Couple takes pride in manatee-tour business

The Art N' Diving shop has a word-of-mouth and international reputation for catering to its clients.

By LOGAN NEILL

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 12, 2001

CRYSTAL RIVER -- Outside the small dive shop of Fred and Pavla Bratska Reed, progress abounds in a cacophony of construction sounds. Workers busy themselves in various tasks, which in time, will bring a face lift to the once splendored Port Paradise Resort.

Inside one of the few buildings not yet touched by the renovations, the Reeds' Art N' Diving shop bustles with activity as customers come and go. Two college-age men, smiling after a day spent exploring local waters, drag in their rented scuba gear, while a young German couple, on holiday to take in a little manatee watching, wait for instructions on how to get to nearby spring in King's Bay.

They have all sought out the fledgling business because of its reputation for catering individually to its clients, an obviously proud hallmark of its owners.

"This is our passion," says the Czechoslovakian-born Pavla. "To us it's more than just a business, more than just about making money. Most of our clients have become good friends as well."

Interestingly, the Reeds had no intention of operating a dive shop before being approached last fall by the new owners of the Port Hotel and Marina. In fact, the couple had already built a reputable independent dive and charter business, which they operated for four years from their Crystal River home.

Fred, a lifelong Crystal River resident and renowned dive master, managed Crystal River Dive Center for more than a decade, before going into business for himself. The only way the Reeds would consider coming aboard was if they were allowed to run things the way they saw fit.

"We wanted to take a different approach that would emphasize quality over quantity," Pavla said.

For that reason, Art N' Diving doesn't have a fleet of overloaded pontoon boats heading every hour to Three Sisters Spring or any of the other popular manatee viewing zones in and around Kings Bay.

"It's probably more of personal thing with me, but I don't believe in loading up a boat with a lot of people," Fred said. "My pontoon boat can hold 12, but I'd rather go out with a family of six."

That attention to personal needs has earned the Reeds a reputation, especially among international visitors, many of whom seek them out on the recommendation of friends and family.

"We do no advertising, no Internet, just word-of-mouth," said Pavla, a well-known portrait artist who speaks five languages.

The Reeds also pride themselves in educating their clients preparing to visit the area's sensitive manatee zones. In addition to the obligatory 10-minute U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service informational video supplied to all dive shops conducting manatee tours, the couple spends additional time as well, going over the do's and don'ts of being around manatees in their habitat.

"We are very concerned about safety of people and manatees," Pavla said. "Manatees are very intelligent. They will let you know when they are not interested in being touched. We make sure our clients realize that."

The Reeds also are dedicated volunteers for local manatee protection groups including Manatee Watch. Being residents in an area so commercially tied to the endangered species, they have concerns about its exploitation for the sake of profit.

"I sometimes feel sorry for manatees," Pavla said. "You go to a spring and you see 20 boats surrounding a few manatees. They get little peace. We all need to make sure that we do the right things that will allow us all to enjoy them forever."

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