Snorkel Key West Archives

So what is Key West Snorkeling “Off The Beaten Path” ?

February 21, 2013 by Jeff Bowman

The question that keeps coming up from our potential guests is- how do you guys find these spots? Well it is time to share our secret recipe for a perfect Key West snorkeling “off the beaten path” adventure .

Ingredients

One large blue water yacht
2 to 6 adventurous travelers
2 willing and enthusiastic captains
1 not so willing but cute boat cat (capt. Ron)
Plenty of reef ecology information.
Lots of healthy snacks and plenty of ice cold beverages.
One or two snorkeling destinations; far away from the horde of tourist

To bring these ingredients together to create a unique Key West Snorkeling experience, we need just one more magical and powerful ingredient, and that is authenticity. This is the most important part of any adventure, especially one touting itself as “off the beaten path” Without true passion for what we do, and a long history of doing it, we would be just another tour boat. Instead of counting blessings we would be counting heads. This is far and away from what we love and not what Key West is really about. So let’s follow this recipe and see what we can cook up for our returning friends Carol and Phil.

Carol and Phil first joined us on a great trip to Cottrell Key which is not exactly off the beaten path, but still a really cool snorkeling destination. Carol called us in January and asked if we could accommodate her and her friends for three trips in February. Trish and I were elated.

Key West Kayak King — A.J. Our kayak tour guru

We have been working with our good friend A.J. of Key West, and thanks to him had adopted his mantra of “off the beaten path”. We had already decided on some possible destinations, and with A.J.’s help made a working plan to implement this concept into our 2013 season. All we needed was some eager participants and then Carol called.

For our first trip we asked Carol to meets us on Stock Island which is, as any local will tell you, ” off the beaten path” . After our obligatory safety speech we untied from our dock at Oceanside Marina and discussed two possible options that were chosen for both their comfort level and the current sea conditions. They opted for more time in the water and less time traveling, so we headed east for a couple miles, and within 30 minutes we had dropped the hook next to a pristine patch reef far away from the cattleboat tours. Along the way Trish gave her wonderful Eco-presentation and everyone was ready for some once in a lifetime snorkeling. In no time at all we were in the water.

Key West Snorkeling-Off the Beaten Path-Namaste Sailing — These guys are ready!

Now the fun begins. Instead of wasting time trying make words do what Trish’s photography can do so much better I will skip the narrative and allow these pictures the opportunity to finish the story.

: Sea Rods in all their glory

Well, there you go. The recipe for a wonderful “off the beaten path” Key West Snorkeling experience is now complete.

Thank you, Carol and Phil, Thank you A.J. for the inspiration, and Thank you Trish for your extraordinary talent for capturing beauty with your new Olympus. Bravo!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Key West Snorkeling-Namaste Sailing-Price Change

January 27, 2013 by Jeff Bowman

Well it’s coming up on the 2013 Spring and Summer snorkeling season and we have been scheming and dreaming for the best year ever. For all our good friends who have sailed with us and all the wonderful people who have supported us over the years we are truly thankful. Without your support, guidance, and caring we would not have ever realized our success. Thank you!

And now on to the scheming and dreaming. Last year we were thrilled with our successes with providing an exclusive snorkeling eco-adventure for mostly private groups. If there were any disappointments, at all it was because we could not accommodate all the inquiries we received. There were several times when we simply could not accommodate smaller groups because our price point conflicted with the smaller budgets of couples. This scenario set up a dilemma which caused for some reflection and reevaluation.

When we first started, we were lucky enough to come under the wing of Sunny Andracchio of Classic Harbor Line. Sunny shared with us some keen insights into the marketing sailing charters in Key West and we were smart enough to listen. The two most important things I learned from Sunny were, number 1: Always Smile, and number 2: If you are truly a “Top Shelf” charter then, by all means, charge accordingly. So that is what we did and experienced fantastic results. Namaste Sailing quickly became the little tug that could. We picked up a slip at Schooner Wharf, networked with some friendly competition, and avoided pissing off the big boys at Cattleboat Inc. We earned a reputation for being a quality premium charter who charged accordingly, and the the rest is history.

I know this borders on T.M.I., but it is important for Trish and I to be as transparent as possible when it comes to our business ethos. We probably take things like price changes much more serious than necessary, but we are who we are. So in a nutshell, we are improving our pricing to include the smaller groups. Starting February 1st our day snorkeling trips will be lengthened to a five hour Key West Snorkeling excursion and we will offer a “mixed private” option which will allow individuals to join us at $125/guest.

Elsewhere in the news:

Captain Trish got a new camera lens for her Olympus Tough, so look out Facebook, here come some awesome photos.
A big shout out to Trishies Fishies. Capt Trish just passed the 3000 mark for art pieces sold. Yea Trishi.
Namaste got a new 800 amp hour battery bank, so our overnight trips are really “off the grid”. I calculated we can run the IPad for the next 105 years without a recharge. Now thats’ reserve capacity.
With the help of Larry Wasabi of West Marine we now have a kick ass wind generator that will easily keep up with my IPad use, so as Buzz Lightyear says “to infinity and beyond”.

Thats it for now. It has been awhile since our last post, but it is not because we are forgetting our posting responsibilities, but rather we are really busy. Thanks everyone!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Key West Family Activities:

July 8, 2012 by Trish Leave a Comment

Island Adventure With the Dominy and Rogers Family

Key West isn’t known for being a family town, and Key West family activities are in short supply. There are lots of fun things for adults to do: drink, dance, drink, listen to music, drink, eat, and drink. Some of these are kid friendly, but not many are very much fun for kids and families. We love kids! Jeff and Trish are parents and former teachers and love sharing the joys of the ocean life with young and old sailors alike, but especially with young swabbies.

The Dominy Rogers Family enjoys Key West Family Activities — The Dominy Rogers Family enjoys Key West Activities

We had lots of fun snorkeling with Rick, Laralin, Lori, and Brian.

After lunch we had a great time playing on the island.

Rick, Rock, Cole and Captain Jeff did a little fishing.

Back on the Namaste' we had a cannonball contest. — Back on the Namaste’ we had a cannonball contest.

We even saw a pod of friendly dolphins on the sail back to Key West. It was a wonderful day!

Key West Snorkeling- The Privilege of Sharing a Peak Experience

May 20, 2012 by Trish Leave a Comment

Every once in a while, on our Key West snorkeling adventures, we get the opportunity to present a life changing experience to one of our guests. It’s always exciting, heart-warming, and just plain fun. When Kristi, an old friend, arranged this snorkel trip, her biggest concern was setting everything up so that her mom, Patricia could make her very first snorkel. Patricia has some real issues with her feet and ankles, so making sure the boarding ladder was as user-friendly as possible was a major priority. Captain Jeff spent two days prior to the trip scratching his head in West Marine and Home Depot. His first plan was to attach wooden steps to the metal ladder, but that would require drilling holes in the ladder which would compromise its strength. Next, we thought about wrapping the rungs with rope, but that didn’t really provide a large enough surface for the foot. We wanted the ladder to be nice and wide and cushiony. What to do?

The salesman at West Marine suggested we buy rubber pipe insulation at Home Depot and attach it to the ladder. Ugly! How about fitting a “noodle,” that floating thing you use in the water to each rung? It would be soft and cushiony, wide enough for a foot to comfortably grip, and non-slip. Perfect! Captain Jeff made it so.

The day of the trip dawned bright and beautiful. It was a perfect day for a snorkel, just a light breeze, sunny skies, and clear, beautiful water. We met Kristi, Gary, Jim, and Patricia at Conch Harbor, and soon we were bound for Cottrell Key about five miles northeast of Key West.

Patricia assured me that she was not nervous. She said she loved the water, but just had some strength issues with her feet and legs. I told her I would be her snorkel partner for the entire swim, and she replied, ” Gary said you’d hold my hand. Will you?”

“Of course,” I laughed. “I’ll be your best buddy.”

Patricia examines a Three-rowed Sea Cucumber

With that said, she climbed down the ladder, we got her mask and snorkel adjusted, and we were off. Right away, I spotted a variegated sea urchin. Fearlessly, she extended her hand to hold it. Patricia is a middle school science and social studies teacher and she was eager to see all the little creatures.

Kristi helps her mom, Patricia, on her first snorkel while Jim watches from the Namaste'.

We swam about twenty feet from the Namaste’, Patricia holding on to her pink noodle for support, and me with my arm around her so she knew I was there, too. Kristy swam by our side, offering encouragement and support. You could tell she was bursting with pride. Her mom was doing splendidly!

I spotted a familiar shape on the bottom, a large Three-rowed Sea Cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus). The “three-rowed” refers to the number of podia or feet the little critter has, rather than the number of spots on his back. I had shown Patricia photos of sea cucumbers on the way out, so once again, she extended her hand fearlessly to hold it and get a good look. After a short examination, she asked about the best way to release it. I motioned that she could just let it go. It floated slowly to the bottom and resumed it’s slow and deliberate trek across the bottom.

We swam a little more, observing soft corals, sponges, and a hogfish. All the while, Kristi was at her mom’s side commenting on the interesting things we saw, helping with little adjustments of her mask, and just making sure Patricia was having a great experience. My arm was protectively around her waist all the time except when I dove to the bottom to bring up little creatures for her to examine. Patricia was wide-eyed and fascinated, loving the ocean, her sweet daughter, and life in general. Every now and then, I’d look up and see Jim standing on the boat, proudly taking photos of his wife and daughter.

Patricia and Jim give us a big thumbs-up to show that Patricia's first snorkel was a huge success.

Patricia told me she was tired and ready to go back to the boat. We’d done a lot of swimming and seen some really cool creatures. With Gary’s help, she made it back up the ladder to Jim’s waiting embrace. “You kids go on and have some fun now, ” she said as we swam off to continue our snorkel. As I swam away, I saw Jim and Patricia, proud as two teenagers giving us “kids” a happy thumbs-up. It was a truly satisfying moment for me. There’s nothing like sharing our love of the ocean with someone so brave and eager to experience it, and nothing like seeing the pride and love of a family in action when a loved one steps out of her comfort zone for a peak experience.

Key West Snorkeling-Return of branching corals?

May 9, 2012 by Jeff Bowman Leave a Comment

Good news for Key West Snorkeling

While on a great snorkel to Cottrell Key Trish got some really nice shots of branching corals on the rebound.

What a great trip! Started off with another boat face moment with young Aden and transitioned into wonderful educational experience with some really cool folks from Canada. Read further for some really good news about coral cultivation and preservation.

This particular trip was more than just a great time on the water. To our absolute joy, we were in the company of some real pros in the the hobby of live coral cultivation and preservation. Trina and Patrick own Reefwholesale.com and booked Namaste’ Sailing specifically to view soft corals in their natural habitat. Needless to say we were humbled.

Baby Staghorn Coral

As we quizzed our guests on the business of coral cultivation we were astounded to learn what the rest of the world does for their coral reefs. Coral cultivation is a viable and very profitable business in many of the Pacific Rim countries. Apparently, both Trina and Patrick travel all over just to research the ethical wholesaling of both hard and soft corals.

Baby Elkhorn

These corals are grown in isolation, away from native corals, and as a result the amount of illegal coral harvests has diminished considerably. Many of these countries have strict enforcement for their coral preservation laws. If you’re caught illegally harvesting or even accidentally damaging corals in these places you’re looking at a mandatory jail sentence with a stiff fine. No kidding! Stepping on coral can land you in jail. As a result, coral is allowed to flourish and gain some advantage to the environmental impact of global warming. As we learned more from our guests, it dawned on me just how much is being done on a global scale.

On the home front there is some good news coming out of Mote Marine on Summerland Key. Our good friend Jason Wolf turned us on to some really cool branching coral propagation studies currently under way in the Florida Keys. The science is solid and Mote is getting some astounding growth rates out of both Staghorn and Elkhorn. Check out the link and see for yourself: Mote Coral Aquaculture

Mote Marine Coral Aquaculture — Aquaculture at Mote Marine

Thank you to our very special guests for sharing some of the good news with coral presevation. Perhaps if we follow the model provided by Mote Marine as well other forward thinking organzations, these little branching corals can someday grow to the size and density I saw as a kid just learning about the wonder of Key West snorkeling.

So what is Key West Snorkeling “Off The Beaten Path” ?

Key West Snorkeling-Namaste Sailing-Price Change

Key West Family Activities:

Island Adventure With the Dominy and Rogers Family

Key West Snorkeling- The Privilege of Sharing a Peak Experience

Key West Snorkeling-Return of branching corals?

Manatees in the Mangroves

Hawksbill Turtles

Hermit Crab Discovery