Randy and I have some exciting news to share! We announced yesterday on our Facebook page that we’ve been invited to present at TrawlerFest in Stuart, Florida as well as the Yachts Miami Beach show (formerly the Yacht and Brokerage Show). Our presentation, “Cruising to the Dry Tortugas”, will first be presented in a shorter format …
National Parks
Three weeks back from our trip and I’m finally getting around to posting the video I shot while diving in the Dry Tortugas. As a recap, we ended up diving at 3 spots: Texas Rock, Davis Rock and Off Ramp. We also snorkeled a lot of other areas, but this post is about scuba diving. …
I’m a bit behind on posting about the rest of our trip from Key West to Jewfish Basin where we stayed a few days, then on to Cape Romano, near Marco Island and then home. But I am finally getting around to posting some videos I took snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas. Below is video …
So on our third day (Thursday) in the Dry Tortugas, the plan was to get up early and head out for a morning of diving. When Randy went to brush his teeth and turned on the faucet there was no water. He checked the bilge (which was previously dry) and realized that it was full of …
Our second full day in the Dry Tortugas (Wednesday) we decided to hit some snorkeling spots. Since we used up 1 tank of air on the first day of diving, we decided to spend a day snorkeling that way on Thursday would could do 2 more dives with the other tank of air. We left …
On our first full day in the Dry Tortugas (Tuesday), we left the anchorage around 7am and headed out for diving. Scott, Brandon and Matt were onboard with us and this was to be their first ocean dive, having just recently completed their dive certification. We were hoping to find a reasonably priced air compressor to bring …
With the wedding festivities over, it was time to focus on our trip. On Sunday, we said few goodbyes and did last minute prepping for the trip—running to Publix for groceries, loading provisions and gear onto the boat, etc. We left Snook Bight around 3:30-4pm and headed to New Pass to anchor and raft up …
After we spent 5 nights and 6 days in the Dry Tortugas, it was time to start thinking about heading to Key West. For the latter part of the week, we were expecting higher winds and wave reports. We decided to leave a day earlier than planned because the next day was calling for 3-5 …
We lucked out with beautiful weather and calm seas the first 3 days which provided us with excellent diving and snorkeling, however, the latter part of the week the wind kicked up and seas weren’t as calm. Since diving was out, we spent a couple of days snorkeling around Garden Key and exploring Fort Jefferson. …
On our second day of diving in the Dry Tortugas, we decided to check out a group of mooring buoys that were all in the same vicinity of location. These buoys are Off Ramp, Davis Rock and Texas Rock: We dove the first two sites (Off Ramp and Davis Rock) and were completely stoked that …
Loggerhead Key, the largest island in the Dry Tortugas, is named for its abundance of loggerhead sea turtles with approximately 250 nests yielding 15,000 hatchlings each summer. It has also seen its share of shipwrecks. With more than 250 wrecks in the Dry Tortugas, a lighthouse was constructed in 1856 to protect mariners from the …
The Windjammer Wreck, located less than a mile southwest of Loggerhead Key, is the most complete wreck site in the Dry Tortugas. In 1907, the large sailing vessel named Avanti struck the Loggerhead reef after a navigational error. The heavily damaged ship eventually broke apart and sank though the crew was saved. The wreck site …