Other Freshwater Diving

Understanding Your Manatee Manners.

January 30, 2015
Other Freshwater Diving

January 26, 2015

rescued Manatee. — Capt.Stacy: “Spent my Birthday yesterday releasing a young female I found last year sick from pneumonia and extremely thin, she didn’t have the strength to go out and feed “.

If you read my post “Snorkeling with Manatees, Crystal River, Florida (Jan.1, 2015)” you’ll already know that Captains Mike & Stacy (of Manatees in Paradise) are passionate about Manatees. They are active members of the USFWS rescue squad. They are also tour operators. They don’t do it for the money, they do it to offer a different kind of experience, one that places the Mantee’s interests first. That’s why any form of harassment, as seen below, really disturbs them…

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Rainbow River Drift Dive, Florida.

January 25, 2015
Other Freshwater Diving

K.P.Hole County Park, Rainbow River, Florida. The docks and staging area. Inviting crystal clear water, as flat as glass.

January 3, 2015.
Looking for a fun and relaxing dive with plenty of bottom time? And everyone, divers or not, can join you? Then the Rainbow River drift dive, near Dunnellon, is the answer. And when your finished, you’ll want to do it all over again!
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Snorkeling with Manatees, Homosassa River, Florida.

January 23, 2015
Other Freshwater Diving

January 2, 2015

Manatee at Homosassa Springs. — A Manatee plays with a marker buoy.

Homosassa Springs forms the headwaters for the Homosassa River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico about 12 km away. Just south of Crystal River, it is the only other place where you can legally interact with the endangered Manatee. The two places offer a different experience.

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Diving the Blue Grotto, Florida- a taste of cavern diving.

January 17, 2015
Other Freshwater Diving

January 1, 2015.

Blue Grotto Florida. — The Blue Grotto- a massive, spring-fed sinkhole that has collapsed underwater on one side, producing a large cavern.

Blue Grotto divepark is located in Williston, north-central Florida, in the heart of spring and cave country. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Crystal River, and a perfect way to end the day after snorkeling with the Manatees. It boasts to be the largest fresh water cavern in Florida and also among the safest, with only open-water certification required. Its relaxing topside, natural beauty, interesting aquatic life, and thrilling (but safe) cavern, make it one dive you don’t want to miss.
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Snorkeling with Manatees, Crystal River, Florida.

January 11, 2015
Other Freshwater Diving

December 31, 2014

Manatee at Crystal River — A curious and friendly Manatee approaches. Does he see his reflection in my lens?

Crystal River is located in west central Florida, about an hour and twenty minutes drive North of Tampa. It’s only one of two places north of Belize (along with Homosassa) where you can legally interact with the endangered West Indian Manatee. Snorkeling with these gentle giants is an unforgettable experience that you will feel just as much as see. I can think of no other aquatic animal as endearing and engaging as a Manatee.
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Diving the Land Tortoise Radeau, Lake George, NY- “North America’s Oldest Intact Warship”.

August 10, 2014
Museums & Aquariums / Other Freshwater Diving

Lake George Diving Minne_Ha_Ha — View of Lake George looking North. The Minne Ha Ha is a replica of the 1857 original. The Radeau lies 2 miles North.

Aug 2-3, 2014

Lake George is a prime resort area located in upstate New York, in the Adirondack Mountains. Looking at it today- with all of its tourists, boaters and select resorts-its difficult to imagine it as the focal point of a desperate struggle between France and Britain for Empire, during a time period called the French & Indian War (1755-1763). This was the time and place that inspired James Coopers’ famous novel “The Last of the Mohicans”. Hidden beneath its waves from casual view is a time capsule from that very time period- “North America’s oldest intact warship”. (more…)