Red tide and "near" collisions...

As we were quietly gliding by the Sanibel area, we found "red tide."
Red tide is a popular subject in Florida, though it happens in many different places along the U.S. coast, and perhaps the world.
Russell had heard that some scientists believe the red tide might originate from natural springs bubbling out of the sands in the Gulf. Wouldn't you know... where it looked to us the red tide was originating from, there was the word "spring" noted on the chart at that seemingly spot... hmmm...
The scientists noted the springs were difficult to find. So, perhaps there are springs we don't yet know, as there was another spot that seemed to us to originate more red tide a little further north of the first spot we ran across. The pic on the left is of the red tide. It may not be as clear in the picture as it was in person. click to enlarge the pic to get a better look...
Pic on the right is of a sailboat with which we crossed paths. When we saw and watched her approaching, you would swear we were on a direct collision course. Although we were on the right-of-way tack, we decided to veer a few degrees just in case... It's difficult to believe, with so much open water, that near and even collisions between boats occur. but, they do. what intrigues me even more is stories of sailboats sinking because of collisions with whales! now, how random is that?!?!?!?!
I'm currently reading a book written by a sailor that survived 76 days at sea on a raft after his sailboat sunk in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, he thinks potentially after being hit by a whale or other large object... He didn't witness another large object in sight, although sometimes objects floating in the oceans are just below the surface beyond our vision... yikes.