I've been teaching kids about the creatures of the Gulf for years- and now I've seen who lives there with my own eyes. We left before sunrise on Pat's boat and traveled about 30 miles west of Marco Island. The artificial reef looked like old containers from a cargo ship, but only half the size (they were square.) I saw a giant sea cucumber, tons of long-spined urchins, colorful and tiny reef fish, and a handful of snapper. One of the divers with a speargun saw some grouper as well, but no one brought back any fish. Visibility was about 30'.
The sea was thick with moon jellies- luckily they don't sting! I've never seen them so large in size. Some were bigger than a basketball! I found a true sand dollar at 79'. I had never seen one before (they are much bigger than the keyhole urchins commonly called sand dollars at the beach).
The current was strong and storms brewed all around us so we headed back before diving all of the sites. All 7 of us were beat from the wind, waves, and rays, but we are already talking about doing it again. It was truly amazing to head right off our coast and see such cool stuff, though I still thoroughly the clarity of diving in the Atlantic. Heading to Pompano in a few weeks!
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