Buffalo Skipper 13 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Every two years we try to arrange a campout down to central Florida to swim with the manatees. Two years ago, our 5th trek to Crystal River, was marked with changes. First our membership had bottomed out at 11 scouts, with losses due to aging out and disinterested scouts. We had expected this, and had prepared for it as best a unit can. It also marked the end of this being a "family" trek with the troop camping at a scout camp rather than at a private campsite, with 2 circus tents crammed onto two 25'x40' plots. We ended up taking 6 scouts and 2 adults. Growth in the troop and additional support have changed things. Tomorrow, we are leaving in the church bus, staying at a "remote" scout camp (20 miles closer to where we are going, but with fewer facilities). We will have 7 adults accompanying 19 scouts. This is the largest group we have ever taken, exeeding our previous best by 10. It represents a real change in the direction of our troop, and we are looking forward to a great time being had by all. FWIW, two other local troops are going down this weekend as well, but they are taking "guided" tours, whereas we will be renting boats and "guiding" ourselves. This is more of an indicative of the fact that we have been doing this for over 10 years, whereas the other troops are novices with this experience. Still, with Webelos visiting both troops this past week, it looks good that we are not hiring a "guide" to facilitate the experience. Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Should be a cold weekend for Florida...we will be out too. Going up to the panhandle. Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We currently have a wind chill of -4 wish I was there instead of here. Link to post Share on other sites
Kudu 186 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We will be camping close to Crystal River this weekend, at McGregor Smith: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/areas/flying_eagle-mcgregor_smith_reservation.html Because of the low rates ($269) in Crystal River for Scuba Diving Merit Badge/Open Water Certification, some Troops include that too when they come here to swim with the Manatees: http://inquiry.net/scuba_diving_merit_badge/index.htm Link to post Share on other sites
Buffalo Skipper 13 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Kudu, we do the whole trip (4 days and 3 nights) for $100 a scout. That includes patrols shopping for their food, gas (900 miles round trip), camping fees, as well as boat, wet suit, mask/fins/snorkel rentals, and we pay a visit to Homasassa Springs wildlife park; overall not too bad. Link to post Share on other sites
eisely 13 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You know what Manatees do in water don't you? Link to post Share on other sites
eagle90 125 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Just got in from snow blowing 8" of fresh snow. I'd give anything to be swimming with manatees! Dale Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4344 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Sounds like a fun gig. Was kayaking with the family on the Sebastian river Christmas Eve (tarpon, gator, and manatee). Got the outfitter's business card. Given the temps this weekend, I might be able to cajole my crew to plan a trip next year. I appreciate knowing about the other options. Link to post Share on other sites
GKlose 24 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Personally, I would be very afraid of swimming with manatees. There's too much of a chance that one of them might find me rather attractive (in a manatee-like sense) and decide to court me. :-) Guy Link to post Share on other sites
GKlose 24 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Just a side note, B-Skip -- congratulations on the troop revitalization. I've been witnessing the same thing with our troop. Three years ago, I thought we were well on our way toward folding (19 Scouts and dropping, with 9 that were aging out this last year). We just picked up two last night, for a total of 30, most of whom are active. Outings have gone from 6 to 8, to about 15 to 20. Simple stuff, really -- if you build it (program), he (they) will come. Guy Link to post Share on other sites
Buffalo Skipper 13 Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks for all the kind words. Actually we DO know what manatees do in the water. Middle school boys can't stop laughing about it. For those interested in how we pulled it off, we rented 2 pontoon boats from a dive shop which caters to manatee tourists. They rented us wet suits, masks fins and snorkels. Where we went to anchor and visit the manatees is only about a mile and a half or so from the marina, but the entire route is "no wake" at this time of year due to the manatee presence, so it takes about 30 minutes to get there. We anchor out about 50 yards from the spring outlet, and hop in the cool water (constant at 72, year round), and swim. There are some roped off "sanctuaries" in the area where humans cannot enter; resting manatees are smart enough to use this area, but plenty come out and some choose to interact with us. Swimming up the the short "creek" to the Three Sisters springs is a cool expereince, as the springs are several degrees wamer than the surrounding river. Many manatees swim in the spring area, and it is a great snorkeling experience for the scouts. The Fish and Wildlife Commission has strict rules on interaction with the manatees, but most are common sense like: don't separate a mother or calf, don't harrass them, don't ride or chase them, don't feed them, and so forth. It was a truly memorable experience for the scouts. Only one scout out of 19 chose not to swim at all, though another tried, but found the water temperature too distastful. Regardless, it was a lot of fun for all, and the 2 who remained on the boat had plenty of sightings as they manatees swam around. We spent right at $975 on the equipment and boat rental and fuel. With 26 scouts and adults that works out to a very reasonable cost of under $38/person. Not bad for an all day activity like this. I have taken scouts on this activity before, so it came with few surprises. However, I was caught off guard when, after we had set up camp on Saturday evening, we had a visitor wander in. It was Kudu. He and I have communicated off the forum off and on for a couple of years, but still I was not expecting it. It was great to put a face to the name. As it turns out, his troop was camping elsewhere at the same camp. Nice coincidence. We chatted around the campfire us for about 2 hours; it was a nice visit. Thanks again, Kudu, for coming out to see us. It made my weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
Tokala 16 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Sounds like a great trip! It's also stone crab season this time of year, so you could always check into adding that to your program. Careful though, they can crush a finger with their claw! Sand Hill Scout Reservation run by West Central Florida Council is a little farther south than MacGregor-Smith and has better facilities. You can find info at www.sandhillscoutreservation.com. A ruthless plug by the WEst Central Florida Council Program VP Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The City of Tampa gets its drinking water from the Hillsborough River which the occasional Manatee will swim up if cold enough. Why does Tampa water taste so good-it must be the manatees! Link to post Share on other sites
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