I've been boating in the lower half of the Florida peninsula for about 15 years now and have made friends with Manatees from Sebastian to Chokoloskee. I've never met a disagreeable one yet and I sure can't say that about Florida boaters who, to me, are the real problem. Many of them don't slow down in manatee zones but still consider themselves inconvenienced for some reason. Getting out in nature is just that, becoming part of it, not parading through it like some butchering conquistador. Mess with a manatee, you mess with me.

Dave Mattingly