On Sunday, February 5, we gassed up and began our trek to the Dry Tortugas. Our first stop was at Boo Boo Key, part of the Marquesas Keys. Here, the two Robins dinghyed ashore and picked up some cool shells. The next morning, we motored on a flat sea down to Fort Jefferson, on Garden Key. We went ashore for a quick but thorough tour. As you history buffs may know, Fort Jefferson was the prison where Dr. Samuel Mudd served a four-year sentence for treating John Wilkes Booth after President Lincoln's assassination. We returned to the boat and found that we had company. Rather large company. At least three goliath groupers decided that underneath Blue Bonnet was the the happening place to be. They were good company throughout the evening. After a second day of exploring the fort, we headed over to Loggerhead Key, home of a very cool decommissioned lighthouse and some neat snorkeling. From there, we sailed south for about a mile so that Bob could snorkel over the Windjammer Wreck. He saw a nurse shark and some tarpon while he was splashing about. Perhaps the weirdest part of the trip took place that night, anchored at Bird Key. Just as Bob and I would doze off, a thumping noise kept jarring us awake. After some investigation (first making sure that Robin M. hadn't fallen overboard), the only thing we found were some HUGE goliath groupers hanging out below the stern. There are supposedly groupers the size of a car in the waters around the Tortugas. Robin M. says that bumping is not grouper behavior, and that possibly nurse sharks were the culprits. We'll never know!
We are now back at Key West, anchored in the Flemming Cut. Over the next couple of days, we plan to provision for our Bahamas jaunt, do some overdue laundry, then head up to Boot Key Harbor to wait for a weather window. Cheers, all!
2 Comments
Carla feldman
2/9/2018 02:26:23 pm
I do love a grouper sandwich.
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Cindy Varricchio
2/9/2018 02:33:25 pm
Love the Dry Tortugas. Went there with Barb and Dean about 10 years ago. You two our living our dream. Couple of more years. Have fun!
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AuthorRobin and Bob recently quit their jobs, sold all their belongings, and headed south to begin a new life on the sea. Check back here to find out how life adrift is going. Archives
February 2019
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