My wife went fishing today with an old friend of ours on his small boat. While they were out on the ocean, he said that a few days before, when the wind was whipping as it had been for days, he spent some time fishing on the intracoastal, near the Hillsborough inlet. He told her he encountered something he had never seen before in his decades in Florida--manatees everywhere. He said he must have seen 200 while he was fishing.
When they were done with their frustrating day trying to catch fish on the ocean, they came in through the Hillsborough inlet and headed north a little over one mile to his slip. Suddenly there were manatees everywhere. All the boats in the area slowed to a crawl, and they had to weave their way through the clusters of manatees. My wife said they saw at least three dozen in the one mile + from the inlet to the slip. When they got there, other boaters said they had seen similar sights. One talked about starting his engines in the slip and having a mother and pup come out from under his boat.
When they were done with their frustrating day trying to catch fish on the ocean, they came in through the Hillsborough inlet and headed north a little over one mile to his slip. Suddenly there were manatees everywhere. All the boats in the area slowed to a crawl, and they had to weave their way through the clusters of manatees. My wife said they saw at least three dozen in the one mile + from the inlet to the slip. When they got there, other boaters said they had seen similar sights. One talked about starting his engines in the slip and having a mother and pup come out from under his boat.
