OK, we had a pretty good time last weekend. The weather was pretty darn cooperative as the wind was very light (5-8 mph), visibility was quite good and it was about 40-50% overcast so we did have some good sunlight for taking underwater photos. Here is a shot of the tiny island we collected at with our Zodiac in the background. I always love pics like this because it reminds me of how quiet, serene and peaceful it is when it's just my and my wife out snorkeling!
Florida Bay island 02 by
Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
Although the islands from Vaca Key (Marathon) south were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Irma, the offshore habitat appears to have been mostly unharmed, at least the sites we looked at. But Little Money Key itself was really looking bad as almost all the vegetation was dead.
Little Money Key after Hurricane Irene 2017 by
Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
And the opposite side of Spanish Harbor Key from the Horseshoe was seriously eroded. The grassy slope down to the water was half washed away! The vertical rock wall is new.
A DSCN8254 R2 by
Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
Since I have over 30 colorful rock flower anemones, I decided to collect one shallow water, less colorful rock flower for people to compare when they see my tank. This was about the nicest one I saw all weekend.
Rons rock flower anemone by
Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
And I wanted a new flame scallop since mine got crushed when I was moving rocks from one tank to another (totally my fault).
Flame scallop by
Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr
We'll be back again very early in August and probably go to the Dry Tortugas for an over night camping stay some time between Sept and Nov.