"Oh the Sanibel Stoop & the Sanibel Shuffle - Can he pack all his loot in his old Army duffle?" - from a poem by M. H. Greenberg

The Sanibel Stoop
(Credit: TMac Ohio from Flickr.com)

There's even a name for the bent over posture of the people who you see walking on the beach looking for treasures:  The Sanibel Stoop.


You might have noticed the new button I added on the sidebar promoting Shellabration 2012 happening on Sanibel Island February 26 - March 4.  The height of the Sanibel social shelling season is the Sanibel Shell Show & Fair which will be held March 1st - 3rd this year.  The Shellabration is week long celebration of all things invertebrate & mollusky. There will be special events from one end of the island to the other.  But one special event is seeking to immortalize the iconic stance of bending over on the beach to inspect the shells more closely and pick them up - THE SANIBEL STOOP.

On February 17  at 10 am on Bowman's Beach will be the gathering place for 208 plus shellabrators looking to set a Guinness Book of World Records for the most people doing the Sanibel Stoop in one place at one time.   There is  lots of good info in the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club's December 2011 newsletter rightly named The Junonia. 

 So if you are an amateur shellabrator or a more serious collector with a few shells under your belt (or in your bucket) it's going to be lots of fun.  I finally went to my first Sanibel Shell Show last year. Can you believe I had never been?  Sanibel is a 2 hour drive from my front door.  I pop down to the island a few times a month. (I wish I had a way of tax-deducting my tolls, parking, & gas.)  It's a magical place for beach combers and I am really looking forward to shellabrating with other shell lovers.

(Credit:  Florida Dept. of Tourism)
Shell lovers demonstrating the "Sit & Sift" method of shelling at Blind Pass on Sanibel-Captiva. I recommend a cushion, knee pads, & a hand rake to expedite the process & keep the pain to a bare minimum.


(Credit:  Fotobug on www.eons.com)
On Englewood Beach where Sharks teeth are the beach treasure du Jour, it is called the sharks tooth squat.
I collect shell books and this is one of my favorites.  "The Sanibel Shell Guide" by Margaret H. Greenberg (Copyright 1982).  The cover is vintage Sanibel.  The poem is priceless.

Comments

  1. Oh I know the Sanibel stoop, Karen. Thanks for sharing the Infos about the upcoming events. I wish I could be there... May be... :-) Jutta from Sand-and-shells

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  2. How cool, this looks like a fun adventure, thanks for sharing

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  3. Both events sound like fun - I hope you're going to both of them!!

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  4. Great post-I am now able to comment again. I so miss the ocean. My inlaws will represent me at the shellabrtion, they are there for the winter.

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  5. Last year I told myself I would be there for this year's shellebration. This year it looks unlikely. But my spirit will stoop and dip with all of you! (Thank you for showing me The Shadow!)

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  6. I always say we were separated at birth- I'm working on a post for tomorrow about the shellabration! Ha! I hope to be stoopin with you on the 17th! Should really be cool.... and maybe there will be lots of shells to boot

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  7. Wonderful post and sounds like a fabulous shellabration! I loved reading the poem from The Sanibel Shell Guide.

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  8. Oh, I see. It's the Sharks' Tooth Squat...not Stoop...I must change that word in my post!!

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