Birthday On The Beach With The Miller Family

The Miller family have traveled with me to the out islands for a number of years. Three weeks ago Corey the father called and said, "All my daughter wants for her eighth birthday is to go out with Captain Brian". I thought it would be a great idea to get a cake and surprise her and the rest of the family. While the family was out snorkeling and swimming I brought the cooler with the cake in it and all of the provisions for an island birthday party. It turned out great! The weather and water was perfect. Great treasures were found on the beach and in the water. Graham found a large anchor (that is currently in the back of my truck) and Chloe found a shiva shell that was very large. I always enjoy the time on the water with the Miller family. Happy Birthday Quincy!

Summer Is Here!

 

 

 

~ Happy 1st Day of Summer ~

 

Captain Brian





Natural Pink Pearls

Rachel is a creative explorer of unique natural treasures of the sea. We share a common bond, "the rare pink pearl". I have learned a vast amount of knowledge about the mini shell world from Rachel. On a boat trip our conversation led to remote places, rare seashells and the pink pearl. She has not only acquired pink pearls but has made beautiful pieces of jewelry showing the special characteristics of this natural ocean gem. Here is a link to her site Natural Pink Pearls. If you would like to purchase her custom pink pearl jewelry, she's offering a 15% discount if you use the code Brian15. Thanks to Rachel I am the happy owner of two of these gems of the sea.

Photography and Shelling with Ron and Carol

Ron is an avid photographer and Carol enjoys shelling. We started our trip by exploring the flats. Carol found many sunray venus shells. Next we went to a spot where we took photos of osprey, red-bellied woodpeckers and frigate birds. The next location the surf had picked up in the Gulf which made anchoring a real task so we traveled to the sound side, anchored and explored for shells. On the return trip the sky was absolutely stunning through the lens. Thank you Ron and Carol.

Debbie And Chuck

Our trip started at 7am and ended at 2pm. We covered a lot of area in a short amount of time. Debbie and Chuck are beachcombers and lovers of nature. Debbie is a good photographer and has a good eye for her subject matter. I enjoyed learning from her shooting photos. Debbie spotted this red-bellied woodpecker (the bird in the top photo) when we stepped off the boat. The sky was grey so this shot was a little tricky. Debbie captured some great shots. We also found a piece of lions paw. The sky started to turn blue instead of grey as we traveled to another island. Debbie and Chuck love the broken lightning whelks. We found the mother load of these west of secret spot no number. Then it was off to the Tarpon Lodge for a relaxing lunch and conversation. On the way back to Captiva we took pictures of the historic fishouses in the sound. It was a fun day of nature, photography and shelling with Debbie and Chuck.