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Sep. 3rd, 2001 09:42 amThe long weekend has been fun, I'm here for another day then fly back tomorrow morning for work.
Got caught in a manatee stampede yesterday. My sister and I were canoeing up the Indian River and we saw the occasional manatee (I used to see these animals once every year or two, now they're everywhere this trip). We pulled into a cove to do some fishing, the water was murky, and I guess there was one underneath the canoe. I can see why powerboating is such a problem -- we couldn't see one paddling and splashing in a canoe. The manatee just about exploded underneath us...1000 pounds of frightened mammal frothing the water and swimming away at top speed. We thought we were going to be splashed into the water. As soon as the one underneath us started splashing, at least a half dozen other manatee that were right around us (again, without us even knowing they were there), all exploded like bombs, one right after another, swimming out to the center of the river at top speed. The river surface was boiling and it was a little frightening wondering if we were suddenly going to be knocked overboard and underneath a fleeing half-ton sea-cow.
After we calmed down, and the river calmed down, and the manatee calmed down, we tried to fish the area. I guess we had scared the shit out of the manatee (literally), because the smell was pretty bad. We paddled up river a bit, avoiding all manatee by 100 yards, and caught some trout in another cove.
Got caught in a manatee stampede yesterday. My sister and I were canoeing up the Indian River and we saw the occasional manatee (I used to see these animals once every year or two, now they're everywhere this trip). We pulled into a cove to do some fishing, the water was murky, and I guess there was one underneath the canoe. I can see why powerboating is such a problem -- we couldn't see one paddling and splashing in a canoe. The manatee just about exploded underneath us...1000 pounds of frightened mammal frothing the water and swimming away at top speed. We thought we were going to be splashed into the water. As soon as the one underneath us started splashing, at least a half dozen other manatee that were right around us (again, without us even knowing they were there), all exploded like bombs, one right after another, swimming out to the center of the river at top speed. The river surface was boiling and it was a little frightening wondering if we were suddenly going to be knocked overboard and underneath a fleeing half-ton sea-cow.
After we calmed down, and the river calmed down, and the manatee calmed down, we tried to fish the area. I guess we had scared the shit out of the manatee (literally), because the smell was pretty bad. We paddled up river a bit, avoiding all manatee by 100 yards, and caught some trout in another cove.
