THE EXPLORED Nature, Travel & Sporting

96’ MAIORA / Joe Williams

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY at Spring Island

Do you know what it feels like to dig your hands in the earth and pull vegetables right out of the ground? Have you gotten wet clay under your fingernails? Do you have firsthand experience of plunging your already frozen hand into the river to pull out a fish before it wriggles off your line? Then maybe you should join the family of Members at Spring Island in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, who are more about digging in than showing off. They embrace their passions. They engage with their community. They indulge their curiosities, they share their knowledge, and they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. Are you?

SpringIsland.com | 843.987.2200

Forest Johnson By Air and By Sea

My name is Forest Johnson. I’m a photographer and cinematographer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and my quality imagery and footage has earned worldwide recognition. Born in Miami, I’ve been a resident of South Florida my entire life and my familiarity with the area has been advantageous to my career. Being around boats since birth has also helped, as well as my passion for aviation.

The east coast of South Florida is well known as the boating capitol of the world. Our climate and close proximity to the Bahamas and Caribbean add to the reputation of being a year-round playground. It’s the perfect place for a family whose livelihood revolves around the marine industry.

My father, Forest E. Johnson, is a famous boat-builder who designed and built Prowler Boats. After his passing, I became involved in the family business with my mother, Heidi. Prior to that, photography was only a hobby. My real interest was flying, especially helicopters. As far back as 8 years old, if I received an “A” on my report card, my parents rewarded me with a 15-minute helicopter ride. Armed with a small camera and the thrill of flying, my passion was ignited.

Almost overnight I found myself running a boat-building business. Dwindling build requests and an impending energy crisis made saving money a priority. Without the finances to hire professional photographers for our ads and brochures, I had to do it myself. Using a hand-me-down Nikon F-2 Photomic camera, I harassed all the local operators of photo labs about the best ways to shoot a boat… and received a completely different answer from each one!

As a result, l learned using the trial-and-error method. I had no formal training in photography, so I kept trying different techniques until I found one that worked. After a while, I became really good and efficient.

In 1976, the family business was sold. A year later, I joined the staff at Bertram Yacht, where I truly began to hone my skills as a boat photographer. I spent eight years as the advertising and sales promotion manager, photographing all the products.

In 1986, I began a full-time career as a location and aerial photographer specializing in the marine industry. This profession has since taken me to various corners of the world, all the while meeting and working with many great people. I’ve been fortunate to have won many awards, including International Photographer of the Year for the Bahamas. I was also named by Popular Photo magazine as a true “specialist” in my field. However, one of my favorite accomplishments is photographing more than 1,600 magazine covers… and still counting!

Learn more at ForestJohnson.com.

Taking the Helm 37 Years Curating Florida’s Best International Boat Shows

Originally from southeast England, Andrew Doole grew up in Leigh-On-Sea where he enjoyed small-craft sailing and later worked in Merchant Banks. In 1981, Andrew moved to Florida, where he went on to join Show Management, the company that formerly managed Florida-based boat shows. During his 37-year tenure with Show Management, he rose through the ranks, becoming Vice President of Sales and eventually Chief Operating Officer.

In 2017, after Informa Markets purchased Show Management, Andrew was named Vice President and General Manager of the U.S. Boat Shows division. Shortly thereafter, in 2019, he was named President of U.S. Boat Shows.

As President, Andrew oversees the production of U.S. boat shows and manages government relations with key stakeholders, in addition to leading partnerships, sales, and directing the overall strategic direction of all five boat and yacht shows managed by Informa Markets’ Florida division.

His portfolio includes the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest in-water boat show in the world; the Palm Beach International Boat Show, which is one of the top five boat shows in the United States; the St. Petersburg Power and Sailboat Show; the Suncoast Boat Show; and, lastly, the Miami Yacht Show. Collectively, the shows generate over a billion dollars of economic activity for the State of Florida, support thousands of jobs, and help attract millions of tourists from the United States and around the globe to the Sunshine State.

Under Andrew's leadership, the shows have secured coveted sponsorships from leading companies such as Delta Private Jets, Budweiser, Bank of America, and La Croix, in addition to luxury partnerships with brands such as Aston Martin, Moët & Chandon champagne, Ulysse Nardin, and Lexus.

In 2022, Andrew will also oversee a reimagined Miami International Boat Show, which will combine the Miami International Boat Show, the Miami Yacht Show, and Superyacht Miami into one joint event produced by Informa Markets and the National Marine Manufacturers Association. It will be the largest boat and yacht show in the world, and will make Florida the preeminent boating destination globally.

With nearly 40 years of experience in boat show productions, he is widely recognized throughout the marine industry for his expertise and extensive industry relationships. An active member of the community, Andrew also serves on the board of the Winterfest Boat Parade, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, and the International Superyacht Society. He currently resides in North Hutchinson Island and enjoys the boating lifestyle, and all the Treasure Coast has to offer.

Written and photography provided by Informa Markets

Native Bird Boxes Song Birds Over Water

Do you recall your grandparents having these ornate condominium type birdhouses out in the middle of the yard or out near an edge of a lake? Why were the birds not there all the time? Well, these beautiful singing birds that fly so fast over water and are known for being voracious insect eaters are called purple martins, or Progne subis.

They are the largest of the swallow family that migrate from Brazil to North America living in colonies. They typically begin to arrive around January 1, along the Gulf Coast states. Months later, the other parts of the colonies that stay in flight over land make their way over Central America, through Mexico, then disperse all across the North American region after passing Texas.

Why, you ask, do they migrate so far? To raise young and have better foraging opportunities to potentially raise a healthier clutch than the opportunities they have in South America. Yes, crazy and confusing, but scientists have provided the research and the diagnosis that during the purple martins’ evolution and migration times, they had longer days to forage to successfully raise young.

In the southeastern North American regions, where these purple martins arrive first during migration after flying all the way over the Gulf of Mexico, where do they go? Well, they head back south to Brazil once again, not further north to be with the greater colonies. Yes, some have a round trip of over 5,000 miles!

Why the name ‘purple martin’ if the bird is black in color? When the sun shines on their upper feathers around their backs leading to the wings, the black color is iridescent and appears dark bluish to purple. Males are completely dark, whereas the females and immature birds are duller in primary color with whitish chest to bellies.

Next time you see that apartment birdhouse on a pole, just think, that small little bird might have flown all the way across the Gulf of Mexico and made it to its nesting ground!

For more information, contact Brian@NativeBirdBoxes.com and follow along on @NativeBirdBoxes.

Down Sea Charters Fishing with Live Bait

Fishing with live bait is the most popular way to land trophy fish on the Treasure Coast, especially saltwater fishing. Some days catching bait is actually far more challenging than catching the actual targeted species. Dedicating precious time during the day to catch bait can be mentally and physically exhausting, but one would say the benefits outweigh the hardships.

There are several advantages to catching live bait. One is just that it’s lively! This bait has not been swimming in a pen or in a tank inside a bait store for who knows how long. Very infrequently can one actually buy the bait we prefer to use during a day on the water.

However, in South Florida during sailfish season when live bait is for sale, it can cost upwards of $10 per bait! Catching bait allows anglers to be independent as well as hold value on any boat they step foot on. Finally, one of the last benefits from bait fishing is that it allows one to create a proper understanding of patterns and seasonality of baitfish. Through figuring out when and where baitfish reside, what they feed on, and how they interact in nature, it can allow an angler to better understand the actual gamefish he or she is targeting.

There are many different species of baitfish in this area. The most common are mullet, pinfish, threadfin herring, and scaled sardines (also known as pilchards). Our main baitfish year-round is mullet. Within the mullet family, there is the silver mullet and the black mullet. Both of these are on average the most consistent prey items for predators nearshore as well as in our lagoon. In order to catch mullet, it is crucial to throw a cast net. Good vison and quick reflexes are required.

Pinfish can be caught in a pinfish trap, baiting the trap with shrimp and soaking it for a couple days will yield a good number. Threadfin and pilchards are simply the “Snickers bar of the sea.” Everything eats them. You can use them as bait inshore and offshore and have much success. Target these species using a Sabiki rig off the beach, as well as throwing a cast net.

A good foundation for a successful day always starts with bait. Success is earned not given. It requires skill, knowledge and patience. If you’re not already proficient in obtaining your own live bait, it’s time to start. You’ll save money, certainly catch more, and achieve a level of gratification that only comes with enticing quality fish on bait that you invested your own time and energy to catch.

For inshore and offshore charter inquiries, please contact Captain Sam Atwell at sam@downseacharters.com, or call (772) 532-9347. You can also find him on @captsamatwell.

Saving Wildlife One Animal at a Time

From the age of eight, Annie Page-Karjian knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. Yet, it was an experience with a leatherback sea turtle on a Central American beach that ultimately steered her career—and life. Now, she’s landed her dream job as a research professor and clinical veterinarian at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.

After graduating from the College of Charleston with a degree in biology, Annie moved to Costa Rica and worked as a biologist at Las Baulas National Marine Park. One night, a leatherback sea turtle crawled onto the beach with fishing line wrapped around her shoulder and digging into her flipper, nearly cutting it in half. “I wanted to help but the park guards did not share my concerns,” she said. Determined to help, Annie ran a mile down the beach to get a knife, returned and cut the line. That season, the turtle nested 10 more times. “I knew this was what I wanted to do with my whole life,” she said. In 2007, she applied to the veterinary program at the University of Georgia—and got in.

Now, Annie is busy as a professor and veterinarian at FAU Harbor Branch, which requires many different responsibilities. As a researcher, she studies the health and diseases of wildlife, like toxins from harmful algal blooms in sea turtles and plastics in marine mammals. She’s the lead veterinarian for the marine mammal stranding program, which requires everything from banking tissues of dead animals for future research projects and determining the cause of death to helping rescue and transport live animals who can receive treatment. She also advises graduate students and teaches classes.

As a veterinarian on the stranding team, one of the hardest cases she’s faced in her career was when a newborn sperm whale stranded alive on a beach in South Florida. Likely, something happened to the mother and it was too young to survive without her, she said, and so there was nothing to be done for the calf. It was Annie’s job to euthanize the baby whale. “As a mother, that was tough and a very hard day,” she said. “But it’s also a really important service that we provide to the animal—to alleviate suffering.”

Annie has a deep compassion for animals. However, because of that compassion, working with sick and dying animals can be emotionally taxing, which is why she also spends a lot of her time as a researcher who specializes in aquatic animal health. One of her research specialties is studying a tumor disease in sea turtles called fibropapillomatosis, which has been associated with polluted waters.

Annie credits a lot of her success to collaborations and working with other scientists. “It’s very rewarding to me because each collaborator has unique expertise that they can contribute.”

Iconic Marine Mammal The Florida Manatee

It’s been a tough 2021 for the Sunshine State’s iconic marine mammal, the Florida manatee. In the first two months, 403 manatees have died, which is more than triple the normal amount of fatalities seen during the same period over the last five years, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

These gentle sea cows face threats from habitat loss, collision with boats, entanglement in fishing gear, human harassment and exposure to red tide and other harmful algal blooms. In recent decades, however, their populations have improved.

Currently, the population is estimated to be about 7,000, and they are key to the health of Florida’s marine and freshwater ecosystems. They live in the rivers, bays, canals, estuaries and coastal areas, moving between fresh and salt waters.

“Manatees are important environmental “engineers” in that they eat sea grass and help maintain the balance of seagrass beds, and are therefore important animals to have in our environment,” says Beth Brady, PhD, a manatee biologist with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

Scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission suspect that starvation is one reason these manatees are dying. Since 2009, 58 percent of the seagrass has disappeared, mostly because of an increase in nutrients in the water resulting from runoff into the lagoon, according to FWC.

Yet, starvation isn’t their only threat. As the warm weather approaches, manatees will share the waterways with hundreds of thousands of watercrafts and people. In a 10-year study by FWC published in 2020, scientists found that one in every four manatee carcasses had evidence of boat strikes, which account for about 20 to 25 percent of all manatee deaths.

“Manatees spend a lot of time at or just under the surface of the water. They need to come up to breathe, and they will nap just below the surface of the water, which puts them in harm’s way from a boat prop,” Beth says.

To protect manatees, FWC has the following tips for vessel operators: • Observe and follow all boating regulatory zone signs. • Wear polarized sunglasses so you can see where manatees are located underwater. • Slow down. Reducing speed gives you a greater chance to avoid manatees and for them to avoid your vessel. • Use marked channels when boating. Channel depth reduces the likelihood of crushing or hitting manatees in shallow waters.

“To continue to have manatees for centuries to come, we can all help by keeping an eye out for manatees (and other wildlife) out on the water, by not feeding or providing water to manatees, and keeping our waterways clean of trash and pollution,” says Beth.

To report manatee deaths, injuries, harassment, accidents, or ones orphaned or distressed, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline. 888-404-FWCC (3922), #FWC on cell phones, or text Tip@MyFWC.com.

Written and photography by Bethany Augliere

Luxury Electric Surfboard Ride Waves No Matter What the Surf Report Says

Water whips around Chad Knopp as he glides around the bay at the Palm Beach International Boat Show. Sharing the water with a fly board and electric foil, Knopp is almost hard to track as he cuts around the bay at top speed on his YuJet electric surfboard. Jeremy Schneiderman co-founded YuJet back in 2019, and soon put together a team of pro surfers, engineers, investors and business executives to make his goal of designing stylish but eco-friendly water sports accessories.

“We’ve worked for years to create a product that can propel powered water sports forward,” says Jeremy. “Our first product to market, the YuJet Surfer, is the culmination of our passion, our experience, and our vision for the future. We wanted to make a product that was easy to ride for every skill level and could deliver the thrill of surfing in just minutes.”

The YuJet Surfer is a 100 percent electric, carbon fiber, jet-powered surfboard with no exposed motor, that brings the fun of surfing to anywhere there’s water. No waves required. Learning to ride takes about five minutes and each battery charge provides up to a 40-minute ride time. Riders typically travel at around 16 MPH, but the board can reach top speeds of 24 MPH for an even more thrilling experience.

While Chad and the rest of the YuJet sales and marketing team look like they just stepped off the beach, Jeremy is more subdued. His background is in technology and drones, but being based in South Florida and seeing the damage other water toys do to the environment, Jeremy decided to develop a fully-electric toy that anyone could use. “There weren’t many electric options out there, and the future is going electric. We had experience in the drone world before this, so we wanted to take that knowledge of tech a step further and bring it to the water,” he said.

YuJet is a relatively large operation for such a small team, but their smaller numbers allow them to put more emphasis on customer service and support. When people have questions about their products, they’ll get an actual person to help them out, not an automated response bot.

Watching Chad finish up his time on the water, it was easy to see how thrilling a ride could truly be as he carved around on his knees at top speeds. It’s the “thrill of riding a surfboard without a wave!” boasts Jeremy. With Florida’s notoriously inconsistent surf and mayhem from tourists tearing around on jet skis, it’s easy to see the appeal of gliding through the waters on a YuJet board.

For more information about YuJet, visit us at YuJetUSA.com or follow us on at @yujetinc.

Written and photography provided by

Kelly Morris, Max Borg Agency

Around the World We Go!

When I told people I was going to leave my successful corporate career to buy a sailing catamaran (named Sail La Vie) and sail to the Bahamas, they called me crazy. What I thought was crazy was the number of people who tell you, “You can’t do it” the moment you make the leap of faith to chase after your lifelong dream! What’s crazy is how many people talk about their dreams but never commit to them. What’s crazy is also probably me!

With minimal sailing experience, and no previous boat ownership experience, I set sail and didn’t look back. A year later, I’ve lived the best year of my life aboard my sailboat in the beautiful Bahamas. I’ve made a life living off the ocean, teaching freediving, shark education, sustainable spearfishing and connecting with locals throughout the islands. The Bahamas have been an amazing location to dip my toes in this sailboating lifestyle. I’ve made many mistakes, learned many lessons and feel ready for many new adventures!

As the new year rolled in, I sailed home with my boyfriend Matt to visit family and do work on my boat. When we got home, we announced our plan for 2021 was to start sailing around the world. Without surprise, the unanimous response I got was, “You’re crazy!” I’d rather be crazy with memories than normal with regrets.

Matt and I spent hours looking at wind directions, seasonality, and potential sailing routes. Based on where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see, we decided to sail from Florida to the Bahamas, down the chain of the Bahamian islands, through the Cuba and Haiti pass to Panama, cross the Panama Canal, then over to the Galapagos, French Polynesia and end the year in Tonga.

Our goal is to travel to untouched places, off the beaten path, experience the wildlife and learn from the locals. We will be freediving, sustainably spearfishing our protein, diving with marine wildlife, hiking, making bonfires and fully immersing ourselves in every place we go. We also plan to offer the opportunity for guests to join us along the way and take part in the adventure!

With the plan in place, it was time to prep the boat. The idea of sailing around the world may sound exciting and sexy, but the prep work that goes into it, I promise, is not! It takes a lot of time, money and effort. In two weeks time, we had replaced two engines, two sail drives, got a new autopilot, rebonded the boat, got all new rigging and sails, more batteries, a new water maker and stocked the boat with extra jerry cans for fuel, emergency water jugs and food. And don’t forget about safety! We got jacklines, harnesses with 3-point tethers, life vests, man overboard bracelets, emergency position indicating radio beacons, flashlights, foul weather gear, updated the ditch bag and the first aid kit.

Sail La Vie is ready for a world tour and so are we. The journey from Florida to the Bahamas started at the end of March and I am excited to share the adventures, lessons and stories along the way. When I tell people we prepped my boat to sail around the world in two weeks time and are leaving for a world tour, they tell me I’m crazy. So what if I am crazy?

Learn how you can support this adventure at SailLaVieCharters.com and follow along @freediversteph and @saillavie_.

Written and photography provided by Stephanie Schuldt

Tentative Itinerary (weather dependent)

Bahamas: March 20-April 17 Sailing from the Bahamas to Panama: April 18-28 Panama Canal: April 30-May 4 Panama: May 4-June 20 Sailing to the Galapagos: June 15-July 1 Galapagos: July 1-August 15 Sailing from Galapagos to French Polynesia: August 15-September 15 French Polynesia: September 15-November 15 Sailing from French Polynesia to Tonga: November 15-December 10 Tonga: December 10