Sat, Feb 20, 2010 - Dry Tortugas, FL

In the middle of the night, the skies cleared and the stars shone brightly. We slept well and arose early enough to have breakfast and complete our boat chores in time to pull up anchor and leave shortly after 7 am. Around sunrise, the clouds came in again but we hoped it would clear up once more so we could enjoy some sunshine and warmer temperatures. The winds were out of the northeast around 12 knots which allowed us to use the sails for a boost in speed. The ride was a little bumpy and we were very glad to have extra crew along to share the time behind the wheel.

The fifty mile trip to the Dry Tortugas took us eight hours and we arrived at the park dock at 3 pm just as the excursion boats were leaving for the day. We were told that we could tie up to the dock until sunset and walk around Fort Jefferson on a self-guided tour.























We spent some time exploring the Fort and marveling at the structure itself and the difficulties that must have been encountered as the massive construction project was undertaken. Back at the dock, the guys decided to throw in a couple of fishing lines and pulled in several nice mangrove snappers for dinner. We were told to reel any catch in quickly or the huge Goliath Grouper lurking beneath the pier would grab it for himself!












After the fish quit biting, it was time to move the boat out into the anchorage. It was quite windy, but we were able to find a good spot where we set two anchors. Just as we finished with the anchor bridle, the 91-foot super yacht, Myeerah, entered the designated mooring area and squeezed into the space between the three sailboats already anchored. The park ranger advised them that it was not a good anchoring spot for vessels of her size and recommended that the captain anchor at Bird Key. Myeerah’s captain replied he had anchored here for the last seven years and never experienced any problems in the past. He continued to slide her into the small space as he dropped anchor.

After watching Myeerah settle in for the night, we relaxed in the cabin and shared a fantastic dinner of fresh snapper and rice. A little later in the evening, we noticed flashing blue and white lights out towards Loggerhead Island and into the channel. We turned on the VHF radio but weren’t able to pick up any transmissions that would give us an idea of what was happening. We thought the park ranger might have been assisting a fishing vessel or a pleasure craft into safe harbor.