January 2, 2015
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.
It’s only about a 15 minute boat ride from Magic Manatee Marina to where the Homosassa river ends, or rather starts, and that’s where the Manatees congregate. Along the way Capt.Don and his wife kept a sharp lookout for manatee “footprints”- the telltale swirls on the water’s surface-the sign of a submerged Manatee. “Most accidental Manatees deaths are caused by the boat’s keel strike, not the propellers as people think” he says. Sadly most Manatees that I saw at Homosassa or Crystal River bore propeller scars on their backs. Some even had large chunks missing from their tails.
Along the way Capt.Don was full of interesting stories: “There’s not a mean bone in their body”, he states matter of factly. In all the years he’s done this, he’s never even heard of them doing anything even remotely considered rough or unacceptable. The only exception he can think of was a single incident related to him by a friend. His friend had once seen a Bull Mantaee in a mating rut that tried to separate a calf from its mother in order to bring the female back into estrus. Not an uncommon occurrence in nature.
The snorkeling takes place in a lagoon just outside the Springs, and within direct view of the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. The water depth was about 10 ft to a muddy bottom, and with a similar visibility. The photographic opportunities aren’t as good as at the 3 Sisters, which has crystal clear water and a nice photogenic sandy bottom. But what it lacks in this aspect, it makes up for it in others.
There is less boat traffic and congestion here for one thing. Whereas there are 30 permits (27 active) for King’s Bay, there are only 3 permits issued for Homosassa. But that doesn’t limit private boats and kayakers from entering. And as the day goes on, it gets busier.
We also found that there were more Manatees that were more interactive. They found children especially interesting, and were drawn to them in the water. Six Manatees congregated around some children snorkelers at one boat for a very long time, and they kept “flossing” with the boat anchor lines. One particularly friendly Manatee, affectionately named “Effie”, rolled over and gave me a big “bear hug”.
Tips:
We did our tour with Capt.Don of Air Tank divers. He brought doughnuts and hot drinks and his boat is covered and heated to help you warm up between visits to the water.
Be sure to visit the Homosassa Springs Wildlife park. It has a beautiful boardwalk trail that showcases a large and varied collection of native Floridian wildlife. The only exception to the rule was Lu, a 6000 lb Hippopotamus that was too big to move when the park reorganized a number of years ago. He was given special Florida citizenship just so he could stay at the State Park. As you might expect, the Park has a Manatee observation platform and rescue tank. There’s an eye-catching underwater observatory built right at the springs, where you can observe schools of fish, and sometimes Manatees.
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