Sea turtle came to Anna Maria Island to lay a nest. She leaves with a little extra on her back

With a loud cheer from about 350 people, Bortie II, a loggerhead sea turtle, raced into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday morning after nesting on Cortez Beach overnight.

Bortie II will play an important role for as long as her satellite transmitter tracking device remains active and she is destined for online fame as part of the 12th annual Tour de Turtles, created by the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

The “marathon race” tracks several turtles that nest on Florida beaches, as well as turtles released from the shores of Panama, Costa Rica and Nevis. The turtle that tracks the most miles is declared the official winner, but the contest features other categories.

Last year, the original Bortie — named after its sponsor Bortell’s Lounge and released from Anna Maria Island — won the people’s choice award.

The turtle was temporarily detained just prior to sunrise so turtle advocacy and conservation groups could install the the tracking device.

At 8 a.m. Bortie II scurried down the beach at a pretty good pace and disappeared into the Gulf, but she won’t go far just yet.

Daniel Evans, from the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said Bortie II will likely be back onshore for another nesting within a couple of weeks. Evans said sea turtles don’t nest every year, so when they do, they typically nest four to six times in a season.

“By early August she’ll migrate to her feeding area and that typically isn’t anywhere close,” Evans said. “She may end up off the Yucatan Peninsula or off the coast of Cuba.”

Evans said Bortie II was smaller than average, and that typically has to do with diet, so it will be important to see where she is feeding. It’s not possible to age a sea turtle, but Evans estimated she may be around 30, “Or she could be 80. We just don’t know because there is no way to age a sea turtle at this time.”

All of the turtles that are tracked play a vital role in turtle conservation because their migrations often lead them to foreign countries. Evans said there are still countries that harvest the turtles for food.

“We do a good job here as far as sea turtle conservation, but there are still countries that do not,” Evans said. “One focus of this project is to gather that important data and evidence relating to conservation and share that with other countries. The more facts we can present to those countries, the better chance we have to build a relationship with them and build a stronger case for conservation.”

Friday’s event was also made possible by the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch & Shorebird Monitoring and the Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club.

Joni Koontz arrived early to get a good spot for herself and her daughter and it was the first time the pair was witnessing a sea turtle release.

“We just moved into the area from L.A. a year ago,” Koontz said. “We’ve been seeing all of the nesting sites and it definitely raised our curiosity, so when we heard about this, we definitely wanted to come. It’s pretty exciting.”

Koontz’s daughter didn’t necessarily feel the same way as she simply shrugged her shoulders, but mom brushed off her lack of enthusiasm.

“She’s excited,” Koontz said. “She’s just not too excited about me getting her out of bed early.”

To track and cheer on Bortie II, visit tourdeturtles.org and to learn more about sea turtle conservation visit conserveturtles.org. To learn how to be more involved locally, visit islandturtlewatch.com.

Evans said nesting season is going well considering last summer’s devastating red tide killed off sea turtles by the dozens.

“We are midway through and it’s been a good season,” Evans said. “Especially for greens, but for loggerheads as well.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 10:14 AM.