Man'ee

So Jim gives me a call yesterday morning and tells me a guy in his squadron has a paddleboat for sale. I think, "Sweet!", it's a great way to exercise - with the kids - get sun, enjoy the ocean, and be outdoors altogether! It was a steal, too....only $100 - and it seats all 5 of us!

I was so excited and eager to get the boat out on the water last night after it was delivered; so, after dinner I thought it'd be a good idea to take her out for a "spin". Jim and the kids agreed and we packed her up (put her in the back of the Bronco) and drove down to the marnina where we began our adventure. Now mind you it isn't a glorious Florida day here, it was a bit hazy and the water was choppy. Getting out of the channel of the marina was a bit of a challenge as we were working against the current/waves. After we got out of the channel of the marina and out into the open water (a.k.a. the Bay) it was much easier to paddle the boat and actually get somewhere.

It was the funniest/scariest/freakiest thing......after we made it out into the open waters........ all of a sudden I hear the kids scream and freak out yelling, "What's that?!!?". I turn my head and see this HUGE whale-type creature swimming TWO SHORT FEET behind us!! Ok, as a mom I probably did the wrong thing....but I was freaked! As we turned the boat and headed back into the marina I kept looking back at this thing and wondering just how little it would have to hit our boat to overturn us. When I was thinking about that, my mind was trying to figure out just how to keep the kids safe. We eventually made it close to the jettys, close enough that this creature would (hopefully) no be able to continue to swim behind us. Jim was the calmest, telling us that it's just a manatee. Just a manatee????!!! Did he see how large that thing was? I mean, seriously! In the end we were all fine, but a bit shocked still.

As soon as we made it back home I jumped online to figure out what it actually was that we saw in the water....... and sure enough it was a manatee! Actually, there were two of them trying to play with us. Here is what they say about this creature.......

FLORIDA MANATEE

Status: Endangered.

Description: Gray-brown walrus-shaped sea cow. Two small front flippers with three to four nails each are used for steering or crawling on the ocean floor. The flat, horizontal tail pumps up and down to move them along. Small eyes, no ears on the outside and nostrils at the tip of their prickly muzzles. Almost all manatees have scars on their tails and backs from collision with boats and barges. Scientists use these scar patterns to identify them. I can only describe these things as SCARY when you are out on a small boat and they are traveling so closely behind you that you could reach out and TOUCH them!

Size: Length: up to 13 feet. Weight: up to 3,000 pounds. The ones we saw were at LEAST 13 feet, and fat as could be!

Range:Live in Florida's coastal waters during winter and migrate either as far north as North or South Carolina or as far west as Louisiana during summer months. Apparently, there were news stories recently about these gentle creatures discussing how it's rare for them to be here.

Food Source: Manatees are herbivores and eat marine and freshwater plants. Ok, so they weren't interested in eating us.......

Behavior: Gentle, slow-moving, graceful swimmers. Rest and feed often; no defense system. Body surf or barrel roll when playing. Squeal underwater to communicate fear, stress or excitement to one another. Sailors once thought manatees were the mythical sirens, or mermaids, because of their shape and squeals. Surface every ten minutes to breathe. Manatees can hold their breath underwater for up to 20 minutes. Ok, again, we didn't know they wouldn't EAT us! I guess they just wanted to play........ thankfully!

Because of this experience, we've decided to name our boat "Man'ee" - it's fitting, don't you think?