Biggest Whelk at St. Pete Beach

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I found the biggest lightning whelk I've ever seen at St. Pete Beach. The skinny end of the shell was sticking out of the sand, and my foot came across it underwater. I grabbed it with my hand and recognized what it was. The whelk was fighting me trying to dig its way deeper into the sand. I hung onto it, dug it out, and burst out of the water with my trophy. We took some photos and then swam out to deeper water to release it back into the ocean.


Grandma Apple in the water with Alfonze.

St. Pete Beach is a friendly place for handicapped people. Parking is free if you have a handicap sign for your car. Grandma Apple is 80 years old and has bad knees. It was a short walk for her from the parking spot to the beach. The terrain at the shoreline gently slopes into the water, which made it easy for her to get in and out of the water.


Here's a another lightning whelk that Alfonze found. Later we found a live pear whelk and several olives. I don't think we've ever found so many live mollusks in one day.

More photos of shells found at St. Pete Beach