Marquesas Keys and Dry Tortugas

Last week, we enjoyed our time with friend Andra.  Fortunate enough to again have the use of her rental car, we drove to Key West, the beach and did a big grocery shop in town in preparation for our trip to the Dry Tortugas.  It was a great few days.  We enjoyed a fun meal at Keyviche' in Key West, toured Crane Point, over 60 acres of hardwood hammock and mangroves right here in Marathon, walked on the beach and enjoyed meals at the local tiki bars.  It was great to share time with Andra.

Andra and Sharon on Sombrero Beach

Greg and Andra walking the trails at Crane Point

The Florida Bay from Crane Point

Andra said goodbye mid-day Friday, March 11 and we dug into chores in preparation to leave early Saturday morning.  Our kind dock neighbors showed up at 6:45am on Saturday to help us leave the dock and off we went.  Setting a course due North and then turning West, we pulled out the big genoa, then hoisted the mainsail and sailed the entire 80 miles to the Marquesas Keys.  With the wind on our port quarter and waves behind, we were pushed all the way and dropped the hook off the beach at 6:25pm.  It was a banner day and so delightful to be sailing again!

Sunrise at the Marquesas Keys

Captain Greg

Sailing to the Dry Tortugas

With the start of Daylight Savings Time, we got a later start on Sunday, pulling the main up, bringing up the anchor and heading West at 272 degrees.  Once again, it was a great sailing day, and shorter than the previous day. This day we covered only 40 miles.  We had a couple of turtle sightings and a bunch of baby and full-sized Portuguese Man O'War.  We finally made our way into the Dry Tortugas National Park around giant Fort Jefferson by mid-afternoon.  It was a treat to see Cutter Loose already sitting at anchor as we entered the small harbor.  Cutter Loose had sailed from Marco Island, Florida overnight to arrive by early morning.  (You can click on their boat name to see their blog if you're interested and any of the other hot-links underlined in the copy for more information.)

The Dry Tortugas National Park, a cluster of seven islands, sits out at the west end of the fourth largest living reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Apo Reef in the Phillipines, and the Mesoamerican Reef off Belize. Starting up around Key Largo, the reef protects the Keys all the way to Key West and 70 miles beyond to the Dry Tortugas; a total of 221 miles.  First named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) in 1513 by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, the reefs soon read "Dry Tortugas" on mariners' charts to show they offered no fresh water.  By 1829, the United States knew it could control navigation to the Gulf of Mexico and protect Atlantic bound Mississippi trade by fortifying the Tortugas.  Fort Jefferson construction started on Garden Key in 1846 and continued for 30 years but was never finished.  During the Civil War the Fort became a Union military prison for captured deserters and also housed four men who were complicit in President Lincoln's assassination.  The Army abandoned the Fort in 1874.

In 1908 Bird Island, now joined to the main island, became a wildlife refuge to protect the sooty tern rookery.  The National Park Service has resident staff occupying small areas in the Fort as well as some outbuildings on Loggerhead Key, two miles NW of the fort.  There is ongoing research above and below the sea.  Each day, a large ferry boat arrives from Key West bringing 175 tourists who want to experience the local snorkeling and tour the Fort.  Seaplanes come and go twice a day bringing a few passengers, landing and taking off only 50 yards from the anchorage, providing a really fun sight.  There are eight camping sites right in front of the Fort that were full of small tents And a couple of dive boats came and went while we were there.  The harbor is small and deep and we shared it over the three days we were there with no more than eight other boats.

The area reminded us very much of the Caribbean and the Bahamas.  There is beautiful clear blue water, white sandy beaches and lots of aqua and blue colored sea beyond.  There are all kinds of tropical fish to be seen below the water, warm water lobsters, and plenty of healthy and unique corals.  The sooty terns and brown noddies were in residence and very active.  There is also a nurse shark nursery, but it was off limits, and we did not see any nurse sharks this trip.  The only turtles we saw were floating on the water as we made our way out and back.  You have to keep a sharp eye out and get lucky to see them as once they see you, they dive deep.  The Park is a beautiful and remote spot.  We felt very fortunate to be able to travel there on our own boat.

Click on any photo to enlarge and zoom

Fort Jefferson 

Dream Catcher on the left and Cutter Loose on the right

Looking East

Ranger Mike conducting a Moat Tour

Inside the Fort

Replica of one of the Cannons

Greg and Eric

Sharon, Pat and Eric

Magnificent Frigate Birds

Day One was a late afternoon swim and adult beverages aboard Cutter Loose.  Day Two included a Fort tour, Moat tour, a $7 lunch aboard the Key West Tour boat, and a snorkel around the fort walls.  Day Three involved a two-mile dingy ride to Loggerhead Key, snorkeling and walking the beach.

Loggerhead Key

Beach on Loggerhead Key

West end  

When we took the Fort tour, we learned that only a couple days before our arrival to the Park, this boat arrived with 19 Cuban refugees aboard after being at sea for a week due to high winds and seas.  We were unaware of the "dry-foot" privilege these immigrants aspire to.  If a Cuban refugee can get one foot on US soil, he can stay and begin the process for legal immigration.  Cuban immigrants are the only ones in the world who enjoy this preferential traetment.  This is a result of decades of immigration from Cuba and the US decision to welcome rather than return these people.
South Florida is a haven for Cubans.  Over one million Cubans now live in Florida and another million in other parts of the US.  Cuba's population is under 12 million.

We all agreed that one has to really want to get out to travel with 18 others across 100 miles of ocean in this homemade tub and hope to land in a remote area, counting on the good graces of the Coast Guard to be kind enough to transport you back to Key West to enter the immigration system.  We also saw abandoned, broken up boats on the shores of the Marquesas Keys. We've heard and read that between one forth and one half of those who attempt to cross the Florida Straights from Cuba to the US die on the way - very poor odds indeed!

This is a handmade boat with an old marine engine; called a "Chugg" for the noise the engine makes when underway.  

We finally got a chance to try out the GoPro underwater and here is what we were able to capture.

Sharon enjoying the giant fish tank!

Squirrel Fish, Parrot Fish

Blue Headed Wrasse

Blue Tangs

These were with the regular camera.

Dream Catcher and Cutter Loose at anchor in the Dry Tortugas

These guys were hanging out underneath Dream Catcher on and off for a couple days.
They are "Jewfish" each was about four feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds.  They are in the Grouper family.  

Though we would have loved to stay for a week, we checked the weather and saw a cold front approaching by Sunday, bringing stronger north winds. We knew it was risky to stay much longer.  So, by 8am on Wednesday we had the anchor up and were on our way.  We motor sailed with the full main up and made our way East, the 40 nautical miles to the Marquesas Keys.

Before we left for this trip we asked many others if they had any advice.  The most common reply was that the trip to the Dry Tortugas is often OK, but the trip back can be awful because the dominant winds are from the east - the way back to Marathon.  Many bash for two days to get home.  We even heard stories of people giving up sailing as a result of a very bad return trip.

We got incredibly lucky with weather. We had a beautiful downwind sail to get to our destination and easy and flat seas returning.  We were were very fortunate to have the conditions we did.  We took our time and spent a night at anchor in the Marquesas, and a night at anchor off Sawyer Key, just 25 miles from Marathon.  The snorkeling at Sawyer Key was really different.  Unique corals of varying colors, lots of barrel sponge, a four foot Barracuda (!) and a southern stingray.  Too bad we didn't have the GoPro with us!

Our last day out, we had very flat seas and motored our way back.  Check out Cutter Loose's blog for additional info and photos of the trip together.  Here is a last shot of them as we motored similar paths back to Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL.

In two weeks, we leave for Cuba onboard Cutter Loose.  Very exciting!  'Til then -