Red Tide

I just spotted a post over on the Water Tribe site (thank you SeaDogRocket) mentioning that a bloom of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, persists along Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and northern Collier counties in Southwest Florida as of 2/5/16. They kindly posted this link to the State of Florida map and report.

http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

Coast is clear for the CHOK area but some hot spots showing up off Lee county (around Captiva, North Captiva) and points north (Sarasota)...

Red tide reported on SW Florida coast

http://myfwc.com/media/4050813/RT-Count-Map.pdf

Red tide and fish kills were very serious at the north end of Pine Island (Bokeelia) when we launched there about a month ago. Not bad over at Cayo Costa.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Thanks for a link to that map. We are planning a trip next weekend to camp just south of Marco Island. Glad to see it isn't showing up there.


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My pleasure, Totch - Florida notified me via my fishing license info. Please let us know how your trip goes - I'm toying with a sail from Delnor Wiggins on the north side of Naples down to the area where you are headed. Haven't tried it yet, so hearing about your experience on the trip will be helpful and welcomed.

Have fun!

Hi BobAgain - been doing the trip at least annually since 2011, but missed 2016. Looking forward to getting back down there.

We usually put in out of Goodland and head over to either Helen Key or Brush Island. Both places have good beaches and good trees for the hammocks.

Hopefully the cold weather will slow the bugs down a bit.

I'll do write up of the trip when we get back.


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Got a red tide notice the other day - Have a look..

http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

Don't drink the water (just kidding).
Red tide is a common problem on the SW coast. That's one reason I always have tramps and good spray skirts on my TI.
After a lifetime of martial arts my shins and legs are nearly all scar tissue, any open wounds or scratches keep me grounded.
Our boats sit so low in the water it's pretty difficult to avoid getting splashed in the face and eyes. This is one of the main reasons I typically only go out in flat water and winds under 7mph. In winds over ten mph we get 2ft washing machine chop which is not fun for me with my bad back.
I also worry about flesh eating bacteria and those pesky brain eating amiba critters laying in wait in the 110 degree stinky water along the shore.
We don't dive or snorkel in affected waters.
FE