After sailing without sight of land for about 5 days we were all captivated when Ft. Jefferson suddenly seemed to appear one morning. We spent that evening at anchor enjoying a bit of calm water and BBQ ribs.
The next morning we set out in groups via motorboat to tour the island. It was weird to see the Cramer off in the distance as we had spent so much time on it.
Ft. Jefferson, on Garden Key, is part of the Dry Tortugas National Park. The keys were named Las Tortugas by Ponce de Leon in 1513 then soon "Dry Tortugas" to indicate there was no fresh water there. They are a cluster of seven islands, composed of coral reeks and sand that lie 70 miles west of Key West, Fla.
The construction of Ft. Jefferson began in 1846 in an attempt by the US to control navigation to the Gulf of Mexico, but was never finished. It served as a prison for deserters during the Civil War and later a quarantine station. The Army abandoned the fort in 1874.
In 1908 the area became a wildlife refuge and the fort was named a national monument in 1935.
It took about five minutes to walk around the perimeter of the island and we spent the day exploring and then swimming!
It felt unbelievable to walk and swim after being confined to a deck for so long. We all soaked up the sun and ran around before returning the Cramer for the remainder of the trip.
After sailing without sight of land for about 5 days we were all captivated when Ft. Jefferson suddenly seemed to appear one morning. We spent that evening at anchor enjoying a bit of calm water and BBQ ribs.
The next morning we set out in groups via motorboat to tour the island. It was weird to see the Cramer off in the distance as we had spent so much time on it.
Ft. Jefferson, on Garden Key, is part of the Dry Tortugas National Park. The keys were named Las Tortugas by Ponce de Leon in 1513 then soon "Dry Tortugas" to indicate there was no fresh water there. They are a cluster of seven islands, composed of coral reeks and sand that lie 70 miles west of Key West, Fla.
The construction of Ft. Jefferson began in 1846 in an attempt by the US to control navigation to the Gulf of Mexico, but was never finished. It served as a prison for deserters during the Civil War and later a quarantine station. The Army abandoned the fort in 1874.
In 1908 the area became a wildlife refuge and the fort was named a national monument in 1935.
It took about five minutes to walk around the perimeter of the island and we spent the day exploring and then swimming!
It felt unbelievable to walk and swim after being confined to a deck for so long. We all soaked up the sun and ran around before returning the Cramer for the remainder of the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment