Excellent Trip, Dolphins, Sunset, and Clear Water

Wow!  I always have a plan on where we will go on a trip, but sometimes nature presents itself and you enjoy what's in front of you.  Plans A, B, and C found a dusty shelf and stayed there. That is how the trip went with Christine and Susan . We started our trip with a southwest wind and traveled to the north end of Captiva Island. We observed Manatee  in their natural environment. This was a first for Christine. The weather was perfect as we traveled across the shallow water east of North Captiva. We went into the protected harbor of North Captiva and observed the red mangroves and a historic fishouse built in 1926.  We continued traveling to the next island to the north, Cayo Costa. I brought the boat to a slow idle and we enjoyed looking at the clear water when Susan spotted a dolphin. I put the boat in neutral and we saw two dolphins cruising the grass flats in 3 feet of water. The dolphin started to get closer to the boat as we drifted with the tide. It was amazing! The water was so clear we could see them checking us out. I have not seen the dolphin this close to my boat in that clear of water ever. I took many photos. Susan, Christine and I just looked in awe. All I could muster up was "WOW" over and over as I clicked away with my camera. Twenty minutes later the dolphins decided to move on. What an experience! Next we explored a remote beach on Cayo Costa Island. The beach was tranquil. The sun was starting to get closer to the Gulf of Mexico, so we moved on.  I anchored the boat over a grass flat, thinking we could explore one more flat before the sun was down. Susan had other plans. She proceeded to pull out a cocktail flag and announce,"its sunset time, do you have a stick or something to put our flag on?" I managed to find my boat brush handle. Susan was quite the girl scout- she had brought twist ties for the flag. She went to work hoisting the flag while Christine was busy getting the cocktails ready. I just had to get a picture of this from the water, so I stepped in the water with camera in hand and took a few photos and was bitten by a blue crab on my right foot.  The sun went down while great conversations were had about plants, fossils, pearls, minerals, rocks, and dichotomous guides.  

Shelling on the Flats

On the evening of the fullest moon in 18 years, I found myself looking for seashells on a lone sandbar. My client was a retired teacher from the great state of Nebraska with her sister Mary. Many live shells were observed.  Many non-living shells were collected including rose tellins, sunray venus, one beautiful horse conch, a razor clam along with other special shells. The trip was very satisfying for the teacher from Nebraska who was an avid shell collector.  The moon was pleasing to the eye as I pointed the bow of the boat into the the moon beams on the water. Thoughts of past moons flooded my memories like a broken down dam.

Shelling The Grass Flats

I enjoyed showing Susan and her daughter Rachel the grass flats, explaining the live shells and the botany of the mangroves.( No live shells were taken) After exploring the grass flats we traveled to Cayo Costa. The water was calm and  inviting. The beach was quiet and relaxing. The shells found are pictured above- Lightning whelks, rose tellins, olives, a large banded tulip, pear whelk, Susan's first angel wing, and a beautiful large kings crown. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the conversations as much as the azure water we traveled on.

Beautiful Day

Today I enjoyed shelling, talking, and exploring the Islands with many unique passengers. I will blog about our travels and finds soon.

Clear Water and Seashells

The water has been pleasantly clear around Cayo Costa. Here are few photo's from the beach.  My trips are filling up fast for April and May.  I have been scouting for trips I will be doing in May.  It is always fun exploring. You never know what is just around the next mangrove corner.

Sunrise Captiva Island

Always nice to be on the water at sunrise.  Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight. This means more time on the water in the daylight and on Cayo Costa.

Shelling Charter

I traveled to Cayo Costa Island today with five eager shellers. We traveled along North Captiva in the Gulf of Mexico.  The magnificent Frigate bird was enjoying gliding over the dolphins while we all tried to capture a good photo of he dolphin.  The dolphin show was great.  Many times we could hear the dolphin breath before we saw it. The south southeast wind made the shelling challenging on the gulf side . We walked the beach and explored another spot. The shelling turned out to be better at another spot. Shells found were ... Moon shells,  two surperb olive shells, baby's ears, worm shells, bubble shells, two sandollars , half of a rose tellin, angel wings ,sunray venus, and a beautiful key hole limpet. The south wind picked up to 25mph , which made for a rather wet trip across Captiva Pass .We traveled back to Captiva hugging the sandbars, observing many birds like the rare redish egret, brown pelicans, osprey and more dolphin.  We also had the opportunity to see two baby manatee's. What a beautiful day to be on the water!