Mermaids and Manatees
Crystal River, Florida

By Alison Boler

Those sailors of yore must have been pretty short sighted. Or maybe we should blame it on the grog... or the long months at sea with only old BlackDog Pegleg to share a hammock with..... Anyway, the bottom line is that although Manatees are incredibly cute and friendly, they resemble a maritime elephant more than a maritime beauty queen!

Having said that, a few glimpses through the Plexiglas walls of countless aquariums had been enough to make our family desire a closer encounter - eye to eye contact, a skin to skin meeting, if you like. A holiday in Florida provided the perfect opportunity and paved the way for a day that we will long remember and can thoroughly recommend.

Florida Manatees are an endangered species, damaged by their friendly natures and natural curiosity which have brought them too close to mankind and our careless propellers and water pollution. To remedy this, a number of sanctuaries have been set up along the Florida coastline, primarily in the inland rivers and springs that attract the manatees during the colder winter months when they forsake the seashore for warmer waters. In some spots it is possible to count approximately 100 manatees in winter residence, crowding around an up welling spring, as we would snuggle up to a radiator.

This predictable behaviour has enabled a number of commercial operators to offer "manatee encounters", and this presents a dichotomy. For the safety of the species, manatees must not associate man and his boats with food and play: yet, a curious public must continue to fund their preservation. Hmmm. The challenge, therefore, is to make sure that your visit is under the guidance of an operator who has the manatee's best interest at heart. This needs some research.

We ended up diving with Birds Underwater Center in Crystal River. Crystal River is probably THE most predictable location to see manatees year round in Florida. You can absolutely count on it during the months November - March. Outside of these months, the odds drop down a bit, but there is a resident colony of the creatures in the bay and surrounding inlets that seem to now stay year round. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure, but they are there.

We chose Birds because they have a long reputation for the quality of their services and also because they seemed to genuinely care for the safety of the manatee - putting it above the need to satisfy the visitor. Having said that, they know the area very well, are generally the first on site - be prepared to be up early - and are the most likely to get you a viewing. We liked the fact that all their boat captains get in the water with you - better control - and that they video throughout (makes them even more careful as to what goes on!). There are various legalities to observe in a manatee encounter, and you can be sure with Birds that you will not only understand what they are, but that they will be enforced. They offer a number of different dive and snorkel experiences quite apart from manatee encounters. One of them which might appeal to divers is a combined manatee snorkel/springs dive. Although that was attractive to us, we decided to opt for the manatee snorkel experience. They are a full service dive centre and can take you on trips to all the surrounding caverns and springs, plus drift diving on the Rainbow River.

There are other operators. Do your research and see what you think. We can heartily recommend Birds, though, they didn't put a foot wrong and they gave us a fantastic day.

Crystal River
Crystal River is on the NW Gulf coast of Florida, about 2 hours easy drive north west of Orlando, 1.5 hours north of St. Petersburg. It's a quiet, old fashioned sort of place - sleepy even - about as far removed from the glitz of the modern tourist resorts as you can get. There's a good-sized marina around the bay which is fresh water because, although Crystal River empties to the sea, you are far enough inland here that the salt water doesn't penetrate. There are plenty of accommodations and eateries though because clearly it's a favourite vacation resort for American families and retirees, and you will find something to suit all pockets. We stayed at the Best Western Crystal River Resort which was dockside, and about 3 minutes from Birds Dive Centre. I booked through the Best Western website and got a rate of $79 for a family room (1 king size bed, 1 double bed settee) with kitchenette. We only stayed one night but it was a nice resort and we could have gladly stayed for several days there. There are other hotels, both cheaper and more expensive that looked good. In addition, Birds offer self-catering cottages in the vicinity. This part of Florida is well worth a visit if you would like to see a side of the state representing what it was like before the arrival of The Mouse. Picture sleepy fishing inlets, tropical swamplands, moss hung oaks, cattle and horse ranches..... very relaxing. Oh, yes, and for the diver, lots of crystal clear fresh water springs in the vicinity - you could easily and enjoyably spend a week visiting them all, longer if you are cave qualified.

The water is all spring fed and remains a pretty constant 72°F year round. It's very clear but the bottom is sand and there is some algae on the bottom. If people stir it up, it can take a while to settle.

What else is there to know about the place? Well, there are lots of things to do - kayaking, airboat tours, cruises, cycling, shopping, fishing, hunting and eating seafood! We can recommend two restaurants: Charlie's Crab House which is practically next door to Bird's and as the name suggests serves a selection of excellent seafood. You should expect to spend about $20 for a two-course dinner. Cracker's Bar, Grill and Tiki is also very good and about the same price. Neither of them is expensive and you'll probably need wheel barrowing away from the table!


The Manatee Experience
If you want to meet the manatees, you have to snorkel. They don't like the sound of exhaust bubbles apparently, and anyway it's illegal to dive down to them which rules out the use of SCUBA gear. It is also illegal to feed them, ride them, put 2 hands on them at any time, or harass them in any way. Don't worry about this because Birds show you a video before you get on the boat and remind you again as you ride out in search of manatees. They will also be in the water with you throughout. If this sounds oppressive, believe me - it isn't. The fact is that as soon as you meet the manatees and start to get involved in play with them, you will pretty quickly forget everything you've been told - such is the delight - so it's a good idea to have someone there to stop you from making any mistakes.

In the winter months, Bird's tours meet at the dock at 6:15, after early April this slips to 6:45. It's a good idea to be in the water early so that your boat is first on site before anybody else has had a chance to scare the manatees away. You can hire everything from the shop or bring your own. They have wetsuits to suit all sizes from tiny children to very, very large adults. We had our own stuff with us - 3mm wetsuits - and it cost us $29.50 per head. This included the boat trip, hot drinks and doughnuts on board, and about 3 hours with the manatees. To be frank, this was fantastic value for money - believe me, you will not regret taking this trip.

We visited in mid April. The air felt a bit chilly at that hour of the morning - the water was warmer. We were glad of the hot drinks at the end of the session. If you visit during the winter or outside of the summer season, it would be a good idea to bring a fleece or a windproof jacket for after the dive.

The boats are flat-bottomed patio style boats with plastic "walls" to keep the warmth in. The captain will cruise the bay and the waterways looking for the manatees. Having located some, the captain anchors and enters the water first to check that everything is suitable for a visit. You are then instructed to come in, making a silent entry from the ladder. As I mentioned the captain videos the entire proceedings and you are free to purchase the video/dvd at the end for $30. We bought our video - it was excellent and a super memento.

There were 10 people on our boat - Bird's maximum and it was about right. Mostly the group was made up of parents and kids. We quickly located a group of 8 manatees in one of the waterways and entered the water, which was about 5 feet in depth. The captain had told us that we must not chase them, or dive down to them, swim over a sleeping or feeding/nursing manatee, but wait for them to approach. I felt a bit dubious looking at our group! Why would any manatee want to approach such a mob?? Anyway, my worries were unfounded. Most of this group were very playful and their behaviour was much like soppy golden retrievers! They particularly liked to roll over in front of you and let you scratch their bellies - removing plankton. It was a joy! A good scratch clearly sent them into utter ecstasy and they rolled and turned to give you a better access to those parts their flippers clearly couldn't reach.

They were of mixed size. Some were about 5 -6 feet long and pretty sturdy! A few were about 15 feet long and utterly HUGE!
Cutest were a mother and small baby - still nursing. They remained on the bottom and didn't come up to play, but we could still observe them closely.

I've dived with dolphins before but these creatures are quite different in temperament. Much more docile, trusting, sweet, probably less intelligent. They seem to have no defences at all - they are just so open.

The time passed very quickly. All too soon, we were getting back on the boat - just as the other shops arrived on the scene. Everyone was smiling by then - the manatee magic had done its work.

Back at the dive store we showered and changed and viewed the video - the captain had got some great shots and everyone had been captured playing with the manatees.

Please, please take this trip if you are in Florida for a holiday. It's so close to Orlando and your children will LOVE it and enjoy it so much more than another day at the park. Even if you haven't got kids, do it for yourself - I guarantee even the most seasoned cynic of you will drive away happier than you arrived. Don't worry if you have never snorkelled before - basically you can just float in the water motionless and have the total experience. Frankly the water is so shallow you can stand up - just don't move your feet around and kick up the bottom or all the photographers will glare at you!

You could do this trip as an early start day trip from Orlando or a gulf coast resort, but it would probably be more enjoyable to stay the night before in Crystal River as we did. You can get a hotel room from about $29 upwards.

Links
Birds Underwater Center
Crystal River Tourist Information
Crystal River Hotels
Cracker's Bar, Grill and Tiki

Return to FLORIDA