On 2/19/03 7:09 am, "Lee Bell" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I still haven't seen the original of this message and this is my second
> attempt at a response.  My computer is not cooperating and I'm too lazy to
> set the other one up for a brief AM jaunt into the world of Scuba SE.  Funny
> that I get messages from Australia before messages from Florida.
>
> I'm surprised that anybody actually dove Three Sisters.  I find it very
> interesting, but it's hardly deep enough of complex enough to warrant a tank
> of gas.  Since I didn't see the word "scuba" in what Strike included in his
> posts, should I assume we're talking snorkeling here?

Yes.
>
> In the Crystal River area, there are only two "dives" I know of.  The
> springs, which I assume were your first dive if you were on scuba, are
> pleasant when there aren't a lot of other people stirring things up.  The
> other dive is off a private dock , just to the right of the docks at the
> Best Western.  It's a shallow spring that resembles a mine entrance when you
> do it at night.  It holds blind (I think) catfish, hence its name, catfish
> hole.  In the day, it's just a hole.
>
> If you liked the visibility at Three Sisters, just wait until you see
> Rainbow River.  This is a drift dive.  You get picked up from a park and
> taken up stream on a pontoon boat.  It's a good snorkle, but I like to dive
> it.  At only about 20 feet, a single tank lasts for the whole drift and then
> some.   It allows me to play with the fish and turtles and to closely
> inspect all of the springs bubbling up through the sand bottom.  It's in the
> same general area.
>
> As for harassing the manatees, don't.

I had and have no intention of harassing them or any other creature above or
below the water (except for humans).

> They're protected and the
> conservation people are quite serious about protecting them.  If you rent a
> small boat to explore on your own, as I usually do, idle speed is the
> requirement for the whole area.  On the other hand, manatees are quite
> sociable.  They will approach and invite you to rub their tummy or scratch
> their back.  Even a mother with calf will approach someone who is not
> agressive.  While they prefer to just hang around, they are easily fast
> enough to leave any diver behind ,which they will if you approach them
> quickly.  They're not exactly afraid of scuba, but they do seem to be more
> comfortable around snorkelers.
>
> A few years ago, most of us were away from the boat looking for manatees
> when a male one approached the boat and the few remaining people on it.  One
> of our famale friends, in her wetsuit, looks a bit like a manatee, or did to
> that male.  Jayna suggested she get out of the water when the manatee rolled
> on his back and proudly displayed what he had to offer.  I was not there,
> but if Jayna's description is even close to correct, that manatee had reason
> to be proud.  Jayna and our friend had reason to get out of the water
> quickly.  Based only on this incident, I conclude that manatees can be just
> a bit too friendly.
>
> Lee

LOL

Fed