Day 4 of our Yankee RV Tours Key West Fiesta began early,
with a perfect sky that looked like it was created by a painters brush on
canvas! Today was an optional tour day, but everyone at the Rally took part in
it. We are visiting the Dry Tortugas aboard the Yankee Freedom II Ferry.
They boarded by ticket numbers, we were all in the
100’s. Everyone else had boarded and the “Yankee RV” crew were the only ones left
sitting in the ferry terminal.
The Yankee Freedom III is a high speed catamaran.
Built in New England in 2012, she entered service in Key West in the fall of
2012. Powered by twin Caterpillar engines she can travel at a speed of over 30
miles per hour. This makes the Yankee Freedom III catamaran the fastest vessel
of her size out of Key West. The upper deck of the Yankee Freedom III is open
to the sea air and sights and sounds of marine life. The large, completely
air-conditioned cabin has comfortable cushioned seating and large windows all
around.
The modern galley serving a complimentary breakfast
of fresh foods and juices at sea and a delicious complete lunch served at Fort
Jefferson. In 1944, on a shore 35 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, a young
boy named Jerry Hill began taking visitors on an afternoon sail aboard his
small sailboat. It is from this childhood business the Yankee Fleet was born.
Today Jerry, his wife Carol and family operate the Yankee Fleet with vessels
located in Key West, Florida and Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Yankee Fleet in
Gloucester, Massachusetts has over 7 vessels and has grown to become New
England’s leader in whale watching excursions, deep sea fishing trips,
education, whale conservation and marine stewardship.
The Dry Tortugas National Park is almost 70 miles west
of Key West. The seas were very rough on the way out and there was a number of
people that confirmed that … me included! The Dry Tortugas are a 100-square
mile park that is mostly open water with seven small islands. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park
is known the world over as the home of magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque
blue waters, superlative coral reefs and marine life, and the vast assortment
of bird life that frequents the area.
If you have ever wondered where the name “Dry
Tortugas” came from, you’ve come to the right place! When Spanish explorer
Ponce de Leon discovered the island in 1513 he was amazed by the amount of sea
turtles he saw; they were everywhere! He decided to name the island after the
magnificent animals and gave the island the name “Las Tortugas” which is
Spanish for “the turtles.” Despite its beauty and abundance of nature, fresh
water was scarce on the island, and the word “dry” was added to the name to
warn sailors and visitors that they needed to bring their own fresh water to
drink.
The area is known for its treacherous reefs, and in
1825 a lighthouse was built on Garden Key to warn ships and guide them toward
safety. At the time shipwrecks were common, and with underwater wrecks dating
back to the 1600s. The Dry Tortugas currently possess one of the richest
concentrations of shipwrecks in North America. It is also because of these
large reefs surrounding the Tortugas that the US was able to establish one of the
most strategic harbors in US history, and Fort Jefferson was born.
Construction of the fort began in 1846, and although
it was never officially finished, it remains a historic icon of the Dry
Tortugas. After the War of 1812 a group of forts from Maine to Texas was
envisioned to provide defense for the United States of America. Fort Jefferson
was built to protect the southern coastline of the US and the lifeline of
commerce to and from the Mississippi River. The fort was planned to be the
greatest of these.
Fort Jefferson itself is a six-sided building
constructed of 16 million handmade red bricks. In 1825 a lighthouse was built
on Garden Key to provide warning to sailors about the dangers of reefs and
shoals surrounding the Dry Tortugas. Fort Jefferson was built to protect one of
the most strategic deepwater anchorages in North America. By fortifying this
spacious harbor, the United States maintained an important “advance post” for
ships patrolling the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.
Nestled within the islands and shoals that make up
the Dry Tortugas, the harbor offered ships the chance to resupply, refit, or
seek refuge from storms. The location of the Tortugas along one the world’s
busiest shipping lanes was its greatest military asset. Though passing ships
could easily avoid the largest of Fort Jefferson’s guns, they could not avoid
the warships that used its harbor.
The design of the fort called for a three-tiered
six-sided 420 heavy-gun fort, with two sides measuring 325 feet, and four sides
measuring 477 feet. The walls met at corner bastions, which are large
projections designed to allow defensive fire along the faces of the walls they
joined. The heavy guns were mounted inside the walls in a string of open
casemates, or gunrooms, facing outward toward the sea through large openings
called embrasures. Fort Jefferson was designed to be a massive gun platform,
impervious to assault, and able to destroy any enemy ships foolhardy enough to
come within range of its powerful guns.
Living quarters for soldiers and officers, gunpowder
magazines, storehouses, and other buildings required to maintain the fort were
located on the parade ground inside the fort’s massive brick walls. The Army
employed civilian machinists, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, general
laborers, the resident prisoner population, and slaves to help construct the
fort. By 1863, during the Civil War, the number of military convicts at Fort
Jefferson had increased so significantly that slaves were no longer needed. At the
time, there were 22 black slaves employed on the project.
Fort Jefferson’s peak military population was 1,729.
In addition, a number of officers brought their families, and a limited number
of enlisted personnel brought wives who served as laundresses (typically four
per company). There were also lighthouse keepers and their families, cooks, a
civilian doctor and his family, and others. In all, there were close to 2,000
people at Fort Jefferson during its peak years.
The fort remained in Federal hands throughout the
Civil War. With the end of hostilities in 1865, the fort’s population had
declined to 1,013, consisting of 486 soldiers or civilians and 527 prisoners.
The great majority of prisoners at Fort Jefferson were Army privates whose most
common transgression was desertion. The most common transgression of civilian
prisoners was robbery. The most famous of these prisoners was Dr. Samuel Mudd,
who was imprisoned for his involvement in the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln. By 1888, the military usefulness of Fort Jefferson had waned,
and the cost of maintaining the fort due to the effects of frequent hurricanes
and the corrosive and debilitating tropical climate could no longer be
justified.
During its time, Fort Jefferson held over 2,500
prisoners. After its use as a prison, Fort Jefferson became a quarantine
station for the Marine-Hospital Service from 1888-1900, during which the
location was also used in the Spanish-American War. In 1888, the Army turned
the fort over to the Marine-Hospital Service to be operated as a quarantine
station.
In 1908 the area was designated as a bird reserve and
transferred to the Department of Agriculture. On January 4, 1935, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who visited the area by ship, designated the area as Fort
Jefferson National Monument, the first marine area to be so promoted. With its
rich historical background, Fort Jefferson finally received its designation as
a National Monument in 1935, and then upgraded to National Park status by
President George Bush in 1992.
Dry Tortugas National Park is home to history and
natural wonders above and below the water's’ surface. The park’s corals and
seagrass communities are among the most vibrant in the Florida Keys. Mary and I
enjoyed snorkeling, around the Dry Tortugas National Park. We were told it
offers some of the best snorkeling in North America. The shallow waters made
the snorkeling at the Dry Tortugas fun for Mary and myself.
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| photo credit - fellow snorkeler |
We walked past the picnic grounds and campgrounds,
and onto the white sandy beach and entered one of the island’s many designated
snorkel areas. Another snorkeler told us about a great location to see an
abundance of colorful tropical fish and living coral among the waters. Directly
accessible from the brilliant white sand beach are the Fort Jefferson
snorkeling areas. We saw majestic corals, many varieties of tropical fish,
conchs, and much more in this protected marine sanctuary.
 |
| photo credit - fellow snorkeler |
The Dry Tortugas is home to some of the most vibrant
coral reefs in the United States, and is a snorkeler’s wonderland. The reef
stretches from the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Miami in
the Atlantic Ocean. This amazing structure is made up of layers of calcium
carbonate secreted by coral polyps throughout thousands of years and is the
home of hundreds of tropical fish and marine life. The corals receive their
vibrant colors from polyps containing algae, which also
helps to keep the corals alive.
Everyone was so tired from the say of fresh air and
salt water, the ride back to Key West was very quiet! There was one game of
Pegs and Jokers going on. The seas were much calmer, than the trip out too!
On our way back into the docks in Key West, we passed
an old time ship.
We also passed a floating tiki bar, I guess it was
floating, but it also had a motor! You never know what you will see on the
water in Key West!
We got back in time to go back to Mallory Square and
catch another Sunset Celebration.
We also wanted to see the busker that fits himself
thru the face of a tennis racket, but he was not there.
So we enjoyed another busker or two.
