Permits: EVER-2010-SIC-0007 & ESA-13330
Thursday March 25, 2010
So, a water pipe between the kitchen sink and the outside spigot burst last night around 9:30 pm. We caught it early because I needed to fill my water bottle before getting to bed. Water was pouring out everywhere at such a rate I didn’t know existed. We are so lucky. I can’t even imagine what the situation would have been like had we just gone to bed. The boyfriend has been dealing with the plumbing all day today, bless his heart. On the scene with a plumber. On the phone with his father. On the phone with me. Scrapping it all and fixing the damn thing himself. Not only that, but while I was running around in circles last night almost in tears and beside myself, he was outside turning the water main off at the street and reassuring me that everything was going to be ok. He is my hero.
The technician for the project is sick with the flu and won’t be joining us for this trip. So, all the worrying and finagling we did to get the FSU Marine Lab truck was for naught. We were able to fit everything in the F350 and on the PRISTIS. All 13 concrete blocks with t-bars, 10-foot PVC poles, receivers, chain, and signs as well as the nets, buckets, the giant green dry box, food, coolers, YSI, first-aid kit, ponar grab, luggage for three women and other various accoutrements required to pull this project off with no hitches. We are getting very, very good at cramming all our stuff into every available nook, cranny, and hold. Traveling light? No, not us.
The Nat Geo Channel bailed on us. They didn’t have the budget. Oh well.
I drove the whole way down. The graduate student sat in the front with me, keeping me company and acting as music director. The intern was holed up in the backseat with her laptop, picking up Wifi with her cell signal and napping occasionally. Traffic was light. The usual for lunch – Arby’s. My right calf muscle and butt-cheek are going to be twice the size of my left from holding down the gas pedal. Charlie really needs cruise control. Had to stop in Punta Gorda to stretch.
It was an overcast day and it wasn’t until we stopped for dinner in Naples that we realized we’d been riding ahead of the weather. We were all craving Indian food and found a great local place, called Saffron, off Pine Ridge Road. Had to make a two U-turns and back out of an ally onto a 4-lane highway to get there, but we made it. When have we never not made it? The food was well worth the adventure and we promised the very friendly owner we’d be back again in April. A Ferrari was parked outside. Welcome to south Florida.
Quick stop at CVS for Cadbury Cream Eggs (Did you know they come in mini’s? Good grief.), some throat drops, and Zicam. This head cold is killing me.
Arrived in Everglades City after dark. Mosquitoes aren’t too bad. Good ole Room 106. Feels like we never left. A quick call home and some channel surfing until we all passed out.
Friday March 26, 2010
Immediately turned on the The Weather Channel and watched the front. It is moving slow. Just like us this morning. Humid. The birds are chittering outside, welcoming dawn. Spring has arrived here. Ugh, Lady Gaga in my head. The coffee smells mighty strong this morning and I like it. We all go back to bed.
Slowest. Moving. Front. Ever. It didn’t arrive until 11am. Sideways rain. This is supposed to be the dry season. We stayed indoors and assigned names to, initialized, and taped up the telemetry receivers. They are all ready to be thrown in the water come Sunday. We’re waiting on the tides at Chokoloskee Bay to cooperate, putting slack at noon.
I feel like I’ve been run over by a train. This damned head cold is turning into a sinus infection, I can tell. Eating throat drops and Zicam. Driving those 12 hours yesterday was mentally and physically exhausting.
2:30 pm and the rain has finally stopped. The sun is out a bit now. Spent some time at the internet café, watched some TV, read some, and took a nap. A quick glance through the latest edition of The Mullet Wrapper and our announcement is not there. I’ll talk with the editor while we down. Tomorrow we fish at Faka Union Bay. It is suppose to be beautiful.
Florentine Ravioli for dinner. Jason and the Argonauts then Clash of the Titans on TMC. Bedtime.
Saturday March 27, 2010
Up before dawn. On the water with first light. Foggy. Saw a juvenile red-tailed hawk at the dock. It was hanging out on the lampposts.
Fished the west-side of the spoil island this morning with the incoming tide. Moved across the channel for the remainder of incoming and slack and back again to the west-side of the spoil island for the outgoing tide. Lots of boat traffic today. The weather is perfect. Warm. And the water is warm, too – 22-23 degrees C. Saw dolphin and manatee. The engine is making unhappy sounds and not running smoothly. Made a note to take her in for a check-up when we get back.
The intern and the graduate student pulled a yellow-throated warbler from the water. We keyed it out using out Sibley’s and decided it was likely blown out by yesterday’s storm. It supped fresh water from the intern’s finger and ate strawberry from her hand. She’s a freaking Snow White! Just as we were getting settled from the bird rescue, a raucous occurred in one of the nets. Turned out to be a young-of-the-year bull shark that got tangled while chasing a mullet. We tagged him and returned him to the water. Total excitement and controlled chaos, then right back to listening to the wind through the mangroves. All that and only 15 minutes had passed. That’s how field work goes.
Back at the dock at 5:30pm. Local recreational fisherman said he sees sawfish on a regular basis at Panther Key. Not yet this year, but in years past. Made a note to check the sightings database. Queen and Jay-Z turned up and the windows down as we ride on Hwy 41 back to the apartment, spotting alligators in the canal next to the road. They’re bigger this month. A lot bigger.
A cold Pacifico in my hand and having dinner on the screened-in porch. The intern cooked Moroccan Meatloaf. Spectacular. So tired, but in a good way. It was a good, good day. Jeremiah Johnson on TMC. Tomorrow we put the receivers in.
Sunday March 28, 2010
Go time. Out the door and to Chokoloskee Island by sunrise … along with every other charter and recreational fisherman in the Everglades. Loaded up the gear needed for 8 stations, queued up, and launched.
No fishing today. Graduate Student Mode. We were riding heavy, racing a mid-morning low tide and a late-afternoon cold front so we started at Cross Bays 1 and worked our way back to Turner River Mouth, skipping the three Mud Bay stations. The first couple of stations were an organizational nightmare, but by the time the tide went slack we were working like a well-oiled machine. A freaking acoustic telemetry station installing machine! Grabbed a quick lunch back at the dock. Loaded the gear for the remaining 5 stations and with the incoming tide, installed Lopez River Mouth, Lopez River, Cross Bays 2, and the three Mud Bay stations. We skipped the Cross Bays Creek station because we couldn’t remember exactly where it went and the weather was rolling in. 12 of 13. Hellstotheyes.
We encountered a friendly ENP Ranger at the dock. Apparently, we were the talk of the dock with everyone wondering just what we were up to. We explained ourselves and he played us a couple tunes on his harmonica. He mentioned that the snook and tarpon are on about a month delay due to the unusually cold and wet weather in January and February. That was comforting to hear since we hadn’t seen a sawfish yet. Best case – the pregnant females just haven’t moved inshore yet. Worst case – they pupped offshore.
Back at the apartment in time to catch the second half of the FSU women’s basketball game. They beat Mississippi State and advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history. The graduate student was so excited, yelling at the TV. We make plans to stay in Tuesday night, order a pizza, and watch UCONN beat the pants off ‘em.
Enchiladas for dinner and the weather still isn’t here. Another slow-moving front. Agonizingly slow. This one is supposed to dump a ton of rain on us and have associated severe thunderstorms. Bought the last two 6-packs of Pacifico in the entire town.
Monday March 29, 2010
4 am thunder and crazy lightning. We’re all awake and lying here, listening to the storm. Finally get back to sleep only to wake at 8 am and know that we’re not going anywhere. There is another slow-moving band just offshore and will hit mid-morning, bringing wind and more rain.
I take my coffee, breakfast, and laptop the internet café and watch The Weather Channel while the rest of the crew sleeps. The band that hit us at 4 am is hitting Miami now. Our shore-side contact sends me a text making sure we’re ok. We’re fine, I say. Staying in today. And we do. The weather doesn’t break until late-afternoon and afterward the wind picks up.
In the afternoon, the graduate student and I go to the park. I watch while she shoots hoops. I make a note to bring my tennis racket next time so I can practice serves.
Ugh, this weather.
Tuesday March 30, 2010
Got the Cross Bays Creek station in first thing. The engine was running hot this morning, but added oil and the alarm did not happen again. She still sounds unhappy. Good news though. We passed by all stations this morning and all are in the same spot and unmoved.
Set the nets at Mud Bay. Did not see any animals, but there were several ray holes in the mud on both sides of the mangrove island. A good sign. Water temperature is around 24 degrees C and the air temperature is awesome. Another good sign. Cool in the shade and warm in the sun. So quiet out here. Walked the nets several times with the outgoing tide. Watched a dolphin chase and pen mullet against the far western shoreline. No sawfish.
Slack tide.
The wind and incoming tide are in the same direction. When this water gets moving, it is very impressive. Kept the nets in the same spot for the incoming tide. The water rushed in over the sand flat on the south side of the island and there were several juvenile cownose rays swimming about and chasing blue crab. Nothing in the nets.
Moved to Turner River.
Saw two manatee. They came very close to the boat while we were anchored and waiting. Watched a recreational fisherman inspect our Turner River station. He motored all the way around it and then stopped to read the sign. He then motored away without bothering it.
The tour boats go by as we haul in the gear. We’re real life biologists, but no sawfish this trip. Bummer. Off the water by 5 pm.
The pizza place is closed! But, no worries. We found a local seafood place that is playing the game, serves cold Key West 2-for-1 until 7 pm, and stone crab claws are on special. We hang out until the end of the game, dropping $5 in the jukebox and watching the UCONN women in total awe. When it’s all over, I pay the bartender and we schlub back to the truck. There’s a bar open next door. “Just one more beer,” I ask? “Just one more beer,” they reply.
That is how all crazy nights start. Just one more beer. What happens in the Everglades stays in the Everglades.
Wednesday March 31, 2010
6 am comes quick. I’m a bit hungover and very tired. The intern has barely slept and might still be drunk. She sleeps all the way to breakfast. When we arrive, the parking lot is overrun with vans and trucks from a local air conditioning business. Overrun. That is an understatement. Every space was filled with the same blue truck or van with the same logo and phone number on the side. It was surreal and did nothing to ease my pounding head. And then, they were gone. Just like that, they all rolled out. At once. I may’ve dreamed it. I can’t be sure.
The biscuits and gravy, bacon, and strong coffee did us all some good. We ate like truckers, barely talking just inhaling.
Traffic was insane. Congestion. Were we attempting to travel with the Great RV Spring Northern Migration? Maybe. There are just too many people in south Florida. Too many! We made the most of it, pulled off, and picnicked while the traffic cleared, eating leftovers and stretching our legs.
We didn’t get to our usual stop in Ocala until 2:30 pm. Rough. I let the graduate student drive from Ocala to Tallahassee. The intern rode shotgun. I climbed into the backseat and closed my eyes for a bit. Safety Seagull be damned.
When I woke, we were on I-10 with not an RV in sight. Hallelujah. Smooth sailing to Tallahassee, dropped off the graduate student, and then on to Panama City. It was well past dark by the time we pulled into the lab’s parking lot. Both of us exhausted. We’ll clean the gear and boat tomorrow.
No sawfish this trip, but 13 of 16 telemetry receivers are installed.
March Trip. Fin.
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