On Mother’s Day, we left Salty Lady parked in Marathon and took a ferry from Key West to the Dry Tortuga. The Dry Torguas are located about 70 miles West of Key West. It’s called “dry” because there is no fresh water and it’s called Tortugas (turtles) because Ponce DeLeon made a note on his map there regarding the turtles (probably as a source for much needed fresh food). This National Park is also home to Fort Jefferson (named after the 3rd US President) which is a very impressive fort, made from ~16 million bricks.
We travelled to the island on the Yankee Freedom III, a passenger Ferry out of Key West that has daily trips to the Dry Tortugas. We had to book the trip several weeks in advance, not knowing if the weather would be good or not; and it turned out to be a beautiful day, with virtually no waves and a gentle breeze. We were so lucky: the day prior, they had 5 foot seas and half the boat got sick!
After about 2 hours of a very relaxing ride, Fort Jefferson on Garden Key came into view. The island is pretty small and the fort takes up most of it. The fort was used as a defense structure to help control the very important shipping routes for our young country in the early 1800s. It was later used as a prison, housing the famous Dr. Samuel Mudd (convicted co-conspirator of John Wilkes Booth; for setting his broken leg after he assasinated President Licoln; he was later pardoned).
The fort was quite impressive with a light house, housing, and three levels of brick fortification covering 360 degrees.
Although the fort never engaged in combat with her guns, during the early days of the US Civil War, union troops occupied the fort just one day before confederate troops arrived. The guns were still in Key West but the union commander successfully bluffed the confederate commander by threatening to blow his ship to smithereens if they didn’t leave.
In more recent times, the island has become a destination for many migrants seeking a better life in the US. This “chug boat” had recently made it’s way from Cuba to the Dry Tortugas and is in much better condition than many of the boats. It is powered by a small diesel engine.
In addition to the ferry, you can also take a seaplane from Key West to the island.
We spent the latter pary of the day snorkeling in the crystal clear waters around the island.
We found this very large school of fish and a very, very large Great Baracuda!