I am planning to bareboat out of Key West and sail to Dry Tortugas. One week trip on a PDQ 36 catamaran from Southernmost Sailing. Anyone with input would be appreciated. First time on a cat and first time in the Keys.
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Take plenty of water and ice!!
Fort Jefferson has neither. Make sure your holding tank is up to snuff as you can't discharge sewage overboard. The park rangers will check. Check with the charter company for the latest chart updates. Some charts may still show a channel entering the Garden Key anchorage from the north. There is now a spit of sand across the channel and the daymarks have been changed to danger marks. Go around Garden Key to the north and use the channel on the west side. Try not to arrive too late in the day so you have time to pick a good spot. We chose a spot close in to the spit near Bush Key that was far from the dock but still a short row to shore. We had plenty of breeze, no waves, deep water and were well away from the seaplanes and day-trippers. Have fun. Peter H23 "Raven"
Fort Jefferson has neither. Make sure your holding tank is up to snuff as you can't discharge sewage overboard. The park rangers will check. Check with the charter company for the latest chart updates. Some charts may still show a channel entering the Garden Key anchorage from the north. There is now a spit of sand across the channel and the daymarks have been changed to danger marks. Go around Garden Key to the north and use the channel on the west side. Try not to arrive too late in the day so you have time to pick a good spot. We chose a spot close in to the spit near Bush Key that was far from the dock but still a short row to shore. We had plenty of breeze, no waves, deep water and were well away from the seaplanes and day-trippers. Have fun. Peter H23 "Raven"
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Paul Mieszczenski
Good Choice Bryan
Bryan, I tried to contact you, but your website needed a password and I was afraid to call you at work. Internet usage rules in the work place vary. The Tortugas are some of the best snorkling that I have ever done. Be sure to check with the rangers before getting in the water. There recently have been some areas that have been closed to diving and fishing and you need to check out where. The fort is AMAZING! Be careful swimming around Marquasas Keys as there were alot of sharks the last time I was there. Peter's advice is also timely. Have a great trip; PM
Bryan, I tried to contact you, but your website needed a password and I was afraid to call you at work. Internet usage rules in the work place vary. The Tortugas are some of the best snorkling that I have ever done. Be sure to check with the rangers before getting in the water. There recently have been some areas that have been closed to diving and fishing and you need to check out where. The fort is AMAZING! Be careful swimming around Marquasas Keys as there were alot of sharks the last time I was there. Peter's advice is also timely. Have a great trip; PM
P
Paul Mieszczenski
Good Choice
Bryan, I tried to contact you as you asked, but your website needed a password. Internet usage at work varies from place to place and I didn't want to risk a phone call. The Tortugas are great and the fort is AMAZING. The best snorkling I have ever done was off Loggerhead Key. Check with the park rangers as some areas have been closed to fishing and diving. If you go swimming at the Marquasas, be careful to look for sharks. Have a great trip, PM
Bryan, I tried to contact you as you asked, but your website needed a password. Internet usage at work varies from place to place and I didn't want to risk a phone call. The Tortugas are great and the fort is AMAZING. The best snorkling I have ever done was off Loggerhead Key. Check with the park rangers as some areas have been closed to fishing and diving. If you go swimming at the Marquasas, be careful to look for sharks. Have a great trip, PM
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R.W.Landau
Bryan,
Good time to go. I went last July. HOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT. Then the refrigeration went. NO COLD ANYTHING. AND NO WHERE TO BUY IT! It is a great trip if you are prepared and nothing goes wrong. The previous advise about charts is a good one. THERE IS NO PLACE TO BUY FOOD, WATER, BEER, FUEL, OR WATER! Did I say Beer. Key West was happy to get our money when we got back. If you want it, take it with you! Becareful of the anchorages. If you anchor near the Fort, there is a channel that is 30' deep. The surrounding reef is about 7' to nothing. If you lob an anchor on the 7' deep section, and you drag, your proper scope at 7' will not be enough at 30', you will run aground 180 degrees from the on coming wind by morning. On my July trip, I was not captian so I laid awake at night until we went aground. This happened 2 of 3 nights we spent at the fort. I would look into the anchorage just south of the fort. It is a little shallower and the holding is better ( this is hearsay, we did not stay there but I read an article about it). I just know that to the east of the fort you may not sleep well. It is illegal for the fisherman to sell things in the Park. If you approach them when the park rangers are not around and barter beer, you can get some pretty good stuff. Don't forget to give the rangers a cold coke, they are nice guys and don't get much social life out there. They will be by in late afternoon just to see who is there. Don't forget to drag a "dolphin smasher"( a lure with blue, green, or pink body with a clear skirt with shiny silver spots in it) behind the boat from Key West to the fort. We were pulling in fish every 20 minutes on our trip. We had some great fish dinners. Have Fun, r.w.landau
Good time to go. I went last July. HOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT. Then the refrigeration went. NO COLD ANYTHING. AND NO WHERE TO BUY IT! It is a great trip if you are prepared and nothing goes wrong. The previous advise about charts is a good one. THERE IS NO PLACE TO BUY FOOD, WATER, BEER, FUEL, OR WATER! Did I say Beer. Key West was happy to get our money when we got back. If you want it, take it with you! Becareful of the anchorages. If you anchor near the Fort, there is a channel that is 30' deep. The surrounding reef is about 7' to nothing. If you lob an anchor on the 7' deep section, and you drag, your proper scope at 7' will not be enough at 30', you will run aground 180 degrees from the on coming wind by morning. On my July trip, I was not captian so I laid awake at night until we went aground. This happened 2 of 3 nights we spent at the fort. I would look into the anchorage just south of the fort. It is a little shallower and the holding is better ( this is hearsay, we did not stay there but I read an article about it). I just know that to the east of the fort you may not sleep well. It is illegal for the fisherman to sell things in the Park. If you approach them when the park rangers are not around and barter beer, you can get some pretty good stuff. Don't forget to give the rangers a cold coke, they are nice guys and don't get much social life out there. They will be by in late afternoon just to see who is there. Don't forget to drag a "dolphin smasher"( a lure with blue, green, or pink body with a clear skirt with shiny silver spots in it) behind the boat from Key West to the fort. We were pulling in fish every 20 minutes on our trip. We had some great fish dinners. Have Fun, r.w.landau
Good points R.W.!
I wouldn't suggest anchoring on the east side of the fort either. We arrived at 3 am from Ft Myers and decided to anchor on the northeast side of the fort to wait for daylight. As the boat swung, the depthsounder readings would go from 8 feet to 38 feet, so we set 250 feet of rode. When the sun came up, we dove on the anchor and found that it had set on the side of a very steep sandbank. If you anchor on the south side of the fort you won't have this problem. The spit between Garden Key and Bush Key will also protect you from the waves. There's one other advantage to using the main anchorage...you'll have a good seat for the nightly powerboat anchoring show! The big flashy cruisers over 40 feet are best. For some reason, most powerboaters don't use enough scope. Then they start backing down hard on the anchor as soon as it touches bottom. Of course, the anchor drags...over and over again. The real fun starts when the guy on the helm gets frustrated and starts arguing with the person on the bow. Other times, the anchor just barely grabs and then drags as they're settling into the cockpit for a cold one. The resulting scramble to reset the anchor can be entertaining. Often they'll move to some other spot claiming that the holding was poor and the @#$%!! chart was no good. Then ten minutes later, some sailor will swing into the same spot and set the hook securely on the first try. Have a good trip. Peter H23 "Raven"
I wouldn't suggest anchoring on the east side of the fort either. We arrived at 3 am from Ft Myers and decided to anchor on the northeast side of the fort to wait for daylight. As the boat swung, the depthsounder readings would go from 8 feet to 38 feet, so we set 250 feet of rode. When the sun came up, we dove on the anchor and found that it had set on the side of a very steep sandbank. If you anchor on the south side of the fort you won't have this problem. The spit between Garden Key and Bush Key will also protect you from the waves. There's one other advantage to using the main anchorage...you'll have a good seat for the nightly powerboat anchoring show! The big flashy cruisers over 40 feet are best. For some reason, most powerboaters don't use enough scope. Then they start backing down hard on the anchor as soon as it touches bottom. Of course, the anchor drags...over and over again. The real fun starts when the guy on the helm gets frustrated and starts arguing with the person on the bow. Other times, the anchor just barely grabs and then drags as they're settling into the cockpit for a cold one. The resulting scramble to reset the anchor can be entertaining. Often they'll move to some other spot claiming that the holding was poor and the @#$%!! chart was no good. Then ten minutes later, some sailor will swing into the same spot and set the hook securely on the first try. Have a good trip. Peter H23 "Raven"
J
Joe Barrett
Fishing
The Tortugas are teaming with marine life. Bring a couple of fishing poles along with snorkle/dive gear. A cast net for bait is good too.I would time my aproach to arrive in daylight,which with a cat from key West would work fine provided you leave early enough.A stay at the marquesas on the way would break up the 80 miles trip a bit better.Go outside in the Florida straights for great trolling, expect to see plenty of law Enforcement on the way. Coast Gaurd Cutters,Customs speed boats, a very large Air Force plane that circled us 100 ft above the water ect.A good dinghy with engine as well so once you set your hook on the south side of Garden Key you won't have o move the boat to go exploring.Have fun maybe I'll see you there!
The Tortugas are teaming with marine life. Bring a couple of fishing poles along with snorkle/dive gear. A cast net for bait is good too.I would time my aproach to arrive in daylight,which with a cat from key West would work fine provided you leave early enough.A stay at the marquesas on the way would break up the 80 miles trip a bit better.Go outside in the Florida straights for great trolling, expect to see plenty of law Enforcement on the way. Coast Gaurd Cutters,Customs speed boats, a very large Air Force plane that circled us 100 ft above the water ect.A good dinghy with engine as well so once you set your hook on the south side of Garden Key you won't have o move the boat to go exploring.Have fun maybe I'll see you there!
B
Bryan
Thanks
Great info. We do plan on island hopping over and back. We will be there from June 7 to 14. I printed all of your post so I can make sure about the anchoring and lures. I sure don't plan on running aground twice. Now I problable want sleep at all.
Great info. We do plan on island hopping over and back. We will be there from June 7 to 14. I printed all of your post so I can make sure about the anchoring and lures. I sure don't plan on running aground twice. Now I problable want sleep at all.
R
R.W.Landau
Bryan
There is a soft crunchy sand over that reef. Anchor smart and don't worry! There was a 23 foot sail boat that just beached every night and didn't worry about anchoring. r.w.landau
There is a soft crunchy sand over that reef. Anchor smart and don't worry! There was a 23 foot sail boat that just beached every night and didn't worry about anchoring. r.w.landau
S
steven f
quick weather note
Just a quick weather note for you since everyone else covered the other stuff real well. Be careful of the wind speed and direction. I've seen the Rebecca Straights get real nasty with a solid 15-20 kts from the NE. Look at the charts and consider wind direction and what it will do to the seas. A nice ride over with the usual SE winds can become a real pounding on the return when those winds crank up to to 20+ kts or worse yet, shift to the NE with a passing front. Other than that, have fun, drink plenty of H2O inbetween your beers and you'll get in some fantastic fishing there and back.
Just a quick weather note for you since everyone else covered the other stuff real well. Be careful of the wind speed and direction. I've seen the Rebecca Straights get real nasty with a solid 15-20 kts from the NE. Look at the charts and consider wind direction and what it will do to the seas. A nice ride over with the usual SE winds can become a real pounding on the return when those winds crank up to to 20+ kts or worse yet, shift to the NE with a passing front. Other than that, have fun, drink plenty of H2O inbetween your beers and you'll get in some fantastic fishing there and back.
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