posting I pumped up the dinghy on Monday morning, as of this writing (Friday morning) the dinghy pontoon is still fully inflated.  Victory?   Time will tell.

Kathy and the fully functional (for now) dinghy:

When Nancy got back from shopping, we got out her snorkel gear so she could swim with the manatees.  We took the dinghy over in the late afternoon.  Luckily it was past peak tourist time so there wasn't the hoard of snorkelers as in the picture above.  She said it was one of the best experiences she has ever had:

We sent word back to the crews of Willie Dawes and Sol Maria that they had to make Crystal River a stop on their journey.  Even sent them this map so they could get to the manatees via dinghy:

That night Nancy made some meat sauce and cooked pasta for us and Matt and Kathy and we had a nice meal on Hygge.  We could have stayed a week in Crystal River, and I would have liked to get a turn in the water with the manatees, but we need to get to Ft. Meyers/Naples by the 16th to meet up with our son, Jack, who is flying down to meet us for Christmas.  Our daughter Charlotte and Nancy's sister Patty are also coming down as well.  

Dave

Odometer:  1,730 n/m