Text by Mary L. Peachin with photos by Dave Jaskey, M.D.
June, 2015, Vol. 19, No. 9
West Indian manatees surrounded me. They were waiting for me as I slipped quietly into the water from the pontoon’s sturdy ladder. Well, I could have done a belly flop and not scared them away. One nudged me from the left, another lifted me from below, and another swished his whiskers along the right side of my face. Behind them, others appeared to be waiting their turn to get close to me. What attracted them to me, a human snorkeler? Obviously, they were just curious as to what I was doing in their space.
A bulbous male, his face covered with warts, a conditioned known as cold (water) stress, nudged me. I gently petted him. Before leaving the dive shop, a fifteen minute drive from the Riverside Resort dock, we learned the rules about not chasing, diving down to them, touching while they are sleeping or below their bellies “where their girl and boy parts are,” or riding them.
The manatees’ small eyes, relative to their walrus-size physiques (as large as 13 feet in length and weighing as much as 3,500 pounds) and puckered cupid-like lips, beg to be cuddled. Some roll over hoping for an above belly scratch. It’s an incredible experience to be body-to-body with these amazing endangered mammals.
The water temperature, 54 degrees in the Gulf of Mexico, had sent the manatees scurrying into the fresh warm water springs (72 degrees) of Florida’s Citrus County cities of Homosassa and Crystal River. Aquifer springs feed into these two rivers maintaining a constant year round temperature. The abundance of manatees reduced the visibility to approximately ten to fifteen feet, but when they are next to you, the only thing you don’t see is other divers.
But, cold weather and water also discourages snorkelers. More is not merrier, especially when operators welcome anyone over the age of three who will pay their price. Divers know cold water diving and they come prepared with five mil wetsuits, hoods, booties, etc. When the Gulf is cold, sightings in these rivers and springs are pretty much guaranteed. In warmer weather, manatee sightings can be few and far between, sometimes there are none.
Crystal River, the better known manatee habitat, has more operators (approximately twenty six) than the more southerly (17 miles away) Homosassa River. Additionally, Florida Fish and Wildlife has the authority to shut down Crystal River snorkeling operations, which is located in its jurisdiction of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, when there are too many boaters or too many manatees. Homosassa River, a fifteen minute drive or hour boat ride, offers a better opportunity to view manatees up close without the crowds. It is open four months (November to March) of the year, and operators are required to have a permit.
Grass eating manatees surface to breathe every three to five minutes, every fifteen minutes when they are sleeping. Vegetarians, they’ll eat water hyacinths when they are available, small fish and shrimp. Lacking predators, they have no fear of humans, but few, if any, have unscathed bodies caused by boat engine props. Their backs are a road map of scars. I saw one with an unhealed chunk of missing flesh.
There was more action than just hundreds of manatees swimming around me. From our pontoon boat, I observed a group mating. “Watch out for the sex orgy over there,” Captain Laura warned my buddies. In that state of arousal, they can unintentionally whack a snorkeler. We observed a mother nursing her pup, a mottled baby that was chewing the rope attached to our ladder. Mom, guarding her infant, waited patiently.
When tens, if not hundreds of thousands tourists, come each year to Crystal River to snorkel with the manatees, how did I manage such an exclusive trip? After my third inquiry to the major operators, the disinterested reply sounded the same: “We leave at these times, it costs….., and we take a dozen to as many as 56 snorkelers.
No thanks. I delved deeper into Google’s pages and found Snorkel With Manatees “maximum six to a pontoon boat.” I called owner Gene Parker, who recommended the Homosassa River rather than the popular Crystal River freshwater springs of Kings Bay and Three Sisters. I booked two days, both the three-hour morning trip and the afternoon one as well. When I shared my upcoming adventure with some of my dive buddies at home, I got three responses, “we’re there” and one maybe. So, I called Gene again to ask if we could charter the boat for those two days. No problem. It would be $400 a day, and the boat is available for six hours daily “whenever you want it.” I jumped at it, without realizing the probability of hypothermia when spending six hours in the water.
The majority of people enjoying this experience are visiting Florida. Approximately sixty miles from Tampa and ninety from Orlando, families and couples visit other attractions then visit Homosassa River or Crystal River for a day or so. The manatee snorkel is somewhat repetitive, the difference being bird sightings, and we got a historical tour of the area.
David Levy Yullee’s 5,100 acre sugar mill is a site that saw some of Florida’s Civil War action. A member of the Territorial Legislative Council, Yulee served in both the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives. In addition to the plantation and cane press, Yulee had a limestone masonry, iron gears to serve the Southern troops between 1851 and 1864. The Yankees destroyed his mill and plantation. Today the island is covered with cedar, palm, oak, and hammock. In the past they were used to make pencils.
Gene and his two Captains Erica and Laura were all fifth or sixth generation descendents in the area. Laura is Florida’s youngest captain, having earned her license at the age of sixteen. That record will hold since the minimum age requirement is now eighteen. Now in her mid-twenties, she enthusiastically motored us from the Plantation dock about 25 minutes to Homosassa Springs.
While we had all been briefed at the dive shop to not approach the manatees, rub below their bellies, which might arouse the males, during our pontoon ride, Laura shared more about these fascinating mammals. Those covered with green algae have just arrived in the river from the Gulf. While they mate year round, females birth every four to five years after a fourteen month gestation period.
Most snorkelers spend their time snorkeling during the three hour morning tours. That is when manatees are inclined to be more active. Apparently they enjoy afternoon siestas. I spent a couple afternoon hours the first several days shopping for gear that I could not rent, as well as basic necessities like underwear, jeans, sweats, boat shoes. Others might be inclined to take an eco-tour, kayak, rent a boat, and visit archeological sites. I chose to spend two days following the manatee’s snorkel fishing with Captain William Toney (homosassainshorefishing.com), one of the best guides I have fished with.
Another accommodation option to my Hampton Inn Crystal River is the more upscale Plantation on Crystal River. The resort offers more activities including kayak and boat rentals, tennis, and underwater cave diving. They have a full service Spa Bleu, swimming pool, and two restaurants, West 28 degrees, 19th Hole, plus the Tiki Bar. I initially called them but was turned off by their emphasis on being a party place. They have their own dive shop. More expensive than large scale operators at $55.00, they are the only shop to offer five mil wet suits. They are also conveniently located five minutes from the manatees at Crystal River’s King Springs. Three hour tours are offered between 7:30 and 11:00 AM. On my way to see the shop, I talked to a mother and daughter. They raved about their twelve person tour then added, “except for the two year old and her angry mother, the one who kept kicking me in the face.”
Diving with manatees requires renting a car and driving from Tampa to either Crystal River or Homosassa River. The first day you check into your dive shop, try on the wet suit included in the tour, then after a video, liability waiver, and the rules, you follow your captain to the boat. If you are going a second day, you can meet at the dock. Most tours last approximately three hours. There are options listed on the various websites to do eco-tours, birding, dolphin trips, and scalloping, which is seasonal.
Like all wildlife, manatees need to be respected. They are known to “blow snot” from their nostrils when surfacing. In spite of my Delta Airlines delays, I would rank this experience second to snorkeling with the whale sharks and giant mantas of Holbox, Mexico.
As Captain Laura so aptly put it “Crystal River is like Disneyland in the water.” I believe her.