Tuesday 2/7/12. We arrived at the terminal for “Yankee Freedom II” at 6:45A and boarded at 7:30. By 8:00 we were on our way to Dry Tortugas. The 70 mile trip only took 3 ½ hours at nearly 30 mph in open water. I have wanted to go to Dry Tortugas since I first heard about it during Florida history class in grade school. Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon named the islands La Tortugas because of the hundreds of sea turtles found there. Many were captured for their meat. Storing them live on their backs they would live for weeks to be butchered fresh when needed. The term Dry was added to nautical charts years later to warn ships there was no drinkable water to be found on the islands. In that respect it is still dry today.
In route to Ft. Jefferson we encountered two rain storms although the seas remained fairly calm. Last week they had eight foot seas which the crew said made for an interesting trip. It kind of made us glad we decided not to take this trip on our boat.
Garden Key, in the Dry Tortugas chain, is the sight of Ft. Jefferson covering over 10 acres on an island of only 16 acres. Everything had to be transported there by ship. The fort is constructed of over 16 million brick purchased from the South and thousands of pieces of granite brought from New England. There are two distinct colors of brick found in the walls. The upper courses of brick are darker and were shipped in from the north after the Civil War broke out during its construction. It was a Union fort.
There is so much to say about Ft. Jefferson and the “Yankee Freedom II” the best way to share it is through the websites where you will find photos and video.
At the fort we saw an American Crocodile that lives in the moat. The picture is from quite a distance. As soon as the guide pointed it out, a group rushed along the wall to see it. That sent it into hiding under a small wooden bridge. A few minutes later it came back out and I caught a glimpse.
The 15 inch cannon barrel weighs 25 tons and was lifted into position using a wooden hoist and ropes pulled by hand. It fired a 450 pound cannon ball a distance of three miles.
Linda enjoyed riding on the extended bow over each of the pontoons.She made several trips out there on the way to the island and rode there about ¾ the way home.
It reminded me of the scene in Titanic where they rode the bow.
We arrive back at Key West at 5:30P and walked down to the south end of the island to see the sunset. It was cloudy to the west and it wasn’t as spectacular as it could have been but gathering for the sunset in Key West is an ongoing tradition.
Ft. Jefferson N24°37.714 W082°52.398
Key West N24°33.332 W081°47.809
Grassy Key N24°45.787 W080° 56.952
Just after 8:00P we were in our room on Grassy Key (Marathon). I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
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