Key West is a very unique place. For those who have never visited this place, let first say it is a crossroad on the planet for mariners from the four points of the globe. It is also a large version of Port Aransas in that it is coastal and has three types of mariners: cruisers, vacationers and vagrants. There are at least two major anchorages where active cruisers and derelicts occupy waters just outside the reaches of the rules. Said rules being those of no discharge. This marina, for instance, does not allow discharge of grey water meaning that technically, one cannot wash dishes aboard without capturing the water in a holding tank. Give the high count of Tarpon in the marina, it appears to be working.
This place has a very evident gay community. It has cruise ships that can raise the population drastically in an instant and it has many quirky attractions. For instance, Mel Fisher found the Atocha not far from here. There was over 56 tons of treasure aboard and there is a museum here where you can actually hold a gold ingot. I should say you can touch it but no one has figured out how to get it out of the case. Chickens and cats are everywhere as are reminders of the maritime heritage. The locals tolerate the tourists and the Navy. The Navy is basically responsible for the infrastructure of Key West thanks to their efforts during WWII to build power generation facilities and harbors.
Yesterday, while walking down the dock to the boat, I heard someone call my name. It turned out to be Safari, our friends from Port Aransas. We thought they were in the Bahamas, but they were approaching the docks here. They sailed here to spend some time visiting. We have not seen them since starting our cruise in January. It was the highlight of the day.
Back to KW. Almost everything is within walking distance of the dock. There are four marinas on the bight of the harbor and that means many boats of all types. There are several schooners some of which are very old. One is the Western Union which was the last schooner to be built in Key West. He duties was to run cable from Nova Scotia to South America. Now, she takes tourists to sea at sunset. She and the others are a beauty to see at sunset just off shore. There is very high speed motorized catamaran that makes the 70 mile run to Dry Tortugas every day. We saw this vessel underway and I am guessing that it was making 40 knots or more.
We plan to spend a few more days here to plan (sort of) our next cruising destinations and to do some work on the boat. More to the point, we have achieved our first objective and need to pick the next. We think the next objective is the Chesapeak Bay but not too quickly. Admittedly, we sailed passed many attractions on the way down the west coast of Florida. Then again, it is good to be past the oil spill off the Louisiana coast. This morning, the slick reached Dauphin Island which we remember as one very pretty place.
This place has a very evident gay community. It has cruise ships that can raise the population drastically in an instant and it has many quirky attractions. For instance, Mel Fisher found the Atocha not far from here. There was over 56 tons of treasure aboard and there is a museum here where you can actually hold a gold ingot. I should say you can touch it but no one has figured out how to get it out of the case. Chickens and cats are everywhere as are reminders of the maritime heritage. The locals tolerate the tourists and the Navy. The Navy is basically responsible for the infrastructure of Key West thanks to their efforts during WWII to build power generation facilities and harbors.
Yesterday, while walking down the dock to the boat, I heard someone call my name. It turned out to be Safari, our friends from Port Aransas. We thought they were in the Bahamas, but they were approaching the docks here. They sailed here to spend some time visiting. We have not seen them since starting our cruise in January. It was the highlight of the day.
Back to KW. Almost everything is within walking distance of the dock. There are four marinas on the bight of the harbor and that means many boats of all types. There are several schooners some of which are very old. One is the Western Union which was the last schooner to be built in Key West. He duties was to run cable from Nova Scotia to South America. Now, she takes tourists to sea at sunset. She and the others are a beauty to see at sunset just off shore. There is very high speed motorized catamaran that makes the 70 mile run to Dry Tortugas every day. We saw this vessel underway and I am guessing that it was making 40 knots or more.
We plan to spend a few more days here to plan (sort of) our next cruising destinations and to do some work on the boat. More to the point, we have achieved our first objective and need to pick the next. We think the next objective is the Chesapeak Bay but not too quickly. Admittedly, we sailed passed many attractions on the way down the west coast of Florida. Then again, it is good to be past the oil spill off the Louisiana coast. This morning, the slick reached Dauphin Island which we remember as one very pretty place.
1 comment:
Glad you made it to KW. Say hello to the old gang, Salty Sailors and Safari. Alls well in the Hill Country.
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