Triathlon brings out the meek, mighty and honest

Cody Sanford, (far right) of Clearwater, sprint towards the finish line at the St. Anthony's Meek & Mighty Triathlon in St. Petersburg. [MARTHA RIAL | Times]

East Lake High senior Brandan Lewis, who didn't begin swimming competitively until last August, overcame some momentary cramping to win Saturday morning's Meek & Mighty Triathlon on the St. Petersburg waterfront.

The top female? That wasn't totally clear until 43-year-old Land O'Lakes resident Maria Ajamian, originally posted as the winner, later told race officials she unknowingly failed to complete the entire bike segment of the race.

That left 11-year-old Ciara Hopkins of Clermont as the top female finisher (28:06). Delaney Owen, a 15-year-old home-schooled Clearwater resident, was the first local female finisher (28:38) in an event that drew 750 participants ranging in age from 6 to 90.

The Meek & Mighty, a precursor to Sunday's 25th running of the St. Anthony's Triathlon, featured a 200-yard swim, 5.4-mile bike ride and mile run, with those ages 10 and under competing on a slightly smaller course. Lewis, headed to the University of North Florida, finished in 26:22.

Ajamian, a married mother of three who never previously had competed in a triathlon, was posted as the winning female among competitors ages 15 and up with a time of 28 minutes.

But she later told race officials she completed only one of the three loops on the bike course, avoiding Rosie Ruiz notoriety. Ruiz was announced as the female winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon, but was stripped of the title when it was later determined she cut the course.

"I didn't bother to ask (about the bike loops) because I didn't know and there weren't any signs," Ajamian said. "We're honest people. I couldn't have lived with myself."

The oldest entrant, 90-year-old Ruth Gordon of Seminole, not only completed the course (in 1:10.27), but shattered the time she recorded in the 2003 Meek & Mighty -- her only other triathlon -- by nearly 10 minutes.

"I feel great," Mrs. Gordon said at the finish line.

Complete results can be found later this afternoon at satriathlon.com.

JOEY KNIGHT, Times Staff

whale tale

Dave Mistretta was fishing in 50 feet of water off Indian Shores on Sunday when he saw something large swimming toward his boat.

"The fluke came out of the water and we knew right away it was a whale (see video)," said Mistretta, who charters the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. "There were two white spots on the tail so we thought it might be a humpback."

The 30-foot mammal swam underneath Mistretta's boat then took off swimming south. A spokesperson for the National Marine Fisheries Service confirmed that humpbacks occasionally venture into the Gulf of Mexico after breeding in the warm waters of the Caribbean.

The specie's scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big wing of New England," is a reference to the animals extremely long flippers. The common name, humpback, comes from the fact that the whale's dorsal fin sits atop a large hump that is visible when it dives.

The humpback is a baleen whale, a filter feeder, that can reach lengths of up to 45 feet. Mistretta's sighting was considered rare and the captain considers himself lucky to have seen such a magnificent creature in the wild.

(Photo: Courtesy Brad Bandoni. Click to enlarge.)

No more cooter

If you travel along a country roads in North Florida don't be alarmed if you see a bumper sticker on the back of a pickup truck that encourages all who see it to "Eat More Cooter." These river turtles, often seen basking on rocks and logs, are considered quite a delicacy in some parts.

But before you head out to try to snatch some of these tasty reptiles, take a close look at the regulations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced closed season for the harvest of river cooter from April 15 to July 31.

And that goes for their young-ins too. No fried river cooter egg sandwiches until Aug. 1.

But don't fret. Even though the state wants you to eat less cooter, you can still go catch yourself a mess of soft-shell turtles, which look sort of like a big, leathery pancake. They are still fair game until May 1. But then the season shuts down as well.

Turtle fans can still get their fix though with alligator snapping turtles, loggerhead musk turtles, box turtles, Barbour's map turtles, Escambia river map turtles and diamondback terrapins. The Suwannee cooter, however, is off limits, no matter how hungry you get.

The kings are back

Forget the groundhog and his shadow, the only sure way to find out if spring is really here is to head to the Egmont Shipping Channel and start slow trolling for kingfish.

The bite has been sporadic in recent weeks as anglers have waited in anticipation for th big schools to head north from Key West to their summer feeding grounds in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. We Suncoasters should consider ourselves lucky as we get two chances to catch these open ocean predators, one in the spring and once in the fall.

Sure there a a few resident kings that linger in deep water even during the height of summer. Fifteen years ago, I hooked a 45-pound plus fish in the middle of July about 50 miles offshore. But fishing for summer kings is hit or miss. Your best bet to join the action is during the spring or fall run.

Friday, fishing near markers three and four, we hooked fought about 30 kings in a three hour period. Dr. Reggie Ligon boated five kings and lost at least five more. We kept a few of the smallest ones for a fish fry at Gators on the Pass.

Ligon was checking out Capt. Larry "Huffy" Hoffman's new 36-foot Scarab. Well, it isn't Hoffman's yet. He is thinking about by the triple engine fishing machine. The demo boat had more the 100 hours on it, and after we were done, a little blood on the deck.

The bite was nothing short of phenomenal. It seemed like every time we motored back to our spot and dropped the sardines over the side, Wham! Hookup.

Ain't spring grand?