Kayaking and Diving with the Manatees at Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River

 

It was a long drive from Pinellas Park to Crystal River. Sure only seventy four miles but there must be at least fifty thousand stop lights and I think I hit them all. I was feeling bad about subjecting Jenny and Eric to such a road trip when we finally reached Crystal River and the boat launch.

Sliding our kayaks into the canal, Eric and Jenny helped us before they entered their yaks and soon we were all paddling towards Three Sister Springs and all hoping to see some manatees. Before we even reached the mouth of the spring we spotted out first manatee and then another.

As we continued to the spring two dive boats anchored and unloaded their cargo near the mouth. It seems like everyone here buys a pontoon and starts a manatee dive service but it didn’t really matter as  there were manatees resting in the prohibited area. Paddling into the spring itself we spotted two more manatees and I had long since forgotten the tiring drive.

We floated in the springs and watched the sleeping giants before heading back out and turning toward Kings Bay. Two turns later and one of side canals was filled with sleeping giants. Their grey brown bodies, some with dabs of algae growth, would periodically lift their snouts into the air for a quick breath.

This time of year many areas are buoyed and ban boat entrance to protect them, but there were so many manatees that even outside the banned areas one has to be on the lookout. Trying not to disturb a large male I missed spotting another and it rose and gently collided with my kayak, reminding me to be more careful.

Besides the massive males, mothers and pups were in good numbers, and we were all rewarded with the sight of them slowly swimming past us. Heading into Kings Bay we saw other buoyed areas and a flag marked the King Spring. A strong breeze was blowing however and we decided not to go too far into the main bay. Eating our lunch Jenny and Eric both decided they wanted to swim with the manatees and so we headed back to the clear spring water.

You are not allowed to tie up to vegetation so they anchored in the shallows  and were quickly in the water. Jennie had brought her dive camera and we were later able to watch the movies of the manatee’s underwater ballet.

I wished I had a wet suit, (and maybe I should purchase one), as I envied their swim. Eric hadn’t brought his but that didn’t stop him. He was rewarded with a face to face encounter with a large calf; perhaps it thought he was a really weird looking manatee. Too soon he was shivering in the cold water and returned to his craft while Jenny kept snorkeling.

Watching them I saw a large snook and other fishing swimming into and out of the roped off area. Jenny finally headed back to her yak and they steadied each other’s craft as they boarded their boats. It had been four hours since we had launched and so it was time to return.

Our manatee encounters hadn’t yet ended as four of the graceful giants were feeding near the last bend. You could see them vacuuming the bottom with their round hose shaped mouths, releasing bubbles of methane as they plied the canal bed.

The drive back was filled with talk of the manatees and the day had been all it had promised. Some adventures we take are too beautiful and we spoke of returning to Crystal River and another day with the manatees. Clear skies

 

Ps we don’t advertise on our blog but we do recommend good service and the place we launched and rented kayaks from, A Crystal River Kayak Company, provided us with a great launch site and a friendly dock hand. We recommend them if you are into a self guided kayak trip.