Capt. Frank Hopkins wrote:

You got that right NYOB. And, I do have a branch of my charter business
in St. Pete. But plan to retire to Astor.

I couldn't agree more. I wonder if DW and BB have a true clue. Perhaps
someday they can afford to vacation for an extended stay in Fl, and get
a glimmer of the true picture. I don't think either of them have a clue.
Now let's see if we can educate the poor snow birds.

Clues for the Canucks


The *fact* of the matter is, you're simply spreading boater propaganda
here, regarding manatees, rather than posting any sort of acceptable
science.

You're entitled to do that, of course,

The fact is that there is no accurate census on manatees now. There are
guesses, that is all. I've read some of the reports that detailed some
of the census techniques, and these are laughable, at best.

Your posts on manatee behavior are little more than a regurgitation of
everything every boating group in Florida has posted in defense of
higher boat speeds. I'm a part-time Floridian, and I'm aware of some
aspects of manatee population and behavior. My observations lead me to
different conclusions than much of what you've posted.

There's more at play here than manatees, of course. There's the issue of
high boat speeds, enormous boat wakes, careless boater behavior, driving
a boat while under the influence - these are all issues, along with
protecting manatees - that play into efforts to control the speed at
which boats are operated in the more protected Florida waters.

I used to live along the ICW, between the new bridge just north of St.
Augustine and the bend that turns towards the little airport basin. I'm
sure you are familiar with the general area. I filed many a complaint
about reckless boaters, boaters violating the no-wake zones and against
boaters, especially an airboater in the neighborhood, who violated noise
regulations. We also had some manatees in the area, very friendly ones,
who liked to patrol between where we were and the edge of Salt Run at
the S.A. inlet. Their presence added more to the general atmosphere of
the place than any overstuffed cruisers wallowing by, tossing up 8-foot
wakes.

You want some less restrictive regs that "protect" manatees? Then work
harder to prosecute irresponsible boaters.


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