This is an occasional series on things to do in Volusia and Flagler counties during the summer months. Today, Reporter Colleen Jones takes us on a first-person airboat ride.
It's the first airboat tour of the morning and Capt. Joshua Mattson is hoping with the weather at a dry 75 degrees, surface water temperatures moderate and clear skies overhead, we'll have better luck than he did the day before spotting alligators, fish, birds and other critters who make the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge their home.
"We'll just get out there and see what we find moving," he tells me matter-of-factly.
Mattson, with his trademark red beard, sunglasses and ball cap, is the owner of Airboat & Gator Charters, an operation in DeLeon Springs which he runs with wife Brittany ― he captains the boat; she books the tours. The house the couple shares with their two sons, ages 16 and 6, runs right up to the lake's dock.
"I saw 'The Big 12' recently ― I have little pet names for them," Mattson says, referring in this case to the hulking, 12-foot gator he spies now and then in his travels (he assumes it's a male since most of the larger of its species are). "He showed up for a few days and then went away again until about two days ago."
Seafaring novice that I am, I carefully step off from the pier and into the vessel for our voyage, holding onto the side for support. The airboat is steadier than I'd imagined, and I tell Mattson so.
"It's a smooth, level ride," Mattson confirms, adding that in his 15 years in the business there's been only one person ― an older woman ― he wasn't able to convince to at least try it out with the promise to return them safely back to land if not comfortable.
The boat is arranged with stadium seating, so to speak, this model accommodating six guests with the operator at the helm in the highest look-out perch.
Carl Hiaasen and more on the lore of airboats
Airboats are part of the culture of Florida, especially what some like to call "Old Florida" ― wetland areas like the Everglades which author and retired Miami Herald journalist Carl Hiaasen made the backdrop for much of his writing. Of course, in Central Florida, a network of freshwater lakes, springs, creeks and marshes, has always been a popular playground for enthusiasts as well.
First called a "hydro-glisseur" and used by the British during World War II, this surface-gliding watercraft, also referred to as a "fan boat," "bayou boat" or "plane boat," is flat bottomed with large engine-powered propellers at the rear. This one is equipped with the kind of 6.2-liter engine usually found in Corvettes, the good captain informs me. It can get up to speeds of 40 mph or more on the water, but for optimal cruising he usually sets it at about 20 mph.
"If you go any faster, you can't keep up with the wildlife," Mattson says.
What makes airboats ideal for ecotours is they can get into areas other boats can't, like totally or partially submerged coastal marshes, easily skating across the surface of the water and even thickets of vegetation.
And let's talk about that greenery for a minute. We skim over lily-covered clusterings that form an oasis on the muddy waters beneath, and not long after we're out in the open vista of the deepest parts of the lake ― varying from depths of about three to seven feet ― taking in the scenery of palm trees, drippy Spanish moss and willow branches decorating its edges.
Rides are a feast for the senses
An airboat ride is a feast for the senses, not the least of which is the rumbling of the propeller engine at the stern of the boat. Riders are provided with headphones to take the edge off that pulsating roar. Equipped with his own set, Mattson is able to broadcast a running commentary of all the sights to be seen along the way.
When other boats are nearby, the wake rocks the boat either gently or more vigorously, and the spray of the water, especially when turning on a dime, is a refreshing shower.
On this day, conditions are pretty good for gator sightings, Mattson says. The weather is mild and spring mating season also brings out the more randy of the reptiles.
"See that over there that looks like a silver log? That's a good sized one," Mattson says, pointing across the silvery surface of the waterscape. "You won't see the little ones that far away."
The captain's expertise comes in part from his lineage as a lifelong, third-generation Floridian; the rest is from personal experience and observances.
"That bubble trail there?" Mattson says. "That's a softshell turtle right there."
Other wildlife native to the ecosystem are birds like bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, herons, sandhill cranes and egrets, as well as jumping mullet and a variety of other freshwater fish.
Less common are turtles, manatees, river otters, deer, racoons, and even bobcats. Mattson is happy when his riders are able to see as much as they can on any given trip out on the water.
He can run anywhere from no tours per day to as many as four (not including night rides), mostly depending on the weather.
Visitors from across the nation, globe
Joshua and Brittany Mattson have seen folks from nearly every state of the country as well as international visitors from Europe, Asia and many other nations making the airboat ride as a side trip to travels to Orlando or Daytona Beach.
The couple's best testimony to their airboat tours is the fact that they have a lot of repeat customers, like the group of four from Wisconsin who are waiting on the dock when we pull up and set down anchor to disembark.
"What did y'all find out there?" one woman asks.
I tell her we were able to see a lot and that hopefully they will, too.
"We're in good hands," she says, "I know that."
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