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Unread 03/20/2017, 05:48 AM   #351
Ron Reefman
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Here is a small start to photos from the beach collection day.

First is a guy we did NOT collect but actually released back into the Gulf. We found 2 of them, one inside a pin shell and the other in a small branchy sponge. As I understand it, this is about full size for these guys and the only live 18 to 24 months. Some day I may do a screen cover for my 65g shallow/local reef and then try keeping one of these!




This is a purple gorgonian and they do manage to survive on the beach for a while out of the water. Snowbird and vacationing shell collectors often pick these up as souvenirs. But we managed to find 10+ of them that were smaller and yet still nice full fan shaped. This one has something attached to it. I didn't know what it was so I passed on a couple but my friend took one. In his tank they opened up and at first he/we thought they were feather dusters. But on closer examination we think they are some thing else... but what?




Here is a decorator crab I thought might go in my 65g shallow reef tank which I'm making into a Gulf and Keys only local tank. But I decided to put it in my display refugium instead. There is only the Hawaiian Red Reef Lobster in the tank along with some macro algae and a couple simple gorgonians and leather corals. The big white thing with orange spots on it's back is a tunicate. It's 'attached' to the back legs by hooks. It moves pretty quickly and jumps from spot to spot looking like an astronaut doing a space walk on the moon... it's hysterical. It can also jump off tall things (there is a 16" tall gorgonian) and the front of the tunicate opens up slightly because it's attached at the back, and works like a parachute so the crab floats down rather slowly.

The good news is I have a bit of a hairy algae issue in this tank because the lobster won't eat it, but will eat any fish or small snails I put in the tank to eat it. The decorator crab has been ripping the hair algae off things and eating it like it hasn't had food in a week! We'll see how it does long term.




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Unread 03/20/2017, 08:25 AM   #352
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Fishing

Hey Ron,
I'm heading down to the Daytona/Ormmond Beach area in April (8th to the 15th) - I'm expressly going to do as much Fishing as I could. Preferably the Canals and the Ocean.

I'm ok with going out on a party boat or something like that 1/2 of the days but I would much prefer doing some surf and jetty fishing.

Could you offer any suggestions for that area of Florida and what the game fishes might be?


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Unread 03/20/2017, 10:51 AM   #353
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Amazing thread, thank you very much!!

I have a question, we are planning a trip in mid july (i realize all the humidity, heat, and weather issues). We were planning on staying in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and i was hoping to do a couple day trips to do snorckeling off the Keys. I have never been in the area, so i see by way of google maps it is just a 3 hour drive to Marathon, is this accurate given local traffic etc... Also, would you know of a few good spots in the northern side of the Keys?

I really do appreciate this thread, i was searching for a while for most of this information.


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Unread 03/20/2017, 09:38 PM   #354
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Ron, your collecting adventures always make me jealous!

Thanks for posting pics.


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Unread 03/21/2017, 06:13 AM   #355
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asonitez View Post
Fishing

Hey Ron,
I'm heading down to the Daytona/Ormmond Beach area in April (8th to the 15th) - I'm expressly going to do as much Fishing as I could. Preferably the Canals and the Ocean.

I'm ok with going out on a party boat or something like that 1/2 of the days but I would much prefer doing some surf and jetty fishing.

Could you offer any suggestions for that area of Florida and what the game fishes might be?
asonitez, I'd love to help, and maybe somebody else here can jump in and offer suggestions, but I,m not a fisherman. In fact I have never been fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic and my only trips to Daytona have been to watch sports car races at the Speedway. Sorry I know nothing that can help.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moshahin View Post
Amazing thread, thank you very much!!

I have a question, we are planning a trip in mid july (i realize all the humidity, heat, and weather issues). We were planning on staying in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and i was hoping to do a couple day trips to do snorckeling off the Keys. I have never been in the area, so i see by way of google maps it is just a 3 hour drive to Marathon, is this accurate given local traffic etc... Also, would you know of a few good spots in the northern side of the Keys?

I really do appreciate this thread, i was searching for a while for most of this information.
Moshahin, what kind of snorkeling do you want to do? There are lots of 90-120 minute charters that take people out to the big offshore reefs and then there is free, walk off the beach snorkeling which is my personal favorite. Both have advantages. The big reefs have some great corals and lots of tropical fish, it's pretty much what most people want to see and they are fun. We take a charter out to a big reef every year or two. But for me, I like to get really up close and personal when I snorkel. Off the beach you can be in shallow water (2' to 5' deep) where it's possible to reach out and touch things and pick things up (I highly recommend wearing dive gloves). The corals are small, except for the Gorgonians which can get 3' to 5' tall. The tropical fish are juvenile, but there are some big ball sponges (2' in diameter) and lots of other sponges. But under rocks you find a completely different world of serpent stars, emerald crabs, spaghetti worms, huge fire worms (be careful!), anemones, urchins, sea cucumbers and more!

There is Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo (very much in the Upper Keys and much shorter drive). They have boats that go out to several nice reefs, but their 'off the beach' snorkeling is awful IMHO.

There may be some worthwhile off the beach locations in the Upper Keys, but I'm unaware of them. Again maybe somebody else can offer advise. I'd take a look at Harry Harris State Park that may have some decent off the beach snorkeling.

Further down the Keys, just past Marathon, over the Seven Mile Bridge is Bahia Honda State Park and it has, IMHO, BY FAR the best off the beach snorkeling over acres of shallow water. They also have a charter boat that goes out to Looe Key on the big reef 5 miles out. I think it's one of the best. Just past Bahia Honda Key is Spanish Harbor Key which is where the Horseshoe is located. It's an old quarry which is deep inside but shallow around the outside with rubble rock everywhere. If you like being in shallow water and picking up rocks to look for and watch sea creatures, this is the best. However, there is very little coral or sponges here, it's mostly rocks covered with small sponges and some encrusting corals that don't look all that cool... unless you haven't seen much coral up close and personal in the ocean. Also, the Horseshoe offers some protection against waves, and we go there when off the beach someplace else is too choppy.

July is getting fairly hot, but that makes for more comfortable water temps. Have clothes that you can wear in the water that have long sleeves and long pants to help protect you from the sun (I wear an inexpensive dive skin... about $75 new). Also good water proof sunscreen for your head, face, neck and ears. Plan to snorkel in the morning as the afternoons often have spotty thunderstorms. A good app with weather radar on your smart phone can be a huge help to watch where far off storms you may see on the horizon are headed. July is unfortunately also getting into the hurricane season. But there are places to go and things to do in the area. My top 3 would be Aquarium Encounters, the Turtle Hospital and the History of Diving Museum.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sam.basye View Post
Ron, your collecting adventures always make me jealous!

Thanks for posting pics.
Hey Sam, it's a special kind of adventure as we only get to do it a few times a year when a strong cold front gets this far south. I'm especially lucky being retired so I can go in the middle of the work week if that's when the front happens to past through. And although it sounds like fun, going the the beach on a windy, 45 degree morning, with mostly overcast skies, in heavy clothing isn't as fun as it sounds! I want 85 degrees, a soft breeze and a bathing suit! I mean my fingers have become numb pulling sponges apart because it's so cold. But when we do find freebies to collect for our aquariums and we are likely saving most of these critters from certain death drying out on the beach!

But if you had told me last year that I would save a small shark that had washed up if rough water, I'd have said you were crazy. But in this photo I'm wearing a wet suit under my bluejeans and a long sleeve thermal undershirt under my flannel shirt and this is mid to late morning. Of course the other guy is a tourist and he thinks 45 degrees in the winter is warm. He's just happy he's not shoveling snow! [/QUOTE]




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Unread 03/21/2017, 06:48 AM   #356
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Ron, thank you for the detailed reply. Probably off beach is what we'll try first, and I will go with your recommendation of Bahia Honda State Park.

Again, great thread and much appreciated


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Unread 03/21/2017, 10:22 PM   #357
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Any day you get to collect is a good day!


How long after the front moves through do you head out?

Do you have any trouble getting off the beach with the collected critters or do you go to a beach access that isn't patrolled? Some of the critters are off limits, but does that apply for stuff that washes up?


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Unread 03/22/2017, 05:42 AM   #358
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moshahin View Post
Ron, thank you for the detailed reply. Probably off beach is what we'll try first, and I will go with your recommendation of Bahia Honda State Park.

Again, great thread and much appreciated
You are quite welcome, any time. I love snorkeling in the Keys and I'd like visitors to the Keys who want to snorkel to have as good an experience as they can.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sam.basye View Post
Any day you get to collect is a good day!


How long after the front moves through do you head out?

Do you have any trouble getting off the beach with the collected critters or do you go to a beach access that isn't patrolled? Some of the critters are off limits, but does that apply for stuff that washes up?
Any day I get to do a beach walk or go snorkeling, whether I collect or not, is a good day!

There are several factors involved. How fast and exactly when the wind dies down or shifts directions away from the west after the front passes is most important. And when is low tide is also important. But most of the time I like to get out to the beach at low tide the morning after the front passes. So some times it's still kind of windy, overcast and cold with big waves and other times it warms up as the morning progresses and the wind dies down and sometimes the sun even comes out. My bald head took a beating this last time because I forgot to wear a hat!

I try not to take critters that are protected. But in Florida and in Lee County (some additional rules) and on Sanibel Island (even more rules) about the only thing we find on the beach that is 'illegal' to collect are live animals with shells like clams, scallops and hermit crabs (even though it's not 'their' shell). Gorgonians, crabs that don't have a season (blue crabs & stone crabs), anemones (except condys) shrimp, algae, urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, sponges, tunicates and even fish are all legal up to a limit as long as you have a valid Florida saltwater fishing license. My best guess is that if an FWC officer checked my bucket and saw all the critters I was saving from almost certain death and he found a one illegal critter, I'd probably get a lecture rather than a fine. Vacationers who are shell collecting probably get more illegal live animals by mistake than I get on purpose! And in the Keys if you get caught with an illegal coral, even a very small one, you are looking at huge fines. But stony corals almost never wash up on the beach around here. There just aren't very many along the SW Florida coast.

I've never been stopped any authority like FWC or the police (who probably wouldn't know the rules anyway). I was stopped one time by 2 Ding Darling State Park volunteers who heard me give my speech about the octopus to a group of 20 people who were gathered around. They didn't question what I was doing or look at what I had collected. They wanted me to volunteer to work at the park to lead 'beach walks'.

I talked to the volunteer supervisor and found they want every volunteer to do too much office work before they start training in 6 or 7 different specialties (birds, plants, reptiles, marine, environments, history...). You have to learn each specialty which takes weeks and then you don't get to pick which one you want to work in. Well heck, I can do my own beach walks whenever I want and I don't have much trouble gathering a crowd of interested vacationers. And I get to do it when I want, which is when the beach is alive with marine critters.


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Unread 04/05/2017, 04:26 AM   #359
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Our May vacation to the Keys can't get here soon enough!


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Unread 04/27/2017, 09:11 PM   #360
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Been a while since I checked on this thread glad to see its still alive.

A small group of us are planning on staying at sunshine key rv resort from November 19th through December 2nd. Is this a good time to go down? My wife and I just returned from the campground last week and we had a blast unfortunately we aren't the great photographer's that Ron and his wife are so I don't have much to offer by way of photos even my go pro videos are very long and nearly useless lol. We are planning on going to the Tortugas for a night during our stay but wanted some input on weather I can snorkel butt naked in the 80's😈 please tell me it'll be close but most importantly I want to know if we should be concerned with hurricanes.

Thanks all


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Unread 04/28/2017, 04:42 AM   #361
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Hi 'water is wet' and thanks for helping keep this thread alive! And I don't care how bad your pics are, tell us a little about what you did. If you guys had a 'blast' let us know how to do it. I'm always looking for new sources of fun! Pleeeeeease???

Elaine and I typically get to the Keys 3 to 5 time between May and October, but our primary reason for going to the Keys is to snorkel... in fact, it's our secondary reason for going as well! Even though there are lots other fun things to do in the Keys.

OK, these are just opinions of mine (with some input from Elaine), so take it all with a grain of salt. Let us put your mind at ease, late November in the Keys has close to zero chance of a hurricane. The official hurricane season runs through the end of November. Google Florida hurricane data and you'll see there are very, very few that late in the season. And even the rainy season has ended by then so the chances of the typical afternoon thunder boomers is greatly reduced.

That said, weather can still be a bit iffy. My best guess is 80% or better chance of good weather, but northern cold fronts which NEVER get down to the Keys in April through October, can make it down during some of the dry season, November through April. A cold front could mean 1 to 3 days of windy, overcast and much cooler temperatures than are normal for November. And because the dry season cooler temps with highs only in the low 80's or even upper 70's, the water has started to cool down by then. We snorkeled the shallows (usually warmer water due to the sun heating it better than deep water) in very early December about 5 years ago. It was a nice sunny day with temps in the low 80's. We had on heavier wet suits than normal and I was OK after an hour (my wet suit was really heavy) but Elaine, who doesn't have any body fat and only had a good cold water wet suit, was cold enough after an hour that she needed to get out of the water and warm up in the sun. The other issue is that like the trees in fall and winter up north, some of the stuff in the water doesn't like the cooler temp either. We find less wildlife and things like zoa and paly polyps closed up and pulled in to avoid the cooler water.

The Tortugas will be a fun trip if weather is good. A giant PITA if the weather is bad as there is no place to hide from the weather. Elaine has been there 3 times and I've been once. We are going with 3 other couples in mid October. Two couples for 2 nights and two couples just for 1 night. We plan to do a night snorkel around the Fort Jefferson moat one night and to do some serious sky watching the other night. I think in late November the Milky Way will be about 45 degrees up from setting in the west just after it gets dark. Trust me, I'll have lots of pictures of that entire trip to post here. I got a new camera with a 83X zoom lens and we are shopping for a second tough camera for me to use snorkeling. I normally don't shot much underwater as I'm always lugging around stuff related to collecting. But I can't do that in the Tortugas, so I want a camera.

Just one suggestion, have alternative plans for things to do. If you need suggestions, this thread has some, or search on Google or ask here. I'd say my top 3 alternatives have been the History of Diving Museum, the Turtle Hospital and the Aquarium Encounters facility. But art galleries, deep sea fishing, the artist group called The Rain Barrel & Village, or almost anything in Key West. Also consider tracking down The No Name Pub for a lunch or informal dinner and then drive over to No Name Key and watch for the miniature Key Deer.

Whatever you do, just relax, live life on island time and enjoy your stay!

Oh, and tell us all about it, and I mean everything!!!


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Unread 05/06/2017, 03:41 AM   #362
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Two weeks until we go snorkeling in the Keys and the wait is driving me crazy!


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Unread 05/15/2017, 07:25 PM   #363
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Hi Ron Reefman! I have been reading your posts for several months now. I love your demeanor and the help you provide all of us. I stumbled across this thread and wanted to add. I live in Ct. but Love the Keys! I get to travel there every other couple of years. I mainly dive but snorkeling is what I do when I am not diving. My wife and I on an off diving day went to Penekamp and rented a whaler type boat to go out snorkeling on "Mo". You know 15 Naut's of 10 foot deep stuff till you get to the 30' reefs. Well, along the way we saw a boat anchored up and went to investigate. 10' feet of water. We grabbed a ball. Went in and discovered an acre wide patch reef with a million Queen Conchs. It was absolutely amazing. They were oozing and crawling everywhere. Without a doubt one of the most amazing snorkels I have had .


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Unread 05/15/2017, 07:55 PM   #364
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Nice, I'll be in marathon key middle of June cant, wait love the ocean


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Unread 05/16/2017, 05:38 AM   #365
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BeneatheSea, thanks for the kind shout out. I keep this thread going because I love the snorkeling in the Keys. When I started this thread some years ago... gees how time flies... we didn't have a boat and I wanted help finding fun place to snorkel right off the beach. So far the answer is Bahia Honda State Park and one island southwest called Spanish Harbor Key (at the northeast end of the island).

I'm really glad to read that you guys had a great snorkel up by Penekamp. We have seen queen conch populations swing up and down over the years and it seems to be quite location dependent. They are such cool animals. We've seen the same thing in Bahamian Sea Star populations.

I really appreciate your posting here as I want to try and make snorkeling in the Keys as easy and fun as it can be. The weather can make snorkeling less fun or even impossible. So adding posts about other sites and attractions while in the Keys is also appreciated.

bill4t, glad to hear you will be headed our way. We will be in the Marathon area next week so check in and we may have some info to share... even while we are there. We are going down in June as well. I'll PM you about that since we may overlap visits.


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Unread 05/19/2017, 02:45 PM   #366
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Well, I started packing for our Keys trip. The wind and weather look really good for the days we expect to be snorkeling. I'm hoping for water flat enough that I can convince Elaine to take the Zodiac out to Molasses Key which is 3 miles from shore along the ocean side of the Seven Mile Bridge. If I can, we'll make stops at Money Key and Little Money Key as well.

I'm looking forward to the trip for many reasons. Like we haven't been snorkeling in 9 or 10 months! That's too long of a break for me! My local shallow reef tank is well prepped for new arrivals. And not the least of which, I have 2 'new to me' cameras. I got a used Nikon P900 from a guy in Alaska. It's a huge super zoom (2000mm) point and shoot camera. I took a pic of the full moon the other night and it filled the frame and came out pretty darn sharp. But even better, Elaine has been taking 99% of our underwater pics with an Olympus TG1 Tough camera I got her for Christmas many years ago. We both think it works great for snorkeling because it has a bigger lens than all the other tough cameras. So it lets in more light and allows for shorter exposure, i.e. faster shutter speeds. Well, we are going for a 2 night camping trip to the Dry Tortugas later this year and I can't do any collecting. So I just got a used TG4 which is just an updated version of the camera Elaine uses and for my needs, it's still the best snorkel camera. Now I can take pictures as well. Yea!

We may have some pics and some stories about our snorkel days while we are still in the Keys. I hope some of you find these enjoyable. I CAN"T WAIT!!!


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Unread 05/26/2017, 02:27 PM   #367
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We drove down on Monday and we were expecting great weather. But Mother Nature pulled a fast one. Tuesday and Wednesday were forecast on Sunday night to be 3 to 6 mph winds from the SW. But what we got was 10 to 14 mph from the S on Tuesday and 12 to 16 mph from the S on Wednesday. Oceanside (south southeast) was a no go. Visibility was OK but it was far more rough water than we wanted. I was hoping for calm so I could try to get out to Molasses Key, or at least Money Key (both on the Oceanside of the Seven Mile Bridge). So we had to punt.

Monday afternoon we decided to do some site investigation rather than our normal snorkel out to the little island off the marina at the Blackfin Motel. I got to play some with my ‘new to me’ Nikon P900 super zoom, point & shoot camera.

Just a sample of what this Nikon camera can do. And remember, it's just a super zoom point and shoot, not a fancy DSLR. This scene is off the beach at Blackfin Resort. Maybe, if you're lucky, on the horizon you can see a small boat... maybe a small dark dot?




And this is from the same spot on the beach with the lens zoomed out. Pardon the blurry image, hand held 2000mm shots in a gusty wind isn't easy!




This Great White Hereon was a good 100' away from me and with just some of the zoom I could get a portrait!



We drove off to Spanish Harbor Key and found this Iguana in the bushes about 75' away.




And finally a sunset photo of Pretty Joe Rock, a small house on a very small island just off shore to the west of Blackfin Resort. BTW, the island and house are available for rent and it comes with a boat.




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Unread 05/26/2017, 02:48 PM   #368
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Tuesday we went to Little Money Key which is the Florida Bay side of the Seven Mile Bridge just off the far SW end. The good snorkel grounds there are on the N and NE side of the island, so lee of the wind. The first thing we saw was that the green zoas we call Little Money zoas (because they are green and come from Little Money Key) were having a bit of a population explosion. Two years ago why were few and far between, last year they had recovered well, and this year they were all over the shallows. Obviously we got our limit of 5 polyps each.




I got my limit on brown palys as well. They aren’t great, but I won’t mind having them in my shallow local reef tank. There were lots of Emerald crabs and quite a few Ruby crabs as well.




Since I’ve had a bit of an algae issue in my display refugium and my 65g shallow local reef tank, I got 5 of them as well. I also collected a couple of smaller blue/green brittle stars, one for the main DT and one for the local reef tank. We found a flat worm that I can’t ID, and although very plain looking, it was fun to play with.




Elaine also found and got one quick photo of a small octopus she found hiding under a rock.




I found a Gaudy Clown Crab which is uncommon in Florida and even the greater Caribbean. I had every intention of keeping it. But after Elaine took a couple of photos, I struggled getting my collection jar open (a plastic peanut butter jar with holes drilled in it and a rope through the lid to hold onto). Well I got it open and the crab was gone. I spent a minute looking for it, but the bottom is a lot of loose rubble stony coral, various colors of sponges, some zoas and some algae… no luck finding the crab again. I don’t mind telling you I was seriously disappointed with the loss. In 6 or 7 years of serious snorkeling, I’d never seen one and I had it in my hand!!! But the serious truth is, even if I had collected it, it would probably have disappeared into the rocks in my tank never to be seen again!




The Sun was out so it was a good picture taking day. Visibility was pretty good as well. Air temp was in the mid 80’s but the water was still a bit cool. I had on my 3/2mil wet suit and I was OK. Elaine had on her 1.5mil wet suit and she got quite cold. So after lunch she stayed in the boat and I did a second snorkel around the NW side of the island and picked up a few turbo snails. We saw quite a few big Queen Conch and a lot of juvenile Queen Conch. I’d say that 2 or 3 acres of shallow reef flat is in as good a condition as I can ever remember it. And it was just 4 or 5 years ago that it was in really poor shape after a very cold winter. The Keys had some significant fish kills it was so cold.




I happened to get a good angle on this one so we can look him in the eyes.



All in all it was a very nice day, just not what I had planned for. But when Mother Nature gives you lemons, the best you can do is make lemonade.


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Unread 05/26/2017, 03:34 PM   #369
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Wednesday was as advertised, the wind was up and the chop on the Oceanside of the Keys was awful. So my great idea was to use the boat ramp at the eastern end of Spanish Harbor Key and go NNW to Big Mangrove Key (1.3 miles offshore) and Refuse Key (another 0.7 miles out) which are between No Name Key (that’s really it’s name) and Spanish Harbor Key. The trip started OK but half way there the water got significantly rougher as we were more and more open water. Discretion won out and we returned to Spanish Harbor Key and explored the just off shore area between the boat ramp and the “Horseshoe”. What we call the Horseshoe is an old flooded quarry at the NE end of the island. If you use Google Earth and look at the NE end of Spanish Harbor Key you can’t miss it. Being on the lee side of a long island gave us very calm water.

We stopped near the middle of the island because we could see lots of big vase sponges and ball sponges on the bottom in 3’ to 5’ of water. Near shore, in 3’ of water the bottom was all turtle grass and a top coat of a loose yellow algae and it wasn’t very nice. But almost as soon as we started swimming toward shore we found 3 full size Spotted Seahares that were all white with black rings all over them. They were very cool looking. If one had been a much smaller juvenile I’d have considered collecting it (I have an algae issue).




From the mucky shoreline out for 100’ or more was pretty yucky. After that, in 3’to 5’ of water was a mostly sandy bottom with lots of big sponges and not much else, although we did find a big orange hermit crab living in a full size Queen Conch shell. It was busy digging in the sand, I assume looking for food.




Elaine also got a few good photos of a mantis shrimp that we can’t ID.




And I consider us lucky to get a photo of a small mantis shrimp because I usually see them when they see me and run for cover at extreme high speed. We watched for awhile and headed back to the Zodiac. While swimming over some turtle grass I noticed small white snails with a flat spiral shell that have pointed edges called long spined star shells (Astralium phoebium).




While collecting our limit of 10 (5 for me and 5 for Elaine) in water just deep enough that I had to get a good lung full of air and go down so my snorkel would be under water in order to reach the snail. In doing so, I spooked a small nurse shark that must have been resting (or hiding) under the algae. It was only about 2 feet away from my hand and as it darted up and swam away, I have to admit, it startled me. I only saw it for 2 or 3 seconds before it was out of sight and whenever anything big and under water moves fast, it puts a scare down my spine.

From there we moved over near the west side of the Horseshoe. It was near low tide and the water was only 2’ to 3’ deep. There are a couple of small mangrove clusters and some big rocks near shore that we explored. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many variegated urchins in one place.




I saw spines that were white, black and green and urchins that were as small as a dime to as big as a softball. Seeing them use bits of shells, grass, sponges and more as camouflage is always entertaining to see.




The same urchin uncovered.




I collected a small one (the size of a quarter) and a bigger one (roughly 2” in diameter). The bigger one is in my display refugium with Hannibal the Red Hawaiian Reef Lobster and the smaller one is in my 65g shallow local reef tank.


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Unread 05/26/2017, 03:36 PM   #370
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We found a couple of very pretty sea stars, one very orange and one darker, almost charcoal in color with orange or red bumps. They were both 5” to 7” from tip to tip, much too big to keep in a small tank.




I also collected a couple of shaving brush algae plants and a small cactus alga as well. They are currently in my 65g local tank in the back reef room (a small 3rd bedroom), but if they survive, I’ll move them to the display refugium in the living room.

At one large rock that was 4’ or 5’ in diameter and rose 2’ out of the water I was inspecting some fuzzy chitons that were attached to the rock above the waterline. I’d have collected a couple but they were very well attached. I couldn’t peel them off with my fingers and I didn’t have my dive knife. But I’ve had a couple of these guys before and they were willing to climb right out of my tank at home, so I wasn’t that disappointed. The rock also had lots of red feather dusters (very well attached), lots of big turbo snails (I collected 5), some purse oysters and sponges. The bottom of the rock had a long but very shallow ‘cave’ at the sandy bottom. Even with my head on the bottom I couldn’t see under the rock. So I took my Olympus TG1 Tough camera and stuck it slightly inside the cave and took a couple of photos with the flash.

It’s a terrible photo. The head is at the left edge, the eyes are just in the frame and the one looking at me is glowing due to the camera flash.




An instant later a 2’ nurse shark swam out the other side of the rock and darted away.



That’s 2 sharks within 2’ feet of my hands in one day. And I’m not afraid of small nurse sharks, but again, the sudden movement of something big, under water, that I didn’t see even though it was very close to me, startles/scares me for just a second. It’s amazing how fast the human body can inject adrenaline into the body! And if I add together all the time I could see these 2 sharks, it doesn’t add up to 5 or 6 seconds! They swim out of sight in a flash.

We also saw some upside down jellyfish, a couple different kinds of tunicates, a flame scallop, a couple of one spot butterfly fish and a Condy anemone with an anemone shrimp. Elaine got a nice photo of a mangrove snapper, a school of juvenile stripped parrot fish and a lobster looking out from under a rock at a high hat fish that didn’t want to swim away.










All in all, I got four 1 to 2 hour snorkels in and generally had a good time. I guess snorkeling in the Keys on marginal weather days is still better than working around the house doing chores!


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Unread 05/26/2017, 11:07 PM   #371
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Originally Posted by And finally a sunset photo of Pretty Joe Rock, a small house on a very small island just off shore to the west of Blackfin Resort. BTW, the island and house are available for rent and it comes with a boat.



[URL=http://s395.photobucket.com/user/RonReefman/media/DSCN4306_zpsqocnim8z.jpg.html
[/URL]

Would you allow me to critique the sunset picture without taking it personal? I like to give you some pointers for your next sunset photo from a photographic rules point of view.



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Unread 05/27/2017, 05:03 AM   #372
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You may critique to your hearts content, I won't take it personal. I have about 20 sunset shots I took that evening. This was more of a camera test than an attempt at being artistic. Set the camera on sunset mood, zoom out to where I wanted to be and shoot. It turned out OK for me.

So I look forward to your comments. I'm always looking to learn, it's half the reason I hang around at RC.


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Unread 05/27/2017, 08:04 PM   #373
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Originally Posted by Ron Reefman View Post
You may critique to your hearts content, I won't take it personal. I have about 20 sunset shots I took that evening. This was more of a camera test than an attempt at being artistic. Set the camera on sunset mood, zoom out to where I wanted to be and shoot. It turned out OK for me.

So I look forward to your comments. I'm always looking to learn, it's half the reason I hang around at RC.

1st tip applies to sunsets, sunrises or landscapes in general, decides what grabs you most about the picture you are about to take, what looks more dramatic, above the horizon or below? Since in photography we have to deal with the rule of thirds most of the time you should avoid placing the horizon in the middle of the frame so you then decide if the sky looks stunning and the water looks blah then give the sky a bigger portion of the frame, sometimes as much as 75% - 25% or whatever percentage you decide, very seldom 50/50 unless the reflection on the water is as dramatic as the sky.

2nd tip horizon shots that contain water must be horizontally level, not as critical with mountains etc, I notice this problem more often with smartphone photos.

I liked you didn't place the sun in the middle of the frame.

Hope you can use my tips in future shots, and keep shooting.





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Unread 05/28/2017, 04:53 AM   #374
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Thanks for your advise. Every point you made, are things that I know and understand. And you are 100% right. However, the original shot was just a point and shoot sunset photo with a new camera in a new, never used by me, mode. And then I posted it here just to give a flavor of the Keys. It's a vacation snapshot posted on a website, never intended to be a serious photo.

That doesn't mean you're wrong about your critique of the photo. I find I take some photos thinking about what I'm doing and considering what the framing and layout and background looks like. Other times I just point and shoot and if it's even close to worth the effort, I'll do my best to rework it with Photoshop.




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Unread 05/28/2017, 06:50 PM   #375
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Thanks again for sharing, Ron!

What gloves do you wear while snorkeling?


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