La Trucha Caribbean Cruise 2005

Ship's Log

(22- 25 May, Transit Fort Myers to Dry Tortugas Key West)

Started from Fort Myers high tide 11:38a, 22 May, Sunday, motored to the sea buoy and kept motoring till way after lunch - winds from the west at about 5/6 knots allowed us to cut the engine and start sailing.  On my watch sometime after 3p caught our first fish of the whole trip:  a 2 foot baracudda, we wound up throwing him back in.  Winds since that time have picked up, and we are making about 6 or so knots - expect an early arrival in the Tortugas sometime before lunch tomorrow.

Hope to stay some 3 or so days in there - we have lots of water and fuel - and with luck by that time the winds will have turned around to the east so we can get going for Houston.  That's most likely gonna take a good 7 or so days.

Stood the ole' 3 hours on 3 hours off all last night, Sunday night, woke up in the morning and we were just 15 or so miles out from the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson.  Dropped the hook about 11:30a or so, dove the anchor to check it out, dropped the dink and motor, ate bacon alfredo for lunch and Jim and I dinked into check out the fort.  I swam a good part of the sea wall, which was infinitely easier than walking it barefoot - hot concrete.  Jim went back while I spent about 2 hours alone in the fort following the self-guided tour.  What a place - History on Fort Jefferson goes way back.  Finished the tour at the  boat boarding dock, where some guy was cleaning fish, and feeding 3 huge grouper.  Each one could have weighed a 1000lbs.  Got back to the boat, where the anchorage is filling up if not full.

Fort Jefferson moat shot from the drawbridge (with 2000 soldier/prisoners it was a septic ditch)

Anyway, that was Monday - each evening if one wanted you could look down and see nurse sharks, skates, big jew fish (1000lbs?), and all kinds of sea life.  Tuesday morning we watched a lot of the boaters, power and sail, take off for fishing or diving spots.  Me I waited on the big ferry boats and passenger sea-planes and decided to swim in to shore.  Yesterday, Jim had to pick me up after I toured the fort, didn't need to be dinked about, so I provided my own transpo with fins, snorkel and mask and dive bag.  I used an empty gatorade bottle for flotation and loaded up the dive bag with shirt, sandals, sunglasses, bullfrog sunscreen, money, etc. all wrapped in plastic.  I used a lead weight to help steady the whole contrapation with a string and took off between the boats.  I checked on our anchor first, which was in about 20 feet of water (about my limit) and took off for the Fort with a beeline.  Spent the day with the tourists off the boat and the campers, snorkeling and walking the fort.  Met some interesting people too.  Timed my return contigent on the big boat schedules -  got back no problem - though I must make quite a sight with my dive bag in tow weaving thru the boats with everyone watching from their cockpits.

Sea plane ferry Key West to Fort Jefferson ran through-out the day carrying up to a dozen passengers

Weds, mostly more of the same, except for the evening - day before the Fort Visitor Center's cashier told me about a candle lit procession for Weds evening starting at 8p.  So Jim and I  got dressed for it and dinked in about 7:30p.  Lead  Park Ranger was dressed out in 69th New York Artillery, dress uniform.  He took us on a tour, shooting a rifled musket, telling us about all the Civil War stuff, and finished up the tour on ramparts.  Being a Civil War, I was eating this up.  He also told us the sad prisoner tales too.  Especially, Dr. Mudd, the Maryland Doctor incarcerated here for setting John Wilkes Booth's leg.  The Fort as the sign says was not a happy place. 

He also talked about the ongoing renovation to completely save the structure from sinking into oblivion.  You could see the work going on daily.  He concluded, and Jim and I after dropping off a couple of guys at a fishing boat dinked back and called it a night.

Inside Fort Jefferson, parade ground where the soldier/prisoners marched and trained (16 million brick)

We're still waiting for that mystical weather window to open; plans as of today, Thurs am, 26 May, is to move on over to Loggerhead key and take off tonight.  Variable winds expected tonight turning into SE winds for the weekend.  So, not so great, but doable.

.