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| Sponge Boat at Tarpon Springs |
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| Another Sponge Boat |
We went to Tarpon Springs (the Sponge Capitol of the World) today via the "Trolley". Our original plans were to stay at Tarpon Springs but we would have been on our own for the last part of the trip across the gulf so we changed to Clearwater where the rest were going. Many people said you had to have the "Tarpon Springs" adventure so we took the trolley. We toured the Sponge Factory and watched a movie on how they harvest sponge from the gulf; it was very interesting but we were all done in 3 hours and that included an excellent lunch at a Greek restaurant (Tarpon is a Greek community). We thought the downtown itself was a tourist trap; stores lined up like dominoes and they were all selling the same thing.
CO's comments: Let the controversy begin.
Following taken from the Looper Daily Digest, Weather Musings:
Boaters reported that last Friday afternoon, while crossing the Gulf, they were surprised by a couple of loud BLAMS that shook their boats and felt like vibrations running through their hulls. Some thought they actually hit something in the water. There is a small chance that they experienced an unexpected, random blast from an unexploded piece of ordinance. It was not very likely they were in the middle of a military exercise. All branches of the military use the Gulf for live firing training of planes to submarines but there will always be plenty of surface boats monitoring the vessels anywhere near the exercise area and the military will keep visitors out of the area or stop the exercise. What was probably experienced is an unusual underwater phenomena that some name the "Seneca Gun". I have only heard it once when on a shoreline, not on the water. Something causes the sound, like a few rocks moving around on the bottom of the Gulf, and not necessarily significant. The sound gets compressed and if the conditions are just perfect, it comes through the water or the air as a tremendous clap of noise. It can be real impressive. Probably these boaters crossing in that one spot got to hear and feel that sound wave. It will be a once in a lifetime experience for them. Isn't the Gulf fascinating?
Stay safe,
Tom
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| 42 Ft. Sponge Diving Boat; Built in 1935 of cypress and pine by George Castrinos in Apalachicola, Fl. Original name "APALACHICOLA". Used for sponge fishing until 1943. Used during World War II by U.S. Navy as air-sea rescue boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Returned to a sponge fishing boat after World War II, used for sponging until decommissioned in 1982. Placed on exhibition at the opening of the Sponge Exchange in 1982 and renamed "AEGREAN ISLES". |
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| Long hoses attached to diver's helmet provided compressed air for breathing. The compressor was driven by belts attached to the main engine. |
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| Superior Diesel Engine 671 Model Original power for sponge boat Apalachicola 110 H.P. -6 Cylinder engine propelled the boat up to nine (9) knots. |
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