Boating

Shelling at Three Sisters Island Florida

horse conch seashell — Encrusted Horse Conch

My recent trip to Florida gave me opportunity to do some shelling, or seashell hunting. The Three Sisters Islands are in the backwater area of the intracoastal near Edgewater and that is where we dropped anchor one day. It was hot and we needed to take a dip in the very warm water (80’s at least) to try to cool off. The area around one of the islands was very shallow so I took a walk looking for shells.
The east coast of Florida is not exactly the best place to find shells, and most of the shells I saw were inhabited by hermit crabs. Those things are everywhere! But suddenly I spotted something large in the murky brown water and when I got up close I saw it was a big shell. When I lifted it out, this is what I saw.

The horse conch is the official Florida shell, and I’m pretty sure this is one. I wanted to keep it, and it had no living thing inside, but something attached to it was alive.
Those bumps you can see on the left side in my photo, were squishy and obviously living. I don’t know what they are – maybe some sort of coral? – but I had to put the shell back. So I took my own advice and took some photos and left nature alone.
The only shells I brought back home were collected along New Smyrna Beach, and they are not super impressive. But this horse conch was definitely my favorite find.

Get Out On The Water in a Gheenoe

Sport fishing is a favorite pastime in Florida and the fish are plentiful. Fishing from shore is easy enough, but getting out on the water means spending money (lots of money) on a boat. Or does it?

When I was in Florida this past summer my son’s friend had come by to go fishing at our rental house on the ICW. He works at Boston Whaler in Edgewater, and the boys got to talking about boats. My son doesn’t have a bunch of money, but would love to have an affordable boat to get out to the little islands all up and down the coast and do some fishing. His friend mentioned a Gheenoe, saying it was a “glorified canoe”. It’s small and affordable with a motor and a good setup wouldn’t cost much more than $5,000 – with the motor and all. They are made right in Titusville, Florida.

It sounded perfect for what my son wanted to do. During the summer, my son looked into it more and visited a place in Maitland which sells the Gheenoe. He ended up with one and loves it. It’s like a canoe, but with a motor, and options to make additions, like comfy seats, lights, etc., and he says it handles big waves very well. He’s come across some fast moving yachts in areas of the ICW which have caused giant swells for him to navigate, and he’s done so without a problem. He even caught his first Redfish not too long ago.

Vacation on Florida Waterways in a Private Houseboat

Have you ever considered renting a houseboat to explore the real side of Florida? Many tourists miss out on seeing Florida’s natural beauty when they spend all their time at Disney World.

It would really be worth your trouble to do something more relaxing that the kids would love just as much as Mickey Mouse.

I remember many years ago when I lived nearby, we went to see some houseboats for rent on the St. John’s River, and came close to renting one for a few days. I don’t remember why we didn’t, except that between work, finding a pet sitter, and all that fun stuff, maybe we just couldn’t find the time. Or, more likely it could have been the cost, because it’s not cheap.

If you love being out on the water and also like to travel, imagine spending each day lounging on the deck of your own big boat as it navigates the river and slowly takes you to the next destination – or nowhere in particular. Continue reading “Vacation on Florida Waterways in a Private Houseboat”