A beautiful gulf sunset reflected off the waters of Charlotte Harbor as three shipmates and myself set sail from Punta Gorda, Florida bound for the Dry Tortugas on Oct. 16, 1999. After nervously awaiting the passing of Hurricane Irene as she threatened to cancel the cruise, we provisioned the chartered 38-foot Island Packet cutter for our planned 5-day trip. We cast off about 1600 hours and sailed into the night and a rising moon toward these tiny islands located about 70 miles west of Key West. Twenty four hours later we anchored off of Garden Key in the imposing shadow of Fort Jefferson. In 1846, the U.S. government began construction of the massive brick fortification on Garden Key after driving the pirates out of the area. Fort Jefferson contains upwards of 50 million bricks and is the largest brick and mortar structure in the world. We took the guided tour of the fort and marveled at the 8-foot thick brick walls, masonry arches, and shark-infested moat and massive cannon that never fired a shot in anger. The US National Park service administers the Fort and the surrounding marine preserve and offers free guided tours of the fort. They are definitely worth taking, as you will learn more about the history of the fort from the park service guides than from the tourist brochures. Ponce De Leon discovered the Dry Tortugas in 1513 and named them Las Tortugas for the sea turtles that lived there. The Spanish seafarers would capture the turtles and store them on their backs in the holds of their ships, where they would live for several weeks and provide a source of fresh meat for the sailors. This caused the near extinction of the turtles and though they are still endangered, we saw several of them while on the islands. Mapmakers later renamed the islands the Dry Tortugas to warn mariners that there was no fresh water to be found on the keys. After Spain ceded their lands in North America to the U.S. Government, the Tortugas became the property of the state of Florida--yet Union troops occupied and held the fort during the Civil War. U.S. Navy ships berthed at Fort Jefferson sealed off the Gulf of Mexico during the blockade of the South. In 1861, the fort became a military prison for deserters and Confederate prisoners of war. The most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, sentenced to life imprisonment at Ft. Jefferson for treating John Wilkes Booth after Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Mudd’s sentence was commuted to four years after he treated prisoners and guards alike during a yellow fever outbreak at the prison. We stood in Dr. Mudd’s cell and imagined what it would be like to be locked up in solitary confinement, pacing in his small cell on this lonely sun-baked island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Although construction lasted 30 years, the fort was never completed and was eventually abandoned in the 1870s. In 1898 the fort was re-garrisoned and used as a coaling station for US ships during the Spanish-American war. We stood on the coal docks where the battleship Maine filled her coal bunkers for the last time before mysteriously exploding in Havana harbor a few weeks later. The last time military personnel were stationed at Fort Jefferson was during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and we saw scars where stray bullets from target practice had gouged the red brick walls. Tour boats and float planes arrived twice daily from Key West, but due to the recent passing of hurricane Irene, we were the only pleasure boat anchored in the lee of the fort. The Dry Tortugas are located in a marine preserve, so there is no fishing allowed within the preserve boundaries, and it is a no discharge zone, so make sure that your holding tank and MSD are up to the task. True to their name, the Tortugas really are dry (other than the ancient cisterns used for catching rainwater) so you must be prepared to bring your own water and provisions with you, and take away your trash when you leave. Pleasure boats are not allowed to dock at the U.S. Park Service docks, so make sure your ground tackle is adequate as well. The diving and snorkeling is magnificent on the nearby coral reefs and we encountered sharks, rays, tropical fish, dolphins, lobsters and loggerhead turtles in the crystal clear aquamarine waters. The Park Service provides some snorkeling gear but if you can bring your own you will be assured of a better fit. There is also a shipwreck nearby for serious divers to explore. Fish, lobsters and shellfish cannot be taken from the waters of the preserve, but fishing boats often anchor in the lee of the fort and will sometimes trade fish for beer. We nervously shared our anchorage with a 5-foot barracuda that took up residence in the shade under our boat. He seemed to be more curious than vicious and we settled into an uneasy truce that lasted four days as he sometimes swam within arms length of us. We removed any jewelry that could flash and attract barracudas when we were swimming or snorkeling. We spent our last evening at the island swinging on the hook, barbequing steaks and offering up libations to the winds to blow us back home. We must have overdone it, since we got more than we bargained for. Our return passage started on a bad note as we ran aground trying to cut between Garden and Bush Keys. All hands into the eighty-degree water and reversed engines got us off the bar, but don't make the same mistake we did, take the long route around Garden Key when entering and leaving the anchorage. The breeze continued to freshen on the evening watch. At about 2400, we sailed into a northerly squall that took us by surprise, and NOAA, presumably, since we heard nothing in the forecast predicting a northerly front. The squall kicked up 12-foot waves and driving rain. Half the crew was seasick (myself included) and the other half exhausted from battling the squall until the wee hours. Daylight brought some relief as the seas lay down to 8 feet and a I spotted a school of dolphins swimming in our bow wake. I felt a great sense of relief at seeing the beautiful speckled dolphins as they lead us homeward. That night we dropped the hook in the lee of Sanibel Island and fell into the bunks exhausted and relieved. Morning brought calm seas and a jog up the ICW back to Punta Gorda. Lunch was at Cabbage Key, the former home of mystery writer Mary Roberts Rhinehart and the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett’s Cheesburger in Paradise, and well worth the visit. Our journey ended with a beautiful sail across Charlotte Harbor under full canvas and into our berth at Burnt Store Marina. As we left the dock we offered one last toast to the sturdy Island Packet cutter for getting us home safely, and vowed to someday return to the magical islands of the Dry Tortugas.