Crystal River Florida
 

How is the boating out of Crystal River Forida? Just bought a little under two acres of land thats a couple minutes from the Gulf.
Anyone on the board boat near there? Looking to make some new friends. :drink:

Bryan

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Bryan,
Give me a call when you get a second.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

My parents have been there for the last 4 years. . .Homosassa. I've been out on the gulf several times with dad via the river. I think it is a great place.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

The river is fine, but it's more of pontoon heaven. Lot's of shallow water in the gulf.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Board member Zero Patience lives there with his 38 TopGun, as well as a few other cig guys.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Beautiful......but a big time Manatee area.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Very shallow water area so get a chart and study it and also be sure you have a good chart plotter on board, watch out for the Manatee and Pontoon boats. It is a great place to live in Florida and has that old time Florida charmif you like quieter settings.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

It's ok, not great. Mostly fishing and siteseeing. I pulled my boat out of the marina and trailer a little south usually. You will want a boat that can run shallow if you will be spending much time around here.

The run south to Hernando Beach or Hooters in Pt Richey isn't bad.

I grew up here so if you have any questions feel free to pm or email me. I could show you around some time.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

IT"S GOTTA BE WARMER THAN ROCHCHESTER NY !!! ERIK from LONG ISLAND :drink: :evilb: CONGRATS!

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

I would have to agree with that. This may give you an idea of what we are dealing wih here. Notice, she keeps referring to the bay as "our bay". Those people feel because they bought property on the bay, they own the bay. Anything below the "hi water mark" is sovereign land. Nobody owns it. She could own all the land around it and still not own the bay.

She reffers to the outsiders as those being from anywhere other than the waterfront property owners. My family has been here since the 1800's. If they felt like most of these people, then most of these people wouldn't be here.

A call to arms in Crystal River








Editor’s note: This is an address longtime Crystal River and Kings Bay resident Vangie Rich submitted to the Crystal River City Council regarding the state of Kings Bay.

By Vangie C. Rich


I sat in the town meeting/workshop last Friday afternoon listening to the various committee reports and basic visioning reports for the city of Crystal River. Don Cox gave a rather lengthy detailed technical report concerning the possible causes of the water problems in Kings Bay.

His findings are quite valid, but did not offer an immediate solution to the continuing deterioration of the bay. There have been many studies and many reports in recent years but, sadly, no visible action to stop or reverse the accelerating demise of the once pristine blue springs and bay that form Crystal River.

I would love to see Crystal River become a friendly, walkable community with little shops, apartments and townhouses, slowed traffic, and all the amenities that Dan Burden introduced us to several months ago. However, I was under the impression that the workshop was intended to discuss our problems with Kings Bay and what we should do about getting it under control.

In the letter I received from (City Manager Phil) Deaton, he asked several questions pertaining to the future of Kings Bay specifically.

1. Starting with a bare piece of land, what would you like to see?

I would hope to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as possible. Trees, plants, water quality.

2. What would you like to preserve?

It’s too late for that. We still have many trees in our yard but fewer birds and butterflies.

Our water is totally changed. We have no fish bedding around our dock, no grasses, no wading birds (egrets, marsh hens, coots, mallards), no otter coming into our yard to play, few owls and hawks, even our pet black snake has disappeared.

3. What would you like to see that is not here?

All of the above plus the beautiful clear blue water and white sand bottom that we used to have.

I’d like to see more small sailboats (like Sunfish, which are one- and two-person flat bottom boats), kayaks and canoes, paddle boats, and people using their larger boats to slowly cruise the bay enjoying the beautiful surroundings and appreciating our springs, the wildlife including the manatees, and the fact that we are fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful and special place.

Of course, in order for this to become reality, we will have to have year-around slow and idle speed on the entire bay.

4. What is here that you would like to see go away?

Lyngbya, muck, turbidity, stormwater runoff, lawns dumping fertilizer and pesticides and mowed grass into the bay, careless people allowing cans, bottles, plastic bags and other trash to “fall” into the water, speeding boats and PWCs (personal watercrafts such as Jet Skis).

In addition, the boats that are anchored in the bay (free mooring) by owners who visit from time to time, that also break away during high winds and drift dangerously close to docks and seawalls, and occasionally, sink.

This past weekend, we counted 13 boats moored on the north end off Buzzard Island and there are presently three boats sunk and unmovable in various areas of the bay, that I know of .

5. What do you think the community should do to enhance this focal point and asset for Crystal River?

Calm the traffic on all roadways, and especially on the water, at least to the point of Casa Rio, keeping the entire bay slow/idle speed forever.

People will just have to sacrifice the thrill of speed, waterskiing, Waverunners or tube dragging, racing, spraying, jetting, whatever else they think is fun, for the sake of rescuing the bay and trying to restore it to a more positive condition.

Besides the fuel emissions into the water from all motorized craft, the turbulence created by dozens of boats and PWCs all going at wide open speeds, criss-crossing wakes, doughnutting, is causing untold damage to the bay bottom and therefore, to the many large and small springs scattered around the bay.

I have witnessed the turbulence when it was so severe that it actually knocked fish off their beds around our dock. No wonder they aren’t there anymore. And, as I said before, there is no eel grass or any other sign of vegetation to attract fish.

We have lost a great deal of sand from the front of our seawall due to summer boat turbulence. And the turbulence keeps the three-foot depth of muck so stirred up it looks like sewage instead of pure spring water. It is not a nice place for humans to swim, much less aquatic wildlife.

I would like to see the city arrange to buy Pete’s Pier, make improvements, and maintain it as a marina/park with an education center that would be accessible by boat as well as by car, bike path, or sidewalk. Anything more than that would create too much of a heavy traffic impact on an already sensitive area.

We must retain our valuable marina but we must also do everything to protect its surrounding environment. We cannot allow stormwater runoff from the parking areas necessitated by such a project. Look at the problems of contamination occurring on the Pete’s Pier site as it is now. Think what a major development would do. We must turn it into a positive for the city.

There has to be a first step and in my opinion that first move in a positive direction is to curb the impact on the bay by implementing slow speed on the bay year around, with idle speed in manatee areas during high manatee population season as we now have it.

The city has the power to file a recommendation/request for speed regulations with the county commission. Most of them have already indicated their approval and agreement to do this. This is a no-brainer, it won’t cost us anything, and it will be helping the ecology of the bay.

The second step is a major education campaign to wake the public up to the fact that Kings Bay is Crystal River. It is our only bay, we’re using it to extinction, and when it is completely destroyed we can’t get it back again.

It will be gone forever, destroyed by those who chose to use it and abuse it to death, all in the name of fun. We have reached our stopping point, it is now or never. Then we have to get everyone busy fixing what we can fix immediately and prioritizing what we have to do next as far as cleanup and restoration.

They must realize that if we do not begin today by taking that first step the bay will continue to go downhill and one day in the not-too-distant future our bay and river will once again become a swamp fed by a slow trickle of putrid spring water. That may sound a little extreme but at the rate we have seen the bay and river change in the past 20 years, it is a realistic and depressing outlook.

There will be protesters but those people do not have the best interest of Kings Bay as their major concern. They want a place to play on weekends and then they go home to Lecanto or Inverness, or Ocala, Gainesville or Leesburg, and forget about Kings Bay until the next time they want to rip around and whoop it up all weekend.

They are using our bay freely and abusing our bay shamefully. They bring their own beer and sandwiches from home and leave their trash in the water and up and down our roadways. Their rude folly is a frustration and a danger to those of us who would protect and nurture our bay and surrounding environment.

In the summertime we have observed people shamelessly urinating off the backs of boats from our patio when the gas fumes weren’t so strong that we couldn’t stay out in our own yard. We have also rescued innocent people from sinking jonboats and canoes who have been swamped by speeding boats and Jet Skis and observed families on pontoon boats being sprayed by those inconsiderate revelers.

The protesters do not deserve any consideration when the protection of our bay is at stake.

There is so much more I could say but I think you have an idea what my feelings are, and those of many with whom we have spoken.

As for the city, I would like to see restorations done on some of the older houses that now sit empty, to spruce up some of the older neighborhoods and make them inviting places to live for young families.

I would like to encourage developers to build patio homes and townhouses, perhaps even residences over shops as demonstrated in Dan Burden’s Charrette of downtown redevelopment. We have boating, fishing, swimming areas, golf courses, tennis courts and other sports venues, and an airport all within , or in proximity to, the city.

We need more cultural activities, namely, a cultural arts center. Curtis and I have laid the ground work for such a facility, in securing a 501.c.3 under the name of Nature Coast Cultural Alliance, and we have even planned a major fundraiser and registered the theme name for it, “Manatee Magic.” We are currently seeking 8 to 10 acres for the facility.

We must beautify our city by enforcing mandatory cleanup of junk in residential yards and around businesses. This will also help to clean up stormwater runoff before it finds its way into the bay. Home improvement is never ending, as is city improvement.

We must begin immediately and not lose another day talking about what we “should” do to save our bay and our city.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

That didn't sound so positive...

Sorry for the delay in response and thank you to all.

This property is going to be a vacation home for me and snowbird home for my father. Right now there is a mobile home in rough shape on the property. I'll need to have that disposed of and go from there.
After talking with some of the neighbors and locals, I really am looking forward to the "Small town" amosphere. Crime rate is low which was another selling point. The property is off of Dunkenfield Rd. (If that means anthing to the guys that live there).

Bryan

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Yeah, I travel that road frequently going between 2 of my branches.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Sounds like Vangie Rich needs a time machine

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Frightengly enough, I agree with many of her complaints....


#1. Pete's Pier is a $hithole.. It needs new ownership, upkeep & decent ramps. Many/most of the liveaboards there are beaters. The whole place is an eyesore & has the potential to be nice. I real marina, with a restaurant/bar & temporary dockage would be great.

Port paradise, or whatever it is now needs some dockage, not just a nasty rip rap seawall in 4 feet of water. I might actually pull the boat up to the tiki bar if I wasn't afraid of the wall & the rocky bottom.

2. The bay needs some regulation. It's not really all that big, and that's much of the problem. Boaters wanting to just cruise & go crazy, the damn PWC's zipping here & there. They need to mark off a free for all "play area" in the bay and keep all the games out of the channel that's a whopping 200 feet wide at best. It can be scary trying to get to the gulf with all the idiots running around in the channel.

The channel & parts of the bay need maintenance: Out past shell island the channel is what, about 40-50ft wide at most & very poorly marked. Parts of the bay are dotted with unmarked rocks just under the surface.

3. All the damn green floating "sea scum". Check your strainers after running... filled with all that crap. They've got the paddle-wheel thing doing it's half-ass cleaning job. Barely scrapes the surface.

I think that many of her complaints would be solved by getting rid of this crap. Can't see the bottom? Probably because of all the green hair algae, clumping, brain looking stuff. If she thinks the boaters cause this, she's wrong. It is linked to fertilizer runoff, etc.

On the plus side.. I think it's got great potential. The water is very clean. It's nice to come back from the Gulf & get a good engine flush in the spring water. It's nice for swiming; I don't really enjoy swimming in salt water & then dragging my crusty ass back in the boat. Fresh water rules.

With all the money that is coming into the community, some of it should belong in waterway upkeep & maintenance. If they wonder why it's getting crappy, it's because in it's present condition, it's going to draw more low-class boaters that don't care about it either.

Just some rambling thoughts..

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Keep up the negitave posts. Maybe everyone will read them and go away. Seriously the Manatee is a big problem. If you put a herd of cattle in your back yard, fed them 100 plus pounds of food(grass) a day, what do you think comes out the other end? Chocklate? What would your back yard look like with 300 plus Cows Pooping. The cause of the water discoloration is pure poop, Manatee poop. As a life long resident I have witnessed the demise of the river from Manatees not from People.The Manatee is used as a cause to impose Idle Zones for Blue haired Yankees like ______. There is so many that the grass is now gone and some fools want to feed the pesky things lettuce. They are named the West Indian Manatee. There were not a lot of them here when I was a child. The Indians used to eat them. One Sea Cow could feed the whole tribe. Much easier than shucking a couple thousand Oysters. My Great Grandfather told me the stories. Crystal River is a great place, but like the rest of Florida is becoming to populated. There are to many developers that want to cover the state with shingles, concrete and asphalt. I run out of here with a Cigarette at least once a month headed south. I have no problems with the channel or the Gulf. Bryan PM me if you want meet sometime.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Thanks.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

I'm not trashing the place, I do like it & have been going there for years.

I'm no friend of the manatees, but I don't think that they are the only problem the river & bay have. I assume you're being sarcastic, but I don't think the manatee $hit is the only thing turning the river brown.

You don't have a problem in the channel or Gulf? I don't really have one either, but all because we can manage it doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement....

My post was meant to say that it's nice as-is, but could go a long way to being more boater friendly. Obviously, home values are up tremendously (I pretty sure I saw your house on MLS last year); with bigger money coming in, some of it should go into upgrading the waterways. There will be much more property tax revenue in the years to come, it would be nice to see the City & County help everything hold it's value.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

I agree with Jimmy. My dad also tells me manatees were almost non existant when he was younger. The biggest point I was trying to make is the number of times she referred to it as "our bay". That is very typical of the waterfront residents. They don't own the bay because they live on it. She speaks of other local residents as the outsiders. Last I checked the millage rate was exactly the same for those off the bay as those that were on the bay.

You also have a longtime local resident wanting to open a marina and other business' on the barge canal. Helen Spivey has already come out in oposition as that is "prime manatee breeding grounds". That's a bunch of BS!!

These people do get me very aggravated which is why I now do more boating south of here than I do locally.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Here's a shot from Homosassa River, which is just south of Crystal River. It's a very serene setting.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

The second picture, from the dock, is up near the bluewater isn't it?

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

LOL!!!.... Warm water discharge from a nuke plant. Just where everything should breed

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Byran,
Is your property on the river itself? Crystal River is BIG Manatee country! :eek: The Manatee regulations there are just as bad as they are here in Brevard county. I have never been there, but like others have spoken here, it's becoming more populated, hence all the bellowing from the waterfront property owners, (we own 2 waterfront properties in Brevard Co. and we don't ***** about boats, that's what living on the water is all about IMO!) and of course the $MC propaganda machine spewing BS about the Manatee's pending exstiction! :mad: Hopefully, the Manatee/idle zones don't get any bigger! :mad:
Dean

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Dean,

The property is not on the water, seven miles or so from it. Frankly, I'm not in a position to have two "Big" boats. One up here and one down there.
My father has a bass boat that will be down there and I'll probably buy a small center console to keep down there.
I am guessing that after I build a barn, I'll keep my Fountain down there for the winter.
I've got to get my sh*t together so I'll be in a position to keep my boat out of the weather when its there.
I've never boated in salt water much less around Florida. I'm really looking forward to it.

Bryan

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Get a pontoon for the river. I'm about to do that here myself. Deb and I went out in the jon boat the other evening for three hours, and I just about couldn't stand back up when I got out. I just told the guy brokering my Checkmate that I'd take a pontoon on a trade.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

I don't know where, but it's on the Homossassa. Here's the front side of their "river cabin". :p

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

just come a little south and put in at hernando Beach or Hudson Beach and head south. Awesome area down to Clearwater Beach around the gulf to Antclote Island, Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island. Lots of boats and white beaches.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Man thats a trip isn't it.From Richmond Va. to clearwater. :evilb:

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

That's normally what I do.

Stayed in the perfect place this weekend. On the beach with parking and docks across the street to the ICW and a boat ramp next door.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Taking the "Scenic Route" (not I-75) how long from Sarasota to Crystal River????

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Never gone that far without using the interstate or toll road. Probably at least 2.5 hours up 19 from Clearwater Beach if that helps.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

The Scenic route is in the boat. 2:45 from Sarasota to here. 1:20 from Clearwater to here, Crystal River. To take Hwy 19 north from St Pete to Crystal River would be long, as F.G. states. All traffic lights. 275 across the skyway to the 589 is about 2.45 hours.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Come on down,
This is a great place to be. Completly away from the hustle of city life. However, I am with andy on this one. The Kings Bay seaside needs an enima!
I spend more time cleaning strainers and replacing impeller pumps than is natural. Great boating at high tide, crappy ramps. City council needs a wake up call............
Queitly maintaning all the boats on the river.
Affordable Mobile Marine 352-746-4521 :cool:

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

There is no scenic route, just a more traffic route.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

Russ, you're best route is I-275 over the HF to the Veteran's Expressway, take it all the way to the very end. That dumps you out of Hwy 98. Take 98 west to US19, then north through Homosassa, and Crystal River. The Veteran's is about as scenic as your going to get on that drive. I drove it the other day.

Re: Crystal River Florida
 

John how's everything going? Haven't seen you in a while. You still in Pine Ridge?