The Dry Tortugas: Torture in Paradise

Dry Tortugas National Park is visited by sea plane, ferry or private boat. Our Salty Paws is anchored in the distance.

Our cruise so far.  The left
most dot is the Dry Tortugas.
The triangle is Key West.

70 miles west of Key West are the Dry Tortugas made up of 7 small keys.  Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the islands in 1513 and named them “Las Tortugas” because of the number of sea turtles.  It was later changed to “Dry Tortugas” lest anyone might otherwise think that fresh water existed there.

Early on, the Dry Tortugas were a popular haven for pirates to attack Spanish treasure fleets, and the nearby reefs also caused numerous shipwrecks.  After Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821, the Dry Tortugas were viewed as the site for “The Gilbrator of the Gulf” to control navigation in the Gulf and Florida Straits for both trade and military movements.  A lighthouse was erected in 1825 on Loggerhead Key and the construction on massive For Jefferson began in 1846.

Salty Paws at Loggerhead Key.

Fort Jefferson from the water.

The grounds once housed as many as 1,500 people.

The Fort is completely surrounded by a moat.. Until recent hurricanes one could walk on the outer wall completely around it
.

This cannon could fire a 128 lb. ball 3 miles.  We could walk 
almost anywhere without restriction or any safety rails!

The 17-acre fort was made of brick and was and remains the largest coastal fort in the United States.  Unlike the brick house of one of the three little pigs, however, the design of the fort was soon obsolete as it would not withstand the increased cannon power of potential adversaries.  Nonetheless, the US Congress authorized massive annual expenditures for almost 30 years until the still unfinished fort ceased operations in 1874.

We went snorkeling at the Fort and at the more spectacular
Little Africa area off Loggerhead Key.

 

Hard to imagine the torturous conditions that existed in paradise. 

Fort Jefferson never experienced any combat, although the Union fort might have been some deterrence against the Confederacy at the beginning of the Civil War.  Its only real use was as oppressive prison for prisoners and their guards alike until its closure.  Fresh water in uncovered cisterns was sometimes contaminated by salt water or became a breeding ground for mosquitoes that later carried yellow fever.  Human excrement was dumped out of the gun ports, further contaminating the location.  

There was little comfort from the food either, as the pork was heavily salted and the tack was often made from contaminated flour.  To this one can add oppressive summer heat while wearing woolen uniforms, diseases including smallpox, mold from the moisture laden walls, bedbugs and boredom and drunkenness.  On top of all that, prisoners were subject to being beaten and some were forced to wear leg irons.  These conditions along with a some sensationalized stories in the press contributed to the ultimate closing of Fort Jefferson.  What a paradise!

At its peak around 1865,  700 soldiers  oversaw a prison population of almost 900 that included Union deserters, Confederate captives and Federal convicts, the most famous of which were four Lincoln assassination conspirators.  While we have all heard of John Wilkes Booth, I was not familiar with the eight convicted conspirators, four of whom were put to death by hanging and the four sent to Fort Jefferson, one of whom died from yellow fever.  The most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated Booth’s broken leg.  Many of the convictions were questionable, and President Andrew Johnson pardoned the three remaining conspirators just before his term ended in 1869.

The sun set behind Navigator with our friends Jon and Liz.
 Jon’s daughter Jess and her husband Mike were also aboard.

Pleasure boats such as ours need a good weather window and sufficient fuel to make the 70-mile open water crossing over and then the equally long return trip.   We were fortunate to have 5 days of at least acceptable cruising weather with 1 to 2 foot waves every 4 seconds and winds of 12 knots.  Salty Paws averaged 15 mph going westward with wind and waves from the east.  The return trip was at 9 mph to conserve fuel and make for a more comfortable ride into the wind and waves.

Molly with her.new old-looking hat with the word Salty.
Salty Paws and the fort are in the background.

The dichotomy between this history and the beauty of this place is mind boggling.  These keys and its waters are the only place in Florida that comes close to what one would find in the Bahamas for the combination of fine weather, beaches, water clarity and fish species.  We saw mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets, loved walking the beaches, enjoyed talking with the rangers and fellow visitors and were fascinated by two types of birds new to us, the Frigatebird and the Sooty Tern.

Frigatebirds glides over the fort.  Their wingspans reach 7 feet.

Frigatebirds seems to fly effortlessly, and they rarely land on the water as they lack waterproof feathers.  Instead, they attack other birds until they regurgitate food just eaten, which the Frigatebird then catches in midair.  Their young actually train for this by catching sticks dropped from other Frigatebirds.

The Sooty Tern is a bird of tropical oceans.  It is known to fly for months, if not years, on end, only coming to land to nest as they do on Bush Key in the Dry Tortugas.  These birds do not dive for food but scoop up small fish from the ocean surface.  Scientists believe that these remarkable birds can thrive on very little sleep that occurs for just a second or two at a time while flying.  The Sooty Tern is know for its constant squawking as highlighted in this video.

So far only 2,000 or so Sooty Terns have arrived and begun their courtships.  The numbers will soon reach 40,000 or more.  Once the first egg is laid in the Bush Key sand, the Key will be closed to the public until the birds and their chicks depart in roughly 3 months.

Below are some more pictures of this fantastic chapter in our cruising on Salty Paws.

Tory is a great boat dog!

Jon captured us on top of the fort.

Jon, Liz, Mike and Jess.

The view of Bush Key from the top of the fort.  The Sooty Terns will soon be laying their eggs there.

Molly on the Fort Jefferson roof with the moat below and a Frigatebird above.

Hermit crab holes and their tire-track like trails are everywhere on the beach.

A hermit crab is walking across the dead coral, which will breakdown adding more sand to the beach.

The sun rises on the anchorage in front of the fort.  Salty Paws is on the far left.

On our return trip we spent a night off TinTin Key in the Maequesas Keys.

Many crab pots have washed up on TinTin Key.  Note all the hermit crab holes in front of Molly.

Walking on TonTin Key.

Molly saw the famous “Green Flash” for a split second but our camera didn’t capture it on this sunset.

Morning breaks in the Marquesas before our return to Key West, 20 miles away.