Mega-death

Red tide has come to Longboat Key bringing fish kills on an epic scale. The stench of the red tide coupled with the smell of rotting fish makes the beach uninhabitable.

While not actually injurious to people - a tickle can develop quickly in the back of the throat. Our little marina was safe for awhile until the normal tides and wind sent the red tide around the passes and into Sarasota Bay. It is now literally at our door. Lucky for us the afternoon sea breeze moves most of the dead fish out of our marina leaving happy hour on the patio still possible.

 A small sample of red tide:

In the bay: (click to enlarge)

I used the dock hose to push a few bodies out into the channel. When our next door neighbor came out to see what we were doing De Anne, in a display of macabre humor, told our neighbor we were staging dead fish races as we cheered the bloated corpses floating away. You gotta have fun sometimes and yes, liquor was involved.