Went over to Crystal River this morning to Crystal River Lodge Dive Center and rented a pontoon boat.  
We watch the required video to make sure we did not interact inappropriately with the manatee. Florida's Fish and Wildlife (FWC) patrol the shores and water ways near the manatee protected areas in Crystal River. There is $100 fine which they can write on the spot (i.e. you are in the water they paddle up to you or they call you to shore) and hand the ticket to you in a zip lock type baggie so the ticket stays dry. The other fine is 1 year in jail and $100,000 if you enter a manatee protected area. Yes we watched the video.

Chilly in the moring. Great ride out to one of the locations where the manatee hang out. The protected areas are marked off with ropes and floats. In the middle of this area they have a small swim area where snorkelers can interact with the manatee.  The tide was very low, plus the area is way behind on rain fall so the water was silted up and cloudy. You could not see more then 4-5 feet.  Then all of the sudden these huge manatee swim over to check you out.

You can single hand scratch them, they like this and it helps remove the algae that grows on their skin while they winter in the springs.  They are smart and they have a trick. Once you start scratching their back they roll over to let you scratch their belly, when you don't expect it they trap your hand between there flipper and body and start swimming a way with you. The problem is they head for the protected areas (yes the 1 year $100,000 fine area) they don't know they just want to take you home to keep scratching them. FWC is just waiting for you to cross the line. 

Plus there is a self appointed manatee watch group that paddles around the area on kayaks to remind you of the rules and point out the slightest infraction, they are kind of a bummer. I understand their enthusiasm but they are sort of a kill joy. They stopped by, did their due diligence and moved on.

The water was warm, waist deep at any point and lot of fun to see the manatee.