wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"


http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...t-manatees5385

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.


Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed instead
of the engine.

--
Nom=de=Plume

wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"


http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...t-manatees5385

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.


Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.


I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

On Feb 24, 11:30*pm, "nom=de=plume" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

I see manatees sleeping just below the surface so you cannot see em.
They do not seem afraid of even powerboats and seem to consider our
canoe to be another manatee. Somebody came up with a device that
emits a noise to wake up the manatees so they might get out of the way
of boats.
Seeing them up close and seeing the prop scars on em really makes you
want to come up with a solution but we need to figure out their lack
of response to boats first..

On Feb 25, 4:55*pm, Frogwatch wrote:
On Feb 24, 11:30*pm, "nom=de=plume" wrote:



wrote in message

.. .

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for..
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

I see manatees sleeping just below the surface so you cannot see em.
They do not seem afraid of even powerboats and seem to consider our
canoe to be another manatee. *Somebody came up with a device that
emits a noise to wake up the manatees so they might get out of the way
of boats.
Seeing them up close and seeing the prop scars on em really makes you
want to come up with a solution but we need to figure out their lack
of response to boats first..

Yesterday, I noticed the max speed on the ICW is 25 mph but outside
the ICW channel in manatee zones it is no wake.

On Feb 24, 9:10*pm, "nom=de=plume" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed instead
of the engine.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Brilliant reply D'Plume. But even to your standards it is still not
average.

On Feb 25, 1:30*am, "nom=de=plume" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Your live-in, D'Plume?

On Feb 26, 12:44*am, TopBassDog wrote:
On Feb 25, 1:30*am, "nom=de=plume" wrote:



wrote in message

.. .

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for..
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Your live-in, D'Plume?

Was once snorkelling in a spring and a manatee came up and obviously
wanted to be scratched. We tried to stay away from it but it kept
coming up to us.

On Feb 26, 10:37*am, Frogwatch wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:44*am, TopBassDog wrote:



On Feb 25, 1:30*am, "nom=de=plume" wrote:

wrote in message

.. .

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Your live-in, D'Plume?

Was once snorkelling in a spring and a manatee came up and obviously
wanted to be scratched. *We tried to stay away from it but it kept
coming up to us.

Here is a reference to the high pitched noisemaker to repel manatees.
Maybe if boats had these the speed limits in manatee zones could be
lifted.

On Feb 26, 10:37*am, Frogwatch wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:44*am, TopBassDog wrote:





On Feb 25, 1:30*am, "nom=de=plume" wrote:

wrote in message

.. .

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones.
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Your live-in, D'Plume?

Was once snorkelling in a spring and a manatee came up and obviously
wanted to be scratched. *We tried to stay away from it but it kept
coming up to us.

Is manatee scratching a common thing?

On Feb 26, 1:39*pm, Jack wrote:
On Feb 26, 10:37*am, Frogwatch wrote:



On Feb 26, 12:44*am, TopBassDog wrote:

On Feb 25, 1:30*am, "nom=de=plume" wrote:

wrote in message

.. .

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:44 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:36 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:27:54 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:06:55 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:17:10 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

OK, so when do they get a "Manatee Crossing Zone?"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...-national-park...

Wow, speed zones through a national park.... what a novel idea! I bet
they even have those in Colorado Nation Parks.

I bet it isn't 5 MPH

It probably should be....

What sort of idiot would go blasting through an area, knowing that
they would likely hit wildlife (or anything else)?

Even by car, every day/night I go slow .... really slow .... through
areas I reasonably suspect are populated by deer, wild turkey, bear,
buzzard, etc.

With the boat, I don't want to hit a whale, manatee, sand bar,
submarine (yep, that "amber flashing light" *does* mean something) or
anything else...... slow the hell down.....

.... quit whining and pull back on the throttle.....

Bear in mind we are talking about around a thousand square miles of
water in the estuary system in these 3 counties, not just a little
strip on the way to the Gulf.
There are people who have to idle up to 5 miles to get out. That tacks
2 hours onto your boat ride by the time you get home.

Such is the cost of enjoying nature... slow down, smell the seaweed
instead
of the engine.

I am really not the guy you people are hollaring at, we go pretty slow
most of the time but I also understand people who want to get offshore
to fish do not want to be chugging across the bay for 2 hours. It
should be pointed out, this came about after they bought their house,
assuming they had "gulf access" which they paid an extra $200,000 for.
The ironic thing is nobody has even proven these zones are saving
anything. It is just a feel good thing. If the water is less than 3
feet deep, you won't have any manatee there, at least none with their
ass under water, yet vast areas like that are still manatee zones..
As I said a while ago, these are politically selected, not
scientifically selected.

I wouldn't be the one yelling, but I see your point. I think it's probably a
combo between science and "unnatural" selection. As with most things, it's
an imperfect system. I would think that most people would err on the side of
caution and take it easy, but there are also those who drink and drive in
the rain no less. Someone trashed it out here tonight. Fortunately, no one
was seriously injured. Now, he gets a hospital stay and maybe some jail
time.

--
Nom=de=Plume

Your live-in, D'Plume?

Was once snorkelling in a spring and a manatee came up and obviously
wanted to be scratched. *We tried to stay away from it but it kept
coming up to us.

Is manatee scratching a common thing?

I have heard that nearly tame ones in Kings Bay near Crystal River
like humans to scratch them. From there to where we encountered this
one is only about 130 miles.