In Sarasota

Overnite on the leg from Crystal River, the boat speed had been a steady 5 knots.  I felt the boat motion change a bit - I glanced at the speed and it had slowed to 3 knots (both GPS and boat speed, for those of you that are interested).  Very strange.  Then a minute or two later it sped back up to 5 knots without me doing any adjustment.   I mentioned it to Duane when he got up for his shift, but we had no explanation. 

Today, I think I found the explanation.  As I brought the dinghy back to the boat, in the bright morning light I saw a piece of line  drifting just under the boat - and it was attached to the saildrive/propeller!    Undoubtedly, we ran over someones crab pot during the night and dragged it for a while (explains the brief 3 knots). 

Duane suggested, that since he climbed the mast I should be the one to dive down and try to loosen the line.  Hmmm.  The water temp here is warm, but not that warm!!  (about 71 degrees).   But, I put on a swimsuit and got out my snorkel and mask.  Jumped in - brrrrrr!  Like swimming in Mills River, I quickly got used to the temp and was quite comfortable.

The water is a bit murky and it was a struggle for me to stay down long enough to get the line loose.  I got the underwater camera and took a photo to inspect so I could understand what was happening. 

After about 10 dives and much movement of the prop back and forth, it came free!  I feel bad for whoever lost their crab pot as it surely will never be found.  But I'm glad we're free of the line and proud of myself for sticking with it without asking Duane to take over!