Will was four years old and had learned swimming from a young age but always was afraid to put his head under the water. It was holding him back from really getting better in his lessons.

When we got to the island he was fascinated with the waves. I began to run into them and try to jump over them. Other times I would puff out my chest and try to push them back. Will was soon joining me and laughing hysterically. When a bigger wave finally dunked him he stood up fast with a surprised look. I pointed to the next wave and said look here’s another one. He wiped his eyes and charged into the wave.

After 20-30 minutes of this, we ran to the shore. Will looked up at me and said "you know Dad, water is my friend." Soon we were swimming together out beyond the breakers and learning to snorkel.

Will, below, is hauling his Playmobile pirate ship through the waves.

There are not many jellyfish here.

Lee county maintains the following web site that locates various reefs.

http://www3.leegov.com/natural resources/artreef.htm

Most scuba diving or reef snorkeling requires a boat and some travel to find artificial reefs.

The Bay Ronto was a 400' long freighter that sank during a hurricane in 1919 off the coast of southwest Florida. It lies in 100' of water, 32 miles West of Boca Grande Pass, upside-down, keel pointing to the surface. Coordinates are 26-45.956N/82-50.801W.

Nurse shark.

Here is a map of the reefs from Lee County at http://www3.leegov.com/natural resources/artreef.htm where you can get GPS coordinates.