Florida's shoreline is home to North America's only living coral barrier reef, according to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. With 1,197 miles of coastline and roughly 663 miles of beach, Florida has no shortage of snorkeling opportunities and sailing trips to get the heartbeat racing. While some recreational activities are geared towards education and others towards spotting tropical fish, each is geared towards broadening the mind and increasing appreciation for the underwater ecosystem.
Up Close and Personal
Dream Catcher Charters Key West is a company with catamarans that cruise around Florida's Key West. Guides educate tourists about dolphins while helping them spy the gregarious creatures. Some of the tours include visiting a deserted island for picnics and snorkeling through coral reefs.
At Bird's Underwater, Inc. captains certified by the Coast Guard take divers out on pontoon boats to the Crystal River/King's Bay area. For three hours, the captains film snorkelers as they swim with manatees and the occasional dolphin. Tourists can also rent homes through the company that are not only accessible to diving sites, but also to golfing, fishing and hiking areas.
Romantic Sails
Many sailboat companies offer sunset sojourns. Sebago Key West hosts a Catamaran Champagne Sunset Sail through America's southernmost waters while serving champagne, margaritas, beer and wine. Two hours before the sun goes belly-up, ships with Windsong Sailing Charters depart from New Port Richey, piloting through the Gulf of Mexico. If environmental conditions are just right, guests might glimpse the famous emerald eye--the bright spark of green light that winks across the sky moments before sundown. When reserving spots on the boats, guests can cherry-pick their meals. Menu options range from chef salad and Caesar wraps to prepared sushi combos.
Sightseeing
Florida's shoreline is a colorful hodgepodge of marine life and coral reefs. The roughly 32 acres of Coral Cove Park in Tequesta overlaps to cover one acre of ocean floor. While snorkelers and scuba divers can view a colorful fish panoply, it's important to remember that sharks also frequent the area.
Cradled between the Florida Keys and the mainland, the Biscayne National Park is categorized as subtropical ocean. The park is popular for snorkelers and scuba divers thanks to the combination of underwater terrain and marine life. Mangroves are rooted in the coral formations while sea turtles, moray eels, beaked parrotfish, wrasses, angelfish and goby fish occupy the area. Indigenous flora and fauna include Jamaican dogwood, Gumbo limbo, Satin leaf Touchwood and the Devil's potato.
Educational Trips
Sailing schools turn Floridian waters into outdoor classrooms. Reef Runner Sailing is a sailing school certified by the American Sailing Association. Ships depart from Panama City and weave through the Key West waters. Greenhorn sailors can start with Basic Keelboat Sailing to learn sailing vernacular and how to track, jib and dock. More advanced students enhance their skills in the Coastal & Bareboat Chartering Combo course where the focus is on reading charts, plotting courses and living on deck. The International Sailing School tailors their classes for couples to make the most of their time aboard while Sunshine Coast Adventures offers ladies-only and youth group instruction.
Unique Tours
In Key West, snorkeling and sailing go hand in hand while on board Fury Water Adventure's The Fireball, a glass-bottom boat that debuted in 1953 to take visitors on tours around America's only living coral reef. Since the original was replaced in 1976, other vessels have been added, including The Pride of Key West. The sleek 65-foot catamaran is designed to easily navigate around the fragile ecosystem that is home to over 110 coral species and 500 different types of tropical fish. Some sights to see include jellyfish, crabs, sea turtles and nurse sharks. The company has two locations on Key West, one at the Westin Marina and the other at Duval Street.
Other unusual trips include snorkeling around the Christ of the Abyss off of Key Largo. A 4,000-pound statue, it is modeled after '"l Cristo Degli Abssi,'" which is submerged beneath the Mediterranean Sea near Genoa, Italy. Like the original, the Key Largo copy has hands stretched up, beseeching a blessing and is in honor of sailors who died at sea.
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