A moat complete with crocodile!

Dry Tortugas National Park, FL

Yesterday was an awesome day and one of those that I know will remain vivid in my memory.

One of the things I’ve discovered late in life is how much I like being out on the water. I guess I always have known that was the case, but it’s been highlighted by my enjoyment of some great experiences in the past few years. Day tripping on my friend Gord’s boat in Indian Arm, overnighting on a boat in the Mediterranean while in Turkey, day tripping on a boat in Dubrovnic, even ferries to and from Vancouver Island, and yesterday on a day trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. I feel so fortunate to have been able to visit one of the most remote National Parks in the US Park System.

The day was off to a ridiculously early start, partly because of the change to daylight savings early Sunday morning. The sun was barely up when we boarded the Yankee Freedom III at the ferry terminal on the Historic Waterfront in Key West, but a beautiful breakfast spread awaited us and the anticipation of a great day ahead had everyone in good spirits. The 100 foot Yankee Freedom III is a catamaran, great for it’s purpose, with two inside spaces (with groupings of comfortable chairs surrounding tables, and air conditioning) and an outside top deck, with seating both in and out of the sun. It had 4 heads, which were small, but huge compared to some I’ve been in (and my trailer toilet), which were kept really clean, and warm fresh water showers on the back deck. The staff were fabulous, especially Jeff as our guide. It was obvious how passionate he was about the islands and he did a great job of explaining the itinerary and all the processes for the day (boarding, what to do when we get to the island, etc). The food provided at both breakfast and lunch was abundant, tasty and fresh.

I had picked yesterday to go out on this trip early in my stay, even delayed departing 2 days to wait for the wind to die down a little, and it turned out to be the perfect day, weather-wise. It was a bit choppy out in the middle but nothing to upset any tummies. The trip passed quickly enjoying the sun, and conversation with fellow passengers. As the islands and fort came into sight it felt like they were just in the middle of no where, which they are. They are almost 70 miles almost due west of Key West. You can practically see Cuba from there. There are 7 islands, only 2 of which are more than just a sand bar and the islands comprise only 10% of this huge marine National Park. Historical mariner’s charts referred to this group of islands as “Dry” Tortugas, to indicate there was no fresh water available but there were lots of turtles and the name stuck. Our visit was to Garden Key where the imposing historic Fort Jefferson stands.

Upon arrival, as we disembarked, the crew set up the snorkelling equipment on the dock where there was also a boat house with change rooms and salt water shower to get rid of the sand. There were a couple of different tours offered and I took the one on fort history. I would like to have taken the nature moat walk too, (a birders’ paradise) but then I would have had to give up snorkelling/swimming. After the compulsory picture of the Fort sign, I did a bit of a reconnoitre while waiting for the tour.

Construction of Fort Jefferson, nicknamed “Gibraltar of the Gulf” started in 1846 and is the largest man-made masonry structure in the Americas. (16 million bricks went into the structure) Jeff did a fabulous job of making the history come alive with his great story telling. The fort was designed as part of the US 3rd level fortification system running along the east coast. The fort was strategically located at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico and the design was pretty amazing, although it was never used as an active fort. This fort was particularly large because there was no opportunity for reinforcements should they be necessary given it’s remote position. There was only one engagement in 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War when the Union had just arrived to take over the not-yet-completed fort and a Confederate ship from Florida who had just succeeded arrived. There was no gunfire exchanged and in fact unknown to the Confederate ship, the cannons had not yet been installed in the fort. The Union General dispatched the Confederate ship to spread the word as to how impregnable the fort would be to anyone who tried.

The fort was used as a prison during the Civil War, but it’s most famous prisoner was Doctor Samuel Mudd who was sentenced to life imprisonment for aiding John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, by setting his broken leg and allowing him to escape. Mudd was pardoned and released by President Andrew Johnson because of his treatment of prisoners suffering from a yellow fever outbreak, after all prisoners and soldiers stationed at Fort Jefferson signed a letter to the President requesting his release.

After our tour, I headed back to the catamaran to grab lunch and then headed off for my picnic on the beach. I snorkelled for an hour or so, and didn’t see much in the way of sea life althougth there were lots of people snorkelling at this spot.

The water was nice and warm but after that long I needed to warm up a bit so I went for a walk around the moat surrounding the fort. I discovered along the way that the best snorkelling was off the beach on the other side of the entrance to the fort, but I had already turned in my snorkel gear and I was running out of time. I did see a lot of fish and coral just walking along the moat….. oh yes, and about that crocodile…… there truly is one that lives in and around the island. They figure it must have been washed out from the Everglades to the islands during a hurricane but it’s managed to survive out there for several years. I didn’t see it but on the boat back one of the people I was talking to had seen it during their walk around the moat.

Then it was sadly time to leave. The trip back seemed just as fast, but could have been because I slept for part of the way! I was tired after all that sun and surf and oh, might have been the margarita. On our way back into port we motored past Mallory Square where I had watched the sun set another night. and on my way through Key West on my way back to Sugarbush Key I ran across a Burma Shave. Yup, it’s primary day here in Florida on Tuesday.