One of many
trip reports under the
SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie
Grow.
Email me at
ajs@frii.com.
Last update: April 2, 2024
(Previous trip report: 1990_1009_SteamboatSprings.htm)
[The trip was sometime earlier in December than when I posted this report...]
Thank you all for your advice on novice SCUBA diving in Florida. Based on it we went with Talley's Dive Shop in Crystal River (about 1.5 hours north of Tampa on the west coast). And based on that experience I could highly recommend them for guided, novice diving. [2024: Alas, they went out of business many years ago! And eventually the T-shirt I bought from them also wore out...]
Summary: Two boat excursions, one up Rainbow River to the head springs, the other onto Kings Bay. We had more than a half hour of snorkeling on each trip, the first in the phenomenally beautiful, shallow springs; the second up close and personal with manatees! Two dives, each one tank, the first an up-and-down drift dive in the river (max 30'), the second a semi-overhead exploration of deep rock holes at King Spring (max 51').
Costs: $18 per person per excursion. Full one-day SCUBA rental by the item was $34.20 per person, but they maxed out at $35. I was impressed by their smooth professionalism, including the straightforward itemization. No requirement to bundle anything, and there were various other dive trips listed in their flyer.
Discussion: At first I thought ~$150 for the two of us was a bit steep for a couple of dives. Now I'm not so sure. Apparently the equipment rental rates were typical for the area. The excursion costs were quite reasonable. We got our money's worth! We were not rushed, and we were entertained, not just transported. It was just what we needed as a couple of barely wet-behind-the-ears divers. [Recently completed open water certification at the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM.]
Normally people visit Kings Bay in the morning and Rainbow River the same afternoon. We did the afternoon excursion first -- no sweat, no hassles, and the equipment rentals were 24 hours, either way. The afternoon turned out to be just the two of us and a guide!
The springs at the head of Rainbow River, about 20 miles northeast of Crystal River, were the prettiest fresh water springs I'd seen in Florida -- including Salt Spring, Alexander Spring, Juniper Spring, Silver Spring, Silver Glen Springs (it was close, but it was closed at the time), and Blue Springs. The head springs (plural) were a large number of small, shallow (skin-divable) outlets with white sand and vegetation between. Gorgeous, wide, and with 300' visibility horizontally. Like all the fresh water springs in the state (that I know of), the temperature was about 72 degrees.
The drift dive involved a lot of ups and downs, sometimes right up to the surface. Still it was quite pleasant, colorful, and interesting, especially the numerous "sand boils". The only hazards were fishers and alligators; we encountered neither.
According to the dive shop folks, they were the very best of numerous Crystal River shops at finding manatees. We had no reason to doubt them. They quickly took us straight to at least three individuals, in 10-15' water with about 5' visibility -- due largely to muck kicked up by the sea cows themselves. It took us, the group of about ten snorkelers, a while to get the hang of interacting successfully with the animals.
What worked best was swimming gently towards the last spot one surfaced for air. At that spot we might or might not see the huge shape resting on the bottom. We floated quietly, right above them, until they slowly surfaced. By gently maneuvering, often out of their way, we could stroke their backs while they got some air. They had an odd feel, with rough-textured skin covering blubbery-soft bodies. Green algae grew on them, but I found I could rub it off while doing effleurage -- a two-handed massage technique.
Mostly the manatees settled back down out of reach after each visit to the surface. One floated just below the surface a while and gazed back at us while we stroked its forehead and flippers. My buddy later observed that it was fascinating because we were "looking into the eyes of a fellow mammal." What strange eyes when they dilated closed though.
We couldn't have gotten any closer to them. It was great, and they didn't seem to mind at all. I was surprised such close contact was even legal! Especially since we learned there were only about 2500 manatees left in Florida. Apparently their enemies were not snorkelers but power boats, especially pontoon types. One of them had parallel prop scars on her back, a sad sight.
After snorkeling with the manatees the dive at King Spring was anticlimactic. My only significant gripe about the shop was they didn't give us enough of a briefing on protocol -- like what to do if we lost our guide in diver-induced turbidity, which happened rapidly in a confusion of divers and lights deep in the spring. After some looking and shrugs, my buddy and I decided we were on our own, in no danger, so we played around and explored the higher parts of the spring ourselves until low on air, then found our group at the surface. No problem, no hassles.
Talley's [was]: PO Box 124, Crystal River, FL 32629; 800-255-4977.
(Next trip report: 1991_0312-19_CanoeGreenRiver.htm)