I've lived in Florida my whole life and have swam in lakes and creeks and what not...never been sick from the algae, nor have I heard of anyone getting sick.>>>>
I think the poster meant amoeba instead of algae? There is an amoeba that lives in the bottom of lakes in Florida and I think in some of the other Southern states. It is pretty dormant in cool water, but when the air temp stays up in the 95 degree range for 4 or 5 days in a row, we people who live here stay out of the water in lakes( or at least don't stick our heads under the water). The amoeba is dislodged from the bottom as you walk, kick, or swim in the water. The amoeba enters your body through your mouth, ears, or nose. It causes your brain to swell and you have a high temperature. One of my friend's sons actually died because of the amoeba when he was 12. This was back in the 70s. A few years later there was a case at Disney and I think that is when they quit using the beaches near the hotels as swim areas. I don't remember if the child at Disney survived. I am sure there was a lawsuit though.
In our case my friend had called the county(here on the coast) to make sure the lake by their house had been checked out recently and had chemicals added. They said it was safe. The night after they went swimming he developed the fever and was dead the next night. There have only been about 100 cases of the disease but only a few people who have had it have survived. Most lakes where you swim or ski are monitored by the health departments of the counties they are in. I think if the water is flowing the problem does not exist( like a river).
As for gators not being around when you wake board etc, they seem to avoid the noise of the motor boats and jet skis. We have seen them close to shore when we are out on the lake behind our house. We always told the kids to make lots of noise even if some of the neighbors didn't like it when they were behind their houses. LOL
Hopefully just quick dips when skiing and wakeboarding are safe enough because someone always falls in and goes under. Swimming under water close to the bottom would be your most dangerous situation for getting the amoeba disease which is a big long word I can't remember the name of right now.
