Getting the boat ready for some river trips. It’s been a while, and the Redfisher needs some fixing up first.
It has been a very long time since I went out on our boat. I’m at the mercy of my son, as he is the one who takes the boat out. We’ve had to fix a few things on the boat, and my son has been busy doing other things. I’ve been waiting – mostly patiently – but it is one of the only good things about living in Florida- the saltwater rivers.
Friends of ours have been going shrimping and have brought in big hauls. Shrimping is done late at night, so I do not go. But we have the nets, lights and pails and we love shrimp. The processing is time consuming but worth it to have lots of free shrimp in the freezer.
Mainly I want to simply be out there on the river. I enjoy visiting our favorite beaches and going beach-combing. With the water warming up, the manatees should be coming back. We are always careful and watchful for them. Boats are a big issue for these animals who tend to be near the surface, but often undetectable.
My son has always been good about taking care of the boat, but a few things needed fixing. After sitting covered for months, the Redfisher needed a good cleaning too. The humidity really messes things up.
Springtime is like Fall in Florida. All the leaves fall off the trees as the new growth comes out. It all happens at once around February and March, and makes a mess on vehicles.
It is hard to believe we have had this boat for nearly 10 years! We used it a lot for years, but then we just didn’t. We bought a camper and focused on camping. I miss being out on the water. It’s a great feeling to be out in the watery wilderness, exploring. I never know what I’ll find.
Our local park and boat launch area has been closed due to the Covid flu lockdown, but recently re-opened. Of course everyone was anxious to get out… to swim, boat and get fresh air. It was a beautiful day in May and we headed out in our Hewes Redfisher to cruise around.
Enjoying the view from our boat
The tide was super low and still going out when we pulled in behind Three Sisters islands and got out to explore. Water temp was around 80 degrees, and I went for a swim – really a “float” since it was quite shallow. How nice!
The water was very clear, so finding interesting sea life was not difficult. I couldn’t take more than a few steps without coming across moving seashells. Most were inhabited by hermit crabs (as usual), but I found a few with the mollusk inside.
The two little crown conchs in my photo below are showing little black siphons at the end… which means the snail is inside. The University of Florida has an informational page about the Crown Conch.
These crown conch mollusks are alive.
Sometimes the hermits gather in a little group and seem to be examining each other’s shell homes like in my photo below. I was drawn to this gathering because of the color of that small horse conch shell.
Four hermits in various seashells
The brightly colored bivalve I am holding below caught my eye. It was just underwater on the sand and really stood out. This is the Atlantic Giant Cockle and can grow to be very large. It was one of the few shells I collected that day. All the whelks and conchs contained living creatures!
Beautiful coloring on this bivalve
With such a low tide, the “beach” was huge. This is not nice sand, but rather mucky, squishy mud-like stuff. Many creatures were just offshore in the shallow water, but some also drag their shells across the flats, or bury themselves in the mud.
Look at the colors on that crown conch below! Just lovely. I didn’t touch him, as I knew he was alive, just got this photo to show his dark coloring and spiky crown. Once the tide comes back in, all this will be covered in water.
This crown conch is alive and half buried. Love that shell color!
Large lumps in the horizon are always worth checking out. Sometimes it’s just a piece of a tree or clump of seaweed, but it can be something of interest, like this crusty old horse conch! Boy was he covered in stuff….barnacles and oysters were stuck to his shell. To check for life, I nudged the shell and sure enough I knew right away it was inhabited. I could feel the suction, and then I saw a sliver of bright orange (see him at the bottom of the shell in the photo below.)
Horse conch disguised
View my living horse conch post where you can see more of this awesome creature of the sea or take a look at the huge empty horse conch shell a friend found while wading around out here.
I found two super gorgeous Shark’s Eye shells which were not covered in gunk so I could see the coloring. Both had hermits inside, but they were kind enough to allow me some photos. 😉
Shark’s Eye
I hate to have to watermark my photos, but thieves abound. I’ll write anther post showing more photos of these cool round shells. They really are quite amazing.
Spotted Something Under the Water
The most fun I have out on the flats is when I spot something in the water, or on the sand, which is big enough to stand out. In this case it was a big Tulip shell. I’ve found some huge Tulips out here containing huge hermit crabs. And once I found a Giant Red Hermit Crab in this same area. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen.
Spotted a big Tulip shell
Saving the best for last, I want to share this photo of an egg case I found. This is the first time I have seen an egg case on my travels around the flats, beaches and rivers.
When I touched it I found that both ends of the long spiral were buried in the mud. Next to it was this Florida Cerith (containing a tiny hermit crab), so you can see the size comparison.
Egg case!
I know next to nothing about egg cases, but I suspect it was from one of the common whelks or conchs I always see in this area. I didn’t mess with it because it could be full of babies for all I know. The sections looked closed.
We finished up our day of boating with a little fishing (I caught, and released, a big Sail Catfish) and we remarked at how many people were out on the water for a Tuesday!
Our second day out with the new boat we ended up lounging in the fabulous ocean water at Disappearing Island at Ponce Inlet.
Finally the day arrived, and we picked up our new boat. It’s a flats boat, Hewes Redfisher and we are loving it! Our second day out found us behind Disappearing Island at Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach. (That’s in Florida, in case you weren’t sure.)
The reason we chose this type of boat is because it can get into (and out of) shallow water, like this canal. We were able to gain access to the backside of the expansive sandy island, and stay a few hours, while the tide continued to go out. Parts of the canal were very shallow and the tide still had a couple of hours to go out. It would be easy to become stranded.
Feet up and floating in the beautiful ocean water around Disappearing Island.
We arrived at the Inlet around noon on a Friday, so it was not overly crowded. On weekends I wouldn’t attempt to visit this place, as it is a madhouse from what I hear. But if you love the party atmosphere, and love to party with lots of happy strangers, who also enjoy the sun and sea, this island is the place to be.
The little backwater canal where we parked was not big, and we shared the space with only 2 other boats. A pontoon was pulled up onto the beach and he was obviously staying for the day. Once the tide was partially out, he was for sure stranded until the next high tide. The group had rafts, a smaller boat, and were doing some fishing.
Beached Boater Gets Help
The other boat near us suddenly realized they were stuck in the sand. As I was coming back from my walk across the island, I could see them rocking the boat trying to get it to move into the water.
A group of people from across the way came over to help, and so did my son. They got the boat free of the sand so the grateful boaters were able to leave.
Whenever the tide is going out, keep a careful eye on the water depth, or you’re stuck until the water comes back in again! Unless some friendly (strong) folks come by to give you a hand. I have a feeling it happens a lot.
Looking across Disappearing Island to the Inlet
We did some fishing as we left the area and traveled down the canal. We also saw sea turtles popping up for air. I caught a catfish (ugh) and some kind of little silver fish which got off the hook. Then I had a good bite, but the fish bit off my hook and got away. I don’t know my saltwater fish yet, but my son does. He thought it may have been a Bluefish.
Hewes Redfisher 18
It was a wonderful way to spend a Friday. Now I must work all weekend to make up for my time off.
By the way, I saw almost no seashells on the island. The crown conch I found had a hermit crab inside. I did find a cute little cerith seashell, and a little crab walked past us near the shoreline. Pictures on my next post.
