Suggestions for manatee snorkeling in Crystal River?

[scubaskipper]

Don't know if they still do, but American Pro use to offer the Manatee Specialty Class (PADI) after the dive. It was short but very educational (and fairly cheap).

If the guide is doing his job, each tour should be a Manatee Awareness class and is included with the tour price.

---------- Post added December 5th, 2013 at 09:21 AM ----------

Wider the better. Turn off strobes, hope for a cold night and a sunny day. Be patient. Ask for the resident naturalist at Plantation, you'll learn tons. If you HAVE to go on a weekend, Sundays are not as crazy.

---------- Post added December 5th, 2013 at 09:50 AM ----------

The arm pit rubbing is the same as going honk honk to a female, kind of a rude thing to do, ask any female you know. Some research indicates that it may interrupt nursing behavior. The calf usually nurses 20 minutes or so at a time, looks a lot like they're chewing away at her flipper pit. Now she has all these strange things wanting to rub around in that same area. The next time the calf wants to nurse, she may have had enough of all that attention, in that same area and doesn't let the calf nurse. By the end of the winter that calf might not have enough body weight to survive that last cold snap and ends up with an illness due to cold stress.

You have to remember that they have 70,000 to 100,000 people that come to Citrus county every year to do something with manatees. This year has already been over 120,000. It's not that behavior one time, it's that behavior thousands of times over the course of the winter that has a negative impact. We always have to remember, manatees are not there for our entertainment, they're there to survive the winter.

There is a new video this year that stresses the PASSIVE OBSERVATION aspect of the encounter. They kept saying over and over this isn't a petting zoo.You'll want to notice that at no time do you see anyone TOUCHING a manatee in that video. They've already hinted that the final CCP will possibly include a no touch aspect. It sounds like they're giving us a couple seasons to get with the program before the change takes place.

---------- Post added December 5th, 2013 at 09:57 AM ----------

I stayed at the Plantation last month for a couple of days. Nice place. I ate breakfasts across the street at Grannys(sp)?. Great local establishment.

I enjoyed the Rainbow River drift dive. The viz at Kings Cavern, at the time, was poor.

In years past, the viz. at the main spring was good at low tide. The last 2-3 years, even at low tide the viz. is pretty bad. Most of the vents in the cavern are flowing salt water now. That end of the bay is actually saltier than the other end.

 

[Steve_C]

Appreciate the information. We were told the rubbing was ok but that was a few years ago. Knowledge grows.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Just got off the boat from Homosassa with American Pro Divers. A quality tour with lots of manatees (over a dozen). The guide Mike was very experienced and knowledgeable. He's been guiding these trips since 1999.

Vis was good in the surface layer of spring water, murky under. That's OK though, since they surface into the clear water to interact with people.

Our guide says the best vis will be in a couple months (Feb) when the tides draw more of the murk away and there's more spring water.

Homosassa is apparently a nicer spot than Crystal River, though I can't comment from first hand experience.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Homosassa Springs manatees 12/6/13.

 

[FettSolo]

So, a good friend and myself spent three nights at Plantation's this past weekend. As I stated previously, I had booked their manatee package (included the room, a delicious breakfast, and the manatee tours). All three tours (Sat-Sun-Mon) were fantastic. They kept getting better each day, but there was also unique encounters with each tour as well.

What a wonderful experience! I would highly recommend Plantation, both as a hotel and as a manatee tour operator. It was my friend's first snorkel experience, and she had an equally enjoyable time. I am already thinking about the next time we can go, haha.

Thanks again to everybody who offered their advice and insight into planning this trip. It was greatly appreciated.

 

[ronscuba]

The colder the air temp, the better for the manatees. It's been 5 years but my daughter and I did crystal and rainbow with Birds, Weeki Wachi and Epcot living seas on the way home Might have to go again as she's a senior this year and wants to go out of state for college.

Yes, the colder the air temp, the more likely you will get good sightings/groupings of manatees. When the air temp is cold, I recommend renting a dry suit. The 72 degf water temp is not the problem. It's the air temp when you get out of the water wet and sit on the boat. The morning air temps can be in the 40's.

 

[sup]

I just did a manatee snorkel a few days ago in a 3mil wetsuit and 1mm beanie, no gloves. I guess I could have been warmer, but I think a dry suit is overkill. We rented a kayak, paddled out to the three sisters spring to see the manatees, and then paddled around the bay a bit after our snorkel. In the morning, it was chilly out and all the manatees were packed in close to the spring and there weren't many outside. The springs were closed off - no humans allowed, so we had to loiter outside and hope the manatees came to us. In the afternoon when the air started to warm up, the manatees started swimming out into the canals towards the bay. We started our trip around 11am, and when we paddled back to return the kayaks around 2:30 there were a LOT more manatees out in the canal. It was probably in the 30s the night before, so if it's warmer when you go maybe the manatees won't be as packed into the spring, I don't know. I talked to a guy who had gone up to the same spring two days earlier and they didn't see any manatees at all. I guess they're fickle.

 

[ronscuba]

We each have our own tolerances to cold. The issue is the air temp, not the water temp.

When I went, morning air temps were in the low 40's. Out on the water in the boat it is even colder with the wind. I wore a 5mm and was totally comfortable in the water. Froze my butt off on the boat. The operator offered to do another stop at another sight. With everyone on the boat freezing after the 1st snorkel, we all voted to skip the next snorkel sight and go back to the shop. If we had dry suits, it would be a different story. The guide from the shop was wearing a dry suit.

You had air temps in the 30's ? To each his own, I would wear a dry suit for air temps below 45.

 

[Randy g]

We did a trip the end of Dec............ I had a blast!!!!

Here's my family video.

[video=youtube;fHTjpNxEQjI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHTjpNxEQjI[/video]

 

[sup]

You had air temps in the 30's ? To each his own, I would wear a dry suit for air temps below 45.

We had air temps in the 30s overnight. We didn't get to the springs until ~11 and by then it had warmed up considerably. There were people there with no exposure suit at all.

You are right about the boat ride being the cold part, but since we were on a kayak the wind wasn't much of an issue. I was chilly when we initially got out of the water, but it was sunny so after about 10-15 minutes, it was positively tolerable!