ST. ANDREWS BAY, FL (WFMY) -- It’s the sound of conch shells played aloud that’s bringing one small beach community together.
A time old tradition that all started with one man and a conch shell.
Every day at sunset “Cap’n Scuba” sounded his conch shell four times at sunset to celebrate the “end of a day well lived.” It was something his beach neighbors became accustomed to hearing. That is until 2013, when 84-year-old, Bill Tant of St. Andrews, Florida passed away. The tradition at that time ended but would one day come back to life, all thanks to Susan Perkins.
Perkins found a tiger stripe conch shell for sale at the Caribbean and had an idea. She brought it back to St. Andrews and with “like-tradition” started playing the conch shell, four times at sunset in memory of Tant.
But that’s when something amazing started to happen as the entire community rally around her and wanted to join in.
Now, whoever is around even if it’s just one person or 20 others all gather in the community daily at sunset to play their conch shells. A lot of friends in the community have conch shells and learn to play before joining the conch shell band at the bay.
