Southernmost Point

On February 27th, my Mom and Chip arrived onboard. Unfortunately there was a debacle with Chip’s fishing rod - it was lost by the airline. After hours of dealing with costumer service we went out for yummy dinner and then prepared for an earlier departure the next day.

On the 28th we had a great and long day on the water leaving Key West to arrive at Dry Tortugas National Park by sunset. The highlight was Chip catching the FIRST fish of our trip. We had been trying during our time aboard (especially in the Bahamas) but never caught anything. So it was exciting to finally have a catch.

Dry Tortugas was a sight, a HUGE fort in the middle of the ocean. Though the fort is only 70 miles from Key West, it certainly feels remote and the only access is seaplane or boat. There is limited camping on the island but most visitors are day trippers. The original fort was built in 1846 and building continued for the next 30 years. The purpose of the fort was to protect the shipping route of deliveries to the southern states west of Florida (Mississippi, Alabama, etc). The Fort and surrounding islands became a National Park in 1992.

Meanwhile Addy’s rowing team was working hard and keeping a team spirit high with days such as ‘dress as Adam Sandler”. Addy is in the red shirt in the middle.

We also got our monthly report of nautical miles sailed. February was a big month.