Last Sunday we decided to go sailing and were pleasantly surprised to see three Manatees while walking to our boat. These large "Sea Cows" are a common sight at our marina on the St. Johns River. The Manatee averages 10 feet long and weighs 2000 lbs. They are vegetarians, spending about 8 hours a day eating sea grass in the shallow rivers of Florida. Many have prop scars from boats on their backs, and speed limits have been imposed in Manatee Areas on many rivers and the Intracoastal Waterway to help protect them. One playful Manatee has been nicknamed "Thumper" as he will sometimes thump on the hulls of the docked boats for attention. (You may need to click or double click to enlarge these pictures for a better view.)
Our sailing trip never happened as the boat moved very slowly away from the dock due to a prop severely fouled with barnacles. I went into the river and scrapped the thick layer of barnacles from both the prop and the boat bottom, a necessary maintenance task for a salt water boat owner.
Next time we will be ready to sail.
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