Capt. Brian Goes Exploring In The Back Country Of The Keys

Exploring new territory is always fun. I am a map/chart lover. I spend many hours looking at charts and plotting new courses. The paddle board allows me to travel to places few people travel. There is remote  and then there is paddle board remote. The area I was in had restrictions on shelling. However the views were astounding. I took many photographs off of the paddle board in many unique places. My old friend the frigate bird flew over as I explored. I had fun exploring the back country of the upper Florida Keys, but always thinking of the beaches that are to the north where I had traveled just a few years ago. The Ten Thousand Islands. I look forward to taking the paddle board to some of  my favorite spots in that remote region in the next three months.

First Light

There is nothing like the the feeling of being on the water at first light. I never grow tired of the sounds, smells, and solitude.

Photos of the day

Jim and Cassandra From Florida

I don't often get the privilege of having a native Floridian on my boat. Jim and his wife are from North Florida. Jim has collected shells as long as he can remember and he has a good memory, at least for shells. Jim found a beautiful Lace Murex and other finds as well. I relished our conversations of different shells and talked about the shells we look forward to finding in the future. It was a great trip with a Native Floridian collecting shells. Thank you Jim and Cassandra.

Observant Outdoor Family

First light on the water is amazing.  I enjoyed the company of Alasdair, Virginia and their creative daughters Emma and Molly. The whole family loves the great outdoors and appreciates the wildlife that calls it home. Emma is a budding photographer and sees the landscape on a whole new level through her lens. I learned alot from her subtle observations. Alasdair is an excellent observer of bird life and wildlife as a whole, I enjoyed learning from the wildlife he observed. Virgina and Molly collected many unique shells and enjoyed the experience as much as the shells. Thank you for a educational and fulfilling trip.

The Todd Family

This was a fun adventure with Scott, his wife Karen and their kids Amanda and Alex. We saw my old friend the frigate bird swooping on the water as dolphins pushed small fish to the surface. The shelling was excellent. We reaped the rewards of Tropical Storm Debby. Alex found a beautiful Alphabet Cone. Karen found an Albino Lightning Whelk. Amanda also found many great shells. She has a really good eye. We started at my favorite spot and found many species of shells. Then we traveled to a more remote spot. I was amazed at the variety of shells we found at  this location. Cones, Murex, Sharks Eyes, Fighting Conchs, the list goes on. It was a truly a great day of shell collecting. On the way back we stopped at a local island restaurant only accessible by boat for lunch. Conversations were enjoyed as well as the food. Scott was the camera man throughout the trip. He got a great shot of the dolphin posted above. Thank you Scott for all the great photos. The adventure was most enjoyable with your family.