o say the Florida Muck Monster
has caused a stir in the waters of
West Palm Beach is something
of an understatement. Ever since
he (or she) first made an underwater
appearance in Lake Worth lagoon last
year to Greg Reynolds and Don Serrano of
Lagoon Keepers, the neighborhood, state,
and world-at-large have been hanging on
its every ripple. The strange wake — but
no creature — the pair sighted has been
dubbed the Muck Monster and made news
across the country.
But some people are casting a more
cynical eye on the phenomenon, and wondering if “Muckie” isn’t simply a lucrative
way for the city to dredge money from the
deep. The sea creature has already been
made an official resident by the West Palm
Beach City Commission and there have
been talks of turning the city’s new pier
into a sea-monster tourist spot complete
with a muck monster-viewing telescope
in an attempt to lure people to the waterfront area. Local restaurants in downtown
West Palm Beach and on the ICW are also
cashing in on the Muck Monster’s popularity. They’ve been running specials such
as Muck Burgers, Muck Monster Pizza
complete with muck-balls (meatballs), and
portabella muck-rooms, and there’s even
a Muck Monster Martini — made of
espresso, vodka, and Baileys Irish Cream
— offered in certain watering holes.
But the Muck Monster is also
helping worthy causes such as
LagoonKeepers.org, an organization that
removes floating debris and boating hazards from the ICW on a daily basis.
Director Greg Reynolds, the first person
to film the monster, or at least the wake, is
offering visitors to their website the chance
to buy a T-shirt for $25 that says “I’m Not
T
Muck Monster Or Marketing Magic?
Expires November 30, 2010.
The Muck Monster” to raise funds for the
Lagoon Keepers. “We never said it was a
muck monster,” says Reynolds, recalling
their first sighting.
“Don Serrano and I were on one of our
pontoon boats responding to a call about a
piling in the middle of the ICW south of
Palm Beach when we saw this weird wake.”
As there was no telltale fin like a dolphin’s,
or a swirling that would hint at a manatee,
they followed the strange phenomenon.
“As we got up near it, it disappeared, then
reappeared farther ahead, but it didn’t
break the surface.”
Though Reynolds and Serrano took
video footage of it, they thought little more
about it until Channel 5 News in West
Palm Beach got wind of the story and came
out to see if they could unearth the mys-
tery. Since the news report first ran, their
video has been the most viewed footage
the station ever experienced with over eight
million hits from around the world. Since
then, radio stations as far away as California
have wanted to talk to Reynolds. Even
David Letterman devoted a full Top 10 list
to the famed creature from the deep.
Reynolds says he’s heard all of the
accusations: “We’ve had everything across
the board from ‘you’re only doing it to
advertise’ to ‘you’re making it up.’ But
how do you explain other people seeing it
then?” Others who’ve seen the mysterious
wake include two fishermen in a flats boat
at three in the morning, a gentleman on
his dock five miles from Reynolds’s and
Serrano’s sighting and, even more impressive, the local Channel 29 News team.
The crew had come out to do a story on
the Muck Monster and the wake appeared
while they were there. To see Reynolds and
Serrano’s footage of the Muck Monster, go to
www.LagoonKeepers.org. — A.D.
PHOTO BY LAGOONKEEPERS.ORG
