Manatees and Crystal River Trip 12/3/06

[Missdirected]

S'okay desperate measures, I guess one could say, got me back to the springs. Saturday we went on a guided snorkeling tour with the manatees. The manatees were awesome. The tour - well that left a whole heck of a lot to be desired. I won't go into too much detail but it was the typical; your tourists, I already have your money, this is what you are getting, shut up and listen, we don't expect you back anyway. Anyway, on with it.

I already can't wait to go back and visit the manatees. It was truly amazing. They say not to molest, of course, but I had to wonder if the manatees knew that rule? One almost lifted me out of the water! Another came to me like a sweet puppy, I just had to reach my hand out and over he would come. While another decided I was her personal scratcher. :ne_nau:

During all of this, and out in the middle of relatively nowhere, I ran into MauiGirl! I heard someone say, "MissDirected"? I was a little shocked and surprised. Very cool.

Once we finished with the manatees we did drift dive on Crystal River. It was really nice being in the water making bubbles again. Johnny was in heaven. It was his first time in a spring. He really enjoyed it.

Here are some pics. Oh and EanDiver the turtle wasn't around :winky: so I only got the fish, hehhhahaha.

This shows the clarity of the water. These fish look as though they have been pasted on.

Mom and baby:

Most manatee shots were taken by Johnny. I was to busy doing my scratching duties.

 

[johnnyseko]

That was a great time! Far better than I had expected.

Thank goodness for the drift dive. After thumbing the cavern for my own reasons....I was dying to blow bubbles!! Guess my 'no overhead environments' rule is still in place.

Didnt we drift on Rainbow? That was just a lot of fun cruising down river. That was a first for me!

 

[Missdirected]

That was a great time! Far better than I had expected.

Thank goodness for the drift dive. After thumbing the cavern for my own reasons....I was dying to blow bubbles!! Guess my 'no overhead environments' rule is still in place.

Didnt we drift on Rainbow? That was just a lot of fun cruising down river. That was a first for me!

Ooooops, yes rainbow was the drift dive.

 

[tech108diver]

Nice..did you dive three sisters while you where there?

What about kings spring?

There where alot less Manatees when we went. With the cold I'm sure there really abundent now.

 

[Missdirected]

Nice..did you dive three sisters while you where there?

What about kings spring?

There where alot less Manatees when we went. With the cold I'm sure there really abundent now.

No on Three Sisters, which I hear from a trusted buddy (Eandiver) is a must do one day. King Springs is where we noodled/snorkeled with the manatees. And yes, there were loads of manatees.

I seriously can not wait to go out with the manatees again. I don't care how cold it gets!

 

[SpiderSense]

i'm heading to FL tomorrow morning (Pompano Beach). but it looks like it may be safer to dive in the springs. snorkling with the manatees sound great!! if my wife wears her 5mm suit, can she snorkel with that? no need to swim under for anything right?

but we do want to do some diving. if we're driving up Crystal River, we might as well stay there for a few days. is there enough diving to do there? whats there to see in the springs? we're new divers, so no caves (unless easy).

thanks for the help!!

 

[johnnyseko]

Just realized...this was my first dive in Florida!

:wave-smil

Oh, and seeing those dolphins going up river while we were on the boat was an added bonus too!

 

[Missdirected]

i'm heading to FL tomorrow morning (Pompano Beach). but it looks like it may be safer to dive in the springs. snorkling with the manatees sound great!! if my wife wears her 5mm suit, can she snorkel with that? no need to swim under for anything right?

but we do want to do some diving. if we're driving up Crystal River, we might as well stay there for a few days. is there enough diving to do there? whats there to see in the springs? we're new divers, so no caves (unless easy).

thanks for the help!!

Snorkeling in a five mil is perfect. No you will NOT be diving down :no The springs are nothing short of beautiful and clear. There are many to dive. Look in Central Florida forum there have been two threads recently that can tell you some good ones. Keep in mind, while the river and springs are beautiful there is not an abundant amount of wildlife, a few fish here and there, nothing like you will see in Pompano, totally different kind of diving IMO. King Springs has your manatees though and I have to say that is a must do. As are the springs if you have never done them. So why not do an afternoon dive trip with a company - next day do a morning snorkel with the manatees? Afterward you can head back down to Pompano.

If you have anymore questions, let me know.

One more thing; while I will not recommend the company we used, Poseidon's Girl has one that she recommends. I myself would try them. Here is a link to what she has to say about them: http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=2426358&postcount=14 There are two others someone recommended to me but I can't find the pm, oh well. Let me know if you need anything.

 

[tech108diver]

No on Three Sisters, which I hear from a trusted buddy (Eandiver) is a must do one day. King Springs is where we noodled/snorkeled with the manatees. And yes, there were loads of manatees.

I seriously can not wait to go out with the manatees again. I don't care how cold it gets!

Well the there is not a ton to see at three sisters. The deepest of the three is about 20ft and the most shallow(the one to the left as your go into the run) is only 6-8 feet. It is however VERY clear because of all the flow from the combine springs and the extra small tight run. Dont plan on swiming into the run, the easist way to do it is to just walk down the run with your fins off.

 

[tech108diver]

i'm heading to FL tomorrow morning (Pompano Beach). but it looks like it may be safer to dive in the springs. snorkling with the manatees sound great!! if my wife wears her 5mm suit, can she snorkel with that? no need to swim under for anything right?

but we do want to do some diving. if we're driving up Crystal River, we might as well stay there for a few days. is there enough diving to do there? whats there to see in the springs? we're new divers, so no caves (unless easy).

thanks for the help!!

I saw your other thread and I see you got washed out by these non stop cold fronts we get this time of year. No problem

Crystal river is nice, but a lot of divers will distory viz in kings spring VERY quickly. When we went viz was bearly 30 feet in the cavern and 10 ft near the serface.

I would spend one day and rent a boat and you should get your fill of crystal river.

I would spend my second day dong a Blue Gratto/Devils Den combo.