Florida Sea Grass

Florida is very proud of their sea weed, uh, I mean sea grass. So proud in fact that they value it above human life. There is a patch of sea grass just to the north of us. It is below the surface about 2 feet when the tide is at high tide and it is exposed when the tide is at low tide. The other day a Hunter 29.5 sailboat crewed by an older couple ran aground on the sea grass. The tide was up so it wasn't visible except by the color of the water. There are buoys marking the area and the helmsman did not heed the buoys. They were hard aground and could not back off. A couple in a hard dinghy came by and was using their dinghy to try and push the sailboat out to deeper water. At this time the harbor master comes out in a boat and we thought he was going to lend a hand to tow them off. But, no. All he did was yell at them and tell them they could be fined for being on the sea grass. In fact people have been fined tens of thousands of dollars for messing with the sea grass. It didn't appear the harbor master cared one bit about the boat or the couple on board.

Here are a few photos of the sea grass at low tide. When the wind is from the north we get a very strong odor that about chokes the breath out of you. Imagine filling a plastic bag with seaweed, dead rotting fish and putrid water. Now stick your head in the bag, close around your neck and take a deep breath. That is what it is like.

If you are coming to Florida, beware of the sea grass.