March 9: Far Tortuga
Twenty-five knots of wind, dreary sky, the Captain approaches us and says “If y’all want to back out of your trip, there will be no charge. It will be a rough day and the crossing at Rebecca Shoals will be awful. The water will be like pea soup, so it won’t be possible to dive.” I thank him and turn to the students. I can see disappointment as I ask what they would prefer to do… I do have a alternative plan. But to a person they said “Let’s Go!” And we did…
And, as promised, the trip was rough… and there were no regrets!
KELYN CARLSON:
“After a rough start, the trip to Fort Jefferson turned out to be a wonderful experience. You were able to walk along a brick path that enclosed the moat surrounding the fort. Clinging to these walls were Diadema sea urchins. The long spines on these urchins were frail but needle sharp and quite fascinating to look at. The building itself was quite a sight to behold. Its entire framework consisted of large archways made from red and orange bricks.”
TIM CAMERON:
“A small set of islands 68 miles off the coast of key West make up the Dry Tortugas. Within the group of islands, one in particular stands out: Bush Key. Here lies the only place in the U.S. where one can find the nesting grounds of the sooty tern. The sooty is a small bird that stays in flight 24/7 once it leaves the nest; it does not land, even to mate. There are so many sooty terns on Bush Key, one can hear them from Fort Jefferson. The air is filed with them, constantly circling the nesting grounds.”
DORI WILLIAMS:
“Today we went to Dry Tortugas despite the fact that we had some rather rough seas. The thing that surprised me the most was not only the fact that the entire Fort was built by man, but that it is still standing. I know it is slowly fallin apart, but how the walls of the moat and Fort handle waves and winds from hurricanes is beyond me. The Fort itself was really cool. My favorite part of the Fort was definately the view from the top. It felt like you could see for miles. It was also really fun to take pictures from the top. YAY for group photos!”
CHRIS METZ:
“Today we had the chance to visit Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson. Though the weather was chilly, the fort was a structural anomaly. The fort appears out of nowhere and to all outward appearances, seems useless in that setting. At first, this seems a little like many things biological. Although some things seem unimportant for all purposes, they all in fact have their roles and niche in the circle of life, much like Fort Jefferson. Everything does its part to contribute to something bigger: life.”
MARK KLUK:
“As we were ambling our way around the low outer wall of the noat at Fort Jefferson, we came across a number of interesting marine animals. Among them was one I did not expct to see - the beau gregory, a little 3″ fish in the angelfish family - Pomacentridae. Though these fish are small, they are highly territorial and aggressive and we saw a pair of them (they are usually found in pairs) chase off a much larger pothead porgy (another fish species). At any rate, the most striking thing about them is their color. Their dorsal half is electric blue and their ventral side is bright yellow, a nice surprise in what I expected to be a predominatly history-based visit to Fort Jefferson. P.S. I got sick on the boat - bad experience.”
JEN HOPKINS:
“Today at Fort Jefferson I was truly amazed at the size and age of the Fort (construction started in 1846). There is so much valuable history that, without restoration programs, could be lost forever.”
KENDALL TARRANT:
“I really enjoyed the history of Fort Jefferson today. I liked learning about how the Lincoln conspirators were kept (at the Fort). We were able to see the cell of Dr. Samuel Mudd who fixed John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg. He was later needed on the island (where he was imprisoned) when yellow fever struck the Fort. I can only imagine the devastation when the fever broke out. There was a gravestone in the cenetr of the Fort remembering a 30-year old General and his 3-year old son who both died of yellow fever. It was almost a Godsend that Mudd happened to be kept there. Without him, many more would have been similarly stricken.”
KARL SMITH:
“At Dry Tortugas there is a small island named Bush Key. On Bush Key there were thousands of sooty terns and many magnificent frigate birds. The amazing part was that all of these birds were all on this very small island, and only on that island. Very few birds were on Garden Key itself where the Fort is located.”
MARY APPLEGATE:
“Today was quite the adventure. The trip to Dry Tortugas was a little more than rough, but definately worth it! It was disappointing that we could not snorkel today or work with the sharks. However I did really the historical aspects of the Fort and being able to explore on our own. The day was filled with interesting animals and some sunshine, all topped off with a great dinner in Key West.”
ALYSSA PORADA:
“Today was really awesome! On the way back from the Tortugas, I saw a flying fish. It was soooo cool! I saw it out of the corner of my eye and I was so excited. We all got to go to Hospital Key and observed some masked boobies. I was pretty excited to see them as well; I didn’t realize that the masked boobies could be found this far north.”
AUDRA MASTERNAK:
“Today was a treacherous day at sea with waves reaching between 6-10 feet. The boat ride was rough! It was pretty interesting to see the Fort and the creratures living within the moat walls. One of my favorites was the long-spined sea urchin. Very long spines! Good thing I didn’t get those spines in my foot!”
