Key West to Dry Tortugas and return to Boot Key Harbor
3/26/2004 through 4/7/2004

Today is the 7th of April and we are at anchor in Boot Key Harbor at Marathon again having arrived here on Sunday evening.  We plan on departing here in the morning, heading out Hawk Channel with the weather forecast for moderate SW winds for a day or so and then light winds through the weekend.  Hopefully that will allow us to spend some time snorkeling on parts of the reef as we head north.


We spent four nights anchored off Key West with the wind blowing hard enough to keep the batteries charged with the wind generator most of the time.  We took the water taxi into town the first day so we wouldn't have to walk around town looking like drowned rats.  We weren't anchored all that far out, but all it takes is one good wave to get us wet and salty in our small dinghy.  We learned the couple who run the taxi work at it 7 days a week from 6:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night.  They have a couple of kids they take to school via the taxi and take time out for family dinners every day (no taxi service for an hour or so).  Other than that, one or the other is busy ferrying folks between their boats and the dock.

It was fun walking around Key West (especially when there weren't any cruise ships and associated crowds in town).  We visited the Mel Fisher museum - he's a diver who found the wreck of the Spanish Galleon "Atocha" who managed to keep what he found, $200 million in gold, silver, and other artifacts, after multiple battles with the state of Florida, the US government, and even the Spanish government trying to lay claim to the treasure.  Since it took some 20 years, finding treasure isn't necessarily a get rich quick thing.  A National Geographic TV documentary was produced about his search and his troubles with all those who wanted to lay claim the treasure.



Sunday was "chores" day.  Since there wasn't a laundry facility at the marina where we docked the dinghy, we got to see a not so touristy section of Key West which was interesting in it's own way.  We ran into the wife of the water taxi team at the laundromat and had a chance to chat with her and get some tips for local shopping.

For a portion of one day while we were in port we were blessed with no cruise ships.  It made getting around much easier.  They dump hundreds of people into a relatively small area, and when there's more than one in port (there were 3 ships one day), it can be hard to get around.  The cruise ships are a mainstay Key West's economy, so when they are in town herds of tourists on jet skis would go out, the Conch Train, tour boats, restaurants, and sidewalks would be packed with people.  There is also a fleet of schooners that take people out for day or a evening sunset sail. While we were in town, they had enough wind to make them move.  We entered the harbor behind one, and it was a thrill seeing them under sail.

After spending Monday doing more sightseeing while waiting for the winds to settle down a bit, we departed for the Dry Tortugas on Tuesday morning.  We had a great sail out to the Marquesas, a group of keys that are similar to an atoll in the Pacific. There is a protected anchorage inside the keys, but we had been warned it was hard to enter, so we anchored south of the keys and did some exploring with the dinghy. The guide book said there are a few houses in the Marquesas, but we didn't see any.  There were numerous "flat" boats out fishing the flats.  These boats draw very little water and have a poling platform on the stern where the boat can be propelled by a long pole in very shallow water.  We snorkeled on a patch of coral that was noted on the chart.

The next morning we got an early start to head for Dry Tortugas.  This was a day without much wind, so after setting the main, we opted to motor sail to arrive before dark.  We had a bunch of dolphins join us for part of the way.  At least one was a baby.  They would roll and look at us from just off the bow to see if we were still coming.  Leonard got some movies of them.

It was exciting to spot the Tortugas on the horizon.  They are far enough from the Marquesas that you are out of sight of land for several hours.  There were more boats in the anchorage at Garden Key than we anticipated, but we found a spot to drop the hook.  We shared the anchorage with other pleasure craft and fishing boats as well as millions of sooty terns and brown noddies that use adjacent Bush key as their primary rookery.  One of the park rules is that all vessels in the park (100 square miles) must be anchored within 1 nautical mile of Garden Key.

Fort Jefferson is quite an impressive sight being this massive brick, 2 1/2 story structure - not all of the 3rd level was ever finished - in the middle of nowhere.  We went ashore to tour the fort before the tour boats arrived from Key West.  We did the self guided tour in the morning, and, after dark, we were lucky to catch a candle-light tour by one of the park rangers dressed in a Union Civil War uniform.  He gave those of us from boats in the harbor and the few people camping on the key, a very informative tour with a demonstration of how the soldiers loaded and fired their Enfield rifles.

The fort, called the Gibraltar of the West, was built as a deterrent to war.  We couldn't imagine why anyone would want to build a fort that far from land, but it makes sense once you realize the fort protected a prime anchorage that could be used by war ships. The protection from the surrounding reefs provided safe harbor during storms and the fort could reprovision the ships with food and water. These war ships could then protect the channels that lead to the east coast, Florida and all of the Gulf Coast.  The fort was started in the 1840's and was planned to be the largest of all the coastal forts being built.  Fifty one coastal forts were constructed in the states during this period.  Forty eight are still standing, most of which are state or national parks now.

During the construction, which is basically mortar poured between brick forms, the massive weight of the structure caused it to sink.  The sinking caused cracks that eventually allowed the huge cisterns built under the fort to collect rain water - the only source of fresh water - to be contaminated by sea water.  The fort was never finished.  Construction stopped in 1870's after the invention of the rifled cannon which could fire a shell through the brick walls. It became a wildlife refuge in 1908 and a national park in 1992.

Its cannons were never fired in battle, but prior to receiving ammunition for the cannons, the fort commandant threatened to blow a hostile ship out of the water (with his unloaded cannons) if the ship didn't leave. He was successful in his bluff. The fort was used as a prison during the Civil War which would make Alcatraz pale in comparison. The living conditions were terrible with bacteria laden drinking water and the moat doing sewer duty as well as preventing escape. The most notable prisoner was Dr. Mudd who was convicted of conspiracy for treating John Booth who broke his leg while assassinating President Lincoln.  Up to 2000 soldiers and prisoners were at the fort during the peak occupancy.  Now the park service has 12 rangers and staff living in portions of the fort.  Lack of water and outbreaks of yellow fever caused the fort to be abandoned.

Most visitors to the key arrive by high speed tour boats or float planes.  The plane and tour boats arrived about 10 AM and departed by 4 PM.  At all other times the place is nearly deserted except for a few campers and boaters.  The planes would make a low pass to check wind conditions, then land and many times, taxi through the anchored boats.

Other than Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, the only other area accessible to the public is Loggerhead Key, a skinny 3/4 mile long key, with a lighthouse located about 3 nautical miles west of the fort.  We went to Loggerhead Key twice to walk the beach around the island and snorkel. The only other place to walk is the mote wall around the fort which is 0.8 miles once around.  We walked the mote wall to view the sea life.  Some of the park service personnel used it as a jogging path.

We had good winds to head back east since it had switched to the northwest after we arrived at Garden Key, so we departed on Saturday heading back to the Marquesas.  Leonard had given me a hard time when we had anchored there on the way out for being a nervous Nellie.  He was sure we could have anchored in this big sandy patch to assure good holding, so this time I didn't say a thing, and as I was starting to drop the anchor in the sand he yelled not to anchor, we were aground! Apparently it was really a sand bank, so we backed off and set the hook a bit further out.

With the winds still blowing out of the northwest on Sunday, we made such good time that we decided to skip Key West on the return trip.  I had enough food for a few more days, and besides, there were two cruise ships tied up at the wharf.  We easily made the anchorage at New Found Harbor.  I wondered if Leonard was going to spring for a dinner at Palm Island, the movie set of "PT 109" about John Kennedy's military service, which is now a VERY posh resort.  No such luck, we don't have appropriate clothes along anyway.  The guests either arrive by their own boat or are transported out to the key in classic wooden launches from shore.

In the morning we decided to try snorkeling which is reported to be good off the entrance to the harbor.  We weren't at the designated site, but Leonard set a way point on the GPS for some charted coral heads which we found using the dinghy.  There were literally hundreds of fish so we had a great time looking at them.  We took advantage of the light winds to go check out Sombrero Reef off Marathon.  Here we  were able to pick up a mooring which made it easier to snorkel.  The water was clearer here and lots of fish were near the surface, so it was like swimming in an aquarium with fish below us and also at eye level.

We spent the night outside of Boot Key Harbor in order to catch the sunset and watch the full moon rise.  Several other boats, including one pirate ship that fired several shots at the sailboats, were anchored out there with us.


We went into Boot Harbor in the morning and once again managing to find a spot to drop the hook among the moorings and what appear to be permanently anchored vessels.  It would be great to have a movie of the action in the harbor and also of the folks at the Dockside Cafe where we land the dinghy.  We decided to partake of Margarita night at the Dockside on Tuesday. There is live entertainment every night (actually from our perspective we had a hard time deciding which was more entertaining, the "paid" or the clientele).  The singer/guitar player was good, as was the singing waiter, but one gentleman looked like he should do a commercial for Energizer batteries.  He managed to dance with most of the good looking women the the place, and to also dance or twitch to every beat.

Then there are the regular local live aboards, who were just as interesting to watch.  The place gets mobbed, so we were joined by another couple who are cruisers like us.  Every time we went through the bar (it's on the way to the grocery), Leonard wished he could document the characters sitting there, but even with our digital camera, he would have been too obvious.

We also had an interesting sailor anchored ahead of us.  We'd seen him at the dingy dock, with a small, flat bottomed punt boat rowing his way through the tied up dinghies.  He'd returned to his boat (a raft of 2 20-23 foot sailboats) one afternoon, with a large, empty, plastic laundry bag that had a pair of red shorts tied to it.  A gust of wind blew the bag overboard, and in spite of having the punt and another dinghy tied to his boat, he dove into the water to swim after it.  While the water quality has obviously been cleaned up in recent years with the advent of the pump out vessel, it is not exactly what one would classify as pristine and we'd never seen anyone else go for a swim.

Since the bag had air it it, it moved at a pretty good clip toward the mangrove flats behind us, faster than the guy was swimming.  Leonard got in our dinghy about the same time as someone from another boat who appeared to know the guy got into his.  Leonard rescued the bag and offered to return it, and him, to his boat which he declined. He started to swim back with it, proceeding to put the shorts on while swimming.  After a great deal of effort, he was persuaded to get into the other dinghy.  This was no mean feat as it was a hard dinghy with a bit of a flat prow, and involved much heaving and pulling on part of the dinghy driver.  Once in the dingy, he insisted on standing up on the bow trying to balance while being ferried back to his boat.  Back at his boat, he tried to jump back aboard, lost his balance, and fell back into the water.  The other dinghy driver had enough of his shenanigans and left him to his own devices.

We had a chance to catch up with our friends on "Mon Amie" and get filled in on all the harbor news as they have been on a mooring since we left for Key West.  They plan to start heading back to Maine later this month.  The other Maine boat "Persephone" had already left.  These are the two boats that were in Key Biscayne with us and followed us to Lignumvitae Key on the way out.  They also had spoken with the local harbormaster and by next year the majority of the harbor will be all moorings, with space for only about 20 vessels to anchor at the entrance.  It would be interesting to watch them dislodge some of the anchored boats that look (and have been) anchored in the same place for years.

Long Key Thursday Night 4/8/2004

With our chores done, we departed Boot Key Harbor and went back out to Sombrero Reef for more snorkeling on Thursday morning.  The snorkeling was so good we stopped early for the night at Long Key with plans to do more snorkeling in the morning at Hen and Chickens Reef.  Coming in to Long Key, we noted a sailboat that appeared to be strangely anchored in the shallow waters to the east side of the channel.  When we got closed it it was obvious he was hard aground with the water still dropping.  We had noted the buoys were not as charted and one could be easily mislead if you didn't look twice.  We arrived just before low tide and the boat was still aground when we went to bed at 11 PM.  High tide was about midnight and we awoke in the morning to find him anchored behind us, and pulling up his anchor before anyone saw him.

Rodriquez Key Friday Night 4/9/2004

We are anchored off Rodriquez Key by Key Largo.  We didn't go very far today, Good Friday, so we could do more snorkeling.  First at Hen and Chickens, which is in Hawk Channel, where we saw many fish, a green moray eel, and hugh ray partially buried in the sand.  After about an hour in the water, we decided to go out the Molasses Reef Site located on the reef's edge.  It was somewhat rougher but we went out twice because there were so many fish - more then we can remember.  We saw our first shark of this trip as well as people in scuba gear swimming underneath us.  It is fascinating to look off to the side and see schools of fish swimming at eye level.  Some fairly big fish swam up to us at Molasses Reef as if expecting to be fed.

I wish I could describe how beautiful the colors of the water are.  It is like having all the blue and green hued crayons in the really big pack of Crayolas we had as kids. We've tried to capture it on the camera, but even with digital, it doesn't do justice to the beauty of or the variety of the colors.  I don't know what all causes the variations beyond depth, bottom cover and location. Inside the reef most of the colors tend to be more of a blue green cast and change from light aqua to green and all the colors in between almost continually, while the Gulf Stream the colors tend to be vivid blues and more constant.

At Hen and Chickens Reef and New Found Harbor the water has a distinct greenish cast with visibility of about 20 feet, while out on the ocean side reefs, it is almost crystal clear and it is hard to judge how far down the bottom is.  It is amazing how far down you can see in calm waters.  The first day at Sombrero Reef you didn't even have to get into the water to see a wide variety of fish because the water was so calm.

Many of the reefs at the edge of the channel are made up of ridges of coral separated by small sand valleys.  It is fun to snorkel along a ridge, then check out the sand and look at the next batch of coral. The water temperature here (74 - 77) isn't as warm as it was in Belize, but when everywhere you look you see fish, a variety of hard corals, sponges, and waving soft corals you tend to forget about temperature. With the added buoyancy of the salt water it also makes it easy to just bob along the wave tops when it is choppy.

Vero Beach Sunday Afternoon 4/11/2004

We spent Friday night anchored off Rodriquez Key by Key Largo and had a quite night with light winds.  Saturday morning we went to two more snorkel sites.  The first was Turtle Rocks which is midway be the outer reef and Key Largo.  The water was not as clear but we did see a large hawksbill turtle and a spotted moray eel as well as many types of coral and fish.  The second spot was Long Reef at the edge of the reef where the water was clearer.  We didn't find any moorings so we anchored at a likely looking spot.  There were fewer fish but more  types of coral.  We also had a little sucker fish (6 inches long) that wanted to attach itself to us.  We had to keep chasing it away.

Since the weather forecast was light southerly winds for Saturday night with a cold front and return of northerly winds by Tuesday night, we decided to do an overnight offshore passage and ride the Gulf stream north and stop at Vero Beach Sunday night.  By doing so, we avoided the Miami/Palm Beach area bridges, the weekend boat traffic (which frequently feels like one huge wake), and picked up to a 2 knot boost from the Gulf Stream.  The total distance was about 150 miles or 30 hours sailing time.

It was an uneventful night of mostly motor sailing and we returned to the ICW at Ft. Pierce inlet and proceeded north to Vero Beach arriving around noon.  We are on a municipal marina mooring rafted with a motor sail boat from New York.  We hope to do some exploring of Vero Beach, staying here while a cold front passes through, and heading further north on Wednesday.

That's all for this section of the trip.
Leonard Rosner   4/25/2004