Surfing Dolphins make waves in Florida

by Chris Owen on

Dolphins are some of the most intelligent marine mammals on the planet, are closely related to whales and porpoises and have a playful nature.

In this video, taken off St. Pete Beach in Florida, two dolphins stay right with a water skier, leaping into the air from time to time.


Their playful nature often has Dolphins leaping above the surface of the water for reasons unknown to scientists. They may be locating schools of fish by looking above the water (like birds do), communicating with other dolphins, dislodging parasites or simple amusement. Here, it looks like they just want to play.

Like that? Here’s another one.

Photo of the day: Disney silhouette

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Images of Disneyworld fall into two categories: personal snaps and images that look like they could be used as marketing collateral. I love this image of the Magic Kingdom’s iconic Cinderella Castle towers, taken by Flickr user insEyedout, precisely because it falls into neither camp. It’s too pretty to count as a random snap and too sparse to go in a brochure.

That said, it certainly achieves the aim of advertisement. What better way to encapsulate the deep thrill that Disney’s amusements inspire than to reduce those towers to a silhouette on a horizon? How recognizable is this image to hundreds of millions of people?

Upload your photos of Orlando (and Las Vegas, while you’re at it) to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Our favorite images are chosen as Photos of the Day.

Lost on the trail? Satellite tracking system can help

by Chris Owen on

Getting lost on the trail, injured during a climb or into some other unplanned situation can make a great day a lousy one really fast. Adventure travel often takes us to remote places and when accidents happen there might not be a 911 to call or close-by hospital to visit. On their own, travelers often have to make do with the resources at hand. Prepared for anything, some travelers pack registered locator beacons that can make the difference between life and death.

As an integral part of worldwide search and rescue, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the Search And Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) System to detect and locate travelers in distress almost anywhere in the world at anytime and in almost any condition.

NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons onboard aircraft and boats, and from smaller, handheld personal locator beacons called PLBs.

Easy to get, these PLB’s start at about $100, worth every penny if lost or stranded with no cell phone signal or help in sight. There are three types of beacons used to transmit distress signals, EPIRBs (for maritime use), ELTs (for aviation use), and PLBs (used for land-based applications).

In 2011, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 207 people from life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters. Satellites picked up distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers, and relayed the information about their location to first responders on the ground.

Of the 207 saves last year, 122 people were rescued from the water, 14 from aviation incidents, and 71 in land situations where they used their PLBs. Other rescue highlights from the year include:

  • Alaska had the most people rescued on land last year with 39, followed by Florida with 11, and California with 8.
  • NOAA SARSAT played a critical role in the rescue of a group of student hikers from a grizzly bear attack in Alaska by directing first responders to the scene.
  • In the pitch of night, two people were rescued from a life raft after their boat sank 140 miles off the coast of Marco Island, Florida.
  • An elderly hiker was rescued 74 miles south of Colorado Springs, Colo., during a heavy snowstorm.

Thinking this might be a good idea for your next adventure? These devices must be registered first.

Register a PLB online or download a beacon registration form from the registration website and fax to (301) 568-8649 or call NOAA at 1-888-212-SAVE (7283).

Noaa Photo


Boat ride through forgotten Florida at Wakulla Springs State Park

by Melanie Renzulli on




Most people who visit Wakulla Springs go for the gators. Still others want to check out where Johnny Weissmuller swung through the “jungle” as Tarzan in the 1930s and 40s or the dark, swampy thicket where the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” was said to lurk. Above all, travelers come to see the pristine tangled wilderness that is becoming rarer to find as Florida develops.

This is Wakulla Springs State Park, one of the most popular day trips from Tallahassee, Florida’s capital. A three-mile pontoon trip down the Wakulla River is the park’s biggest draw, giving visitors the chance to spot wildlife and plug into nature for the 45-minute ride.

On a sunny day, alligators can be spotted lazing on the banks of the Wakulla River or grimacing among the reeds and cypress knees along the shoreline. If they’re out, alligators make for splendid photography subjects, unlike the myriad fowl – great blue herons, white ibis, anhingas – which fly off right as you get them in your camera cross-hairs, or the manatees, which swim slowly just below the water line, never surfacing for their close-up. The park claims that between 20 to 30 manatees can be spotted swimming in the springs and river each day. I was satisfied to have seen a herd of about seven sea cows (another name for manatees) when I visited the park in December. There are only about 4,500 of these aquatic mammals left in the world and the estuaries and backwoods springs of Florida are one of the premier places to see them, especially in winter.

Wakulla Springs doesn’t have to be a day trip. On site is the grand Wakulla Springs Lodge, built in 1937 by Edward Ball, the financier and conservationist who owned this stretch of north Florida from 1934 until the mid-1960s when he sold it to the state of Florida for the establishment of a state park. The 27-room, Mediterranean-revival-style lodge is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and the surrounding park is a National Natural Landmark.

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Image by wilsonb/Flickr

Civil War shipwreck will become Florida’s next underwater preserve

by Sean McLachlan on


The wreck of a vessel that served in the Union navy during the Civil War is slated to become Florida’s 12th underwater preserve, Tampa Bay Online reports.

The USS Narcissus was a tugboat armed with two cannons that participated in the important Battle of Mobile Bay. Shortly after the war it sank in a storm in Tampa Bay, Florida. As it went under, its boiler exploded and killed everyone aboard.

The wreckage site was first examined in the 1990s and local archaeologists and history buffs set forth to make it an underwater preserve. This will allow divers to visit the site while granting official protection for it. Other underwater preserves are already popular destinations for scuba divers.

The wreck lies in only 15 feet of water and large sections of the boat remain visible, including the fatal boiler. This should make it an attractive spot for divers with a taste for history. The U.S. Navy owns the site and has asked the state to monitor it for any deterioration.

For more on Florida’s underwater preserves, check out the website Museums in the Sea.

Painting of the Battle of Mobile Bay courtesy Wikimedia Commons.