Key largo and homeward

I got back to Key Largo Monday after an uneventful sail up the North side of the Keys. I thought I was going to have a restful couple of days to put Harvey to bed, etc, but things didn't turn out that way. First, Chase and I took Harvey out Tuesday (Lou was working) and had a delightful sail and a GREAT snorkel at Molasses Reef. I saw two remarkable fish--a Filefish which was just breathtakingly beautiful, and a Trumpetfish, which can change color to blend in with its surroundings. This one had made itself the same yellow as a stand of coral it was in, standing up vertically so as to look just like a stalk of the coral it was hiding in.

Later we heard that the Marine Mammal Conservancy was calling for volunteers to help with 5 pilot whales who had been beached on another Key and moved to Largo for treatment and rehabilitation. The animals were too stressed/injured/sick to take care of themselves, so they had 2 persons holding up each whale, keeping its blowhole above water and keeping them wet in 4 hour shifts. Chase and I took a 4 to 8 AM (yes, AM!) shift and it was really rewarding. Our whale kept squirming, and they were talking to one another with the high pitched whale squeals that you've heard recordings of. The MMC people travel all over for situations like this, and a crew of marine veterinarians from Sea World Orlando were there also. Photos attached, hopefully. Back to Nashville tomorrow.