Our first BIG adventure since we have been in Key West, was a trip to the Dry Tortugas! If you are anything like me, I was familiar with the name but that was about it! So, not to sound too much like a teacher, I will give you a brief overview of the "lay of the land"! Almost 70 miles west of Key West lies a group of seven islands, composed mostly of coral reefs and sand. Originally they were named Las Tortuga (the turtles) by Ponce de Leon in 1513. This was changed on the mariners' charts to Dry Tortugas to indicate there was no fresh water on the islands. In 1825, the first lighthouse was built to warn sailors about the rocky shoals that surround these islands. Thus, this is the final resting place of many vessels.
By 1829, the United States knew it could control navigation to the Gulf of Mexico and protect the Atlantic-bound Mississippi River trade if they could fortify the Tortugas. Fort Jefferson's (named after our third president) construction started on Garden Key (the largest of the islands) in 1846. Construction continued for 30 years but was never finished. During the Civil War, it was a Union military prison for captured deserters. It housed four men convicted of complicity in Abraham Lincoln's assassination. This included Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was the Dr. who helped and set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth. By the 1880's, the Fort was abandoned by the Army and then became a wildlife refuge. Fort Jefferson was proclaimed a National Monument in 1935 and was designated Dry Tortuga National Park in 1992.This would protect its scenic, cultural and marine wildlife (most notable are the birds and the loggerhead and green turtles that call this area home). So, there you have it folks, a thumbnail sketch of the Dry Tortugas.
The Tortugas can only be reached by sea or by air (sea planes). Thus, you must bring your own provisions and water with you, if you sail there, as we did. The National Parks Dept. here on Key West run a ferry to the Islands daily and give two guided tours of the Fort per day. If you want to be in the Tortugas, you are on your own to plan for your food, water and necessary things you might need (restroom facilities :) So with that information, we made a trip to Publix before we departed Key West. We were set!!!! My only "fear" was the fact there is NO communication on the Island. No phone, no internet, no TV....basically it is rather primitive!
Our trip started on Wed. May 6th. We planned to make it a two day trip over to the Tortugas, with a stop over at the Marquesas Islands, which are about 23 miles from Key West. These, too, are not inhabited, but you can take your dingy to shore if you so choose. It was a very peaceful anchorage and we made a nice dinner on the boat and watched and captured on camera a beautiful sunset. After coffee and breakfast the next AM, we were off to our destination.
It was another eight hour sail to the Tortugas from the Marquesas. Not too much happens on a sailboat in open water as you sail mile after mile...but we did have some visitors. (This is a de je vous kind of a tale!!!) All of a sudden, a very small bird (perhaps the size of a wren) flew into the cockpit of our boat and landed very close to Steve. In fact, he even climbed on Steve's finger! Cute, right??? Well, he continued to fly around the cockpit and land every so often and then he was off. Pretty soon he was back and I guess he had told a "friend" that this sure beat flying and come on over! They flew around, landed, etc. until one decided to fly down into the lower level of our boat. At first, I thought this was cute to have these tiny guys on board, but NOT fly in our kitchen and bedroom. So, I sent Steve to chase them out....once again, I am not the animal/bird girl. Once that was accomplished, we put the door in the opening. Finally, I'm watching our new little friends, when one starts to fly to the other side of the boat BUT didn't quite make it and landed in my hair! Okay, that's it! I am not enjoying this anymore! End of story, a few miles from our destination they both flew off. Probably to be at home on the huge bird sanctuary on the Island.
Fort Jefferson is a huge structure and takes up most of Garden Key. You can start to see it in the horizon many miles before you arrive. The water is the beautiful aqua color of the Caribbean and is rather shallow considering you are in Gulf. It made a magnificent sight as we sailed in to where we were going to anchor next to the Fort. The only other Island that tourists can visit is Loggerhead Island, which is named after the loggerhead turtles that call it "home". They and the green turtles are protected in this area. It is the season for them to come on shore and lay their eggs, so the Park Rangers are always on the look out for turtle nests. They have approximately 250 nests yielding 15,00 hatchlings each summer. We sailed past Loggerhead as we approached Fort Jefferson. Both islands are what I call "postcard material". I'm no photographer, but the pictures I took of the lighthouse and surrounding water I just love!
We spent two nights anchored off of Garden Key surrounded by about 8 to 10 other boats. At night on the sand outside the Fort, there is room for 8 campsites. They must bring all of their provisions on the Ferry (tents, kayaks, food, etc) Our first day there, we took a dingy ride (three miles) over to Loggerhead Island. This is where the old lighthouse still stands. The last light was removed a few years ago and is now on display at the National Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, VA. It states that this light could be observed at a distance of 53 miles. This area can be a dangerous place, as more than 250 shipwrecks have been documented in these waters. When we landed on the island, we noted four kayaks on the shore. Soon we met the owners who were from Texas...yee haw! They had paddled their kayaks over and were spending the day snorkeling and viewing one of the wrecks off shore. We were, also, met by the Park Rankger. She was very informative and gave us some facts about the Island. She and her husband (a retired Park Ranger) were working for one month on the Island. Their so called base is Rocky Mountain National Park and she will return to that job the end of this month. They, too, must bring provisions for a month with them and do not leave the Island in that months time. The ferry will bring them milk or a few other items if they should run out, but they are there for a month. Solitude!!!!! Steve did some snorkeling and I just soaked in the sunshine and beauty. It was quite beautiful.
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Beginning of a Palm Tree |
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| A Frigate Bird |
On the same Island, is the bird sanctuary which can only be viewed by water from January through October. Many songbirds and other migrants fly over or nest in the Dry Tortugas. The islands lie across a principal flyway between North America and South America. Many gulls, terns and migratory shore birds winter here. Our favorite bird to watch was the frigate bird. It is large with a seven foot wingspan and a v-shaped tail.
Saturday morning, Steve listened to the marine weather report which is headed by a weatherman named Chris Parker. Steve has used his services when he has crossed the Gulf. As I mentioned, I am a fair weather sailor so any reports of higher winds or seas is not to my liking. Bottom line, when Steve called Chris on the marine radio, his suggestion was to set sail on Saturday morning (as he spoke) and head back to Key West. OR, we could wait until Sunday, as we had planned, and have a "bumpy ride" for 12 hours. That answered our question....pack up and let's go! We did have a beautiful sail home, but didn't arrive in our marina until 10:00 PM. It had been quite an adventure and we were able to see many beautiful sights! If you ever have the chance to go there, we highly recommend the trip!