Drama in the Tortugas

For two days and three nights Island Chariot swung on her CQR and Bruce anchors. On Easter night, ten other boats shared the anchorage with us. By Monday night, 20 boats were shoe-horned into place. Carolina blue skies, bright sunshine, temperatures in the upper 70s with light breezes, knowledgeable Park Rangers, and crystal-clear waters made the days exactly the way I envisioned they would be.

On Monday morning, Ranger Chris offered an 0900 tour of Fort Jefferson to boaters before the tourists from Key West arrived by ferry. We joined six other adults and four children for an intimate and informative tour. Ranger Chris has two Master’s Degrees in military history and architecture, specializing in Thomas Jefferson. Cliff Claven himself could not have offered more interesting details about the fort (“Cheers” reference)! Following our tour, we walked all the way around the moat wall and then explored inside the fort for the rest of the day. We are still amazed that 16 million bricks arrived by boat from Florida and Maine in the 1860s to build that amazing structure one brick at a time.

In addition to Fort Jefferson, Mother Nature provided much to enjoy. The Dry Tortugas are home to tens of thousands of birds in several bird colonies, namely sooty terns, brown noddies, and frigate birds. Did you know that sooty terns fly for the first three years or so of their lives? Bush Island (on the southeast side of the anchorage) is like New York City for birds. 24/7 there is something going on! Every night sounded like a sooty tern party. Their cry even sounds like “WIDE AWAKE! WIDE AWAKE!”. I thought of my dear friends, Drake and Skip. They are not bird lovers like I am. In fact, I think if they were there their thoughts would have turned to Alfred Hitchcock.

On Tuesday, the weather was perfect again with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. We donned our snorkeling gear and headed to the beach on the northeast side of the fort. Swimming in the crystal clear aqua ocean waters was like swimming in an aquarium. Not even at Sea World have I seen so many varieties of colorful fish in all shapes and sizes! The various types of coral were spectacular, too. When we were too tired to swim any more, we drove the RIB (our dinghy) back to Island Chariot and rested before making dinner.

The highlight of the evening was taking the RIB across the calm waters to the west side of the fort to watch the sunset over Loggerhead Key. Vivid orange, yellow, and red rays streamed from the sun as it lowered in the sky. Suddenly a feeling of foreboding came over us as the sun disappeared not into the sea, but into a sea of dark gray clouds. We motored the RIB back to Island Chariot and checked our weather print-out. NOAA had not predicted storms or high winds. We turned on our VHF radio and found channel two, the NOAA weather station that covers the Keys and Dry Tortugas. What’s this? A very- severe-boaters-take-cover thunderstorm warning for the Dry Tortugas?! Thirty-five knot winds with higher gusts?! The storm should be at the Dry Tortugas by 10PM?! What the??

Cruisers use VHF channel 71 in the Dry Tortugas anchorage. The channel had been quiet all afternoon. Now the chatter began. Cruisers who heard the warning were alerting the others. We all battened down the hatches, zipped our enclosures, checked our anchors and waited. By 2130 clouds full of lightning filled the skies around us. Thankfully, the lightning never passed over the top of the anchorage. However, we were all nervous, because we did not know that would be the case. Having the highest mast-of-metal in a sea of boats is not what you want in a lightning storm!

As predicted (only hours prior!), at 2200, 35-knot winds arrived without build-up. Here we go! Island Chariot and the other boats in the anchorage heeled over and swung around to face into the wind. The trawler next to us was rapidly only about 10 feet from us. We both freaked. The trawler captain noticed, too. He started his engines, pulled up his anchor, and drove off to find a safer position. By this time, most of the captains, John included, had started their engines and were ready to move quickly in case their anchors drug. We planned to leave the next morning, as did several of the other cruisers. Before sunset some of them pulled up one of the two anchors they had set to facilitate an easy departure. Now, their single anchors were dragging and they found themselves resetting their positions. With the anchorage so crowded, we all had less anchor rode out than we would normally use. Spotlights swept through the harbor as everyone kept an eye on each others positions. We were the most southeastern and therefore the most upwind boat. It was imperative we hold our position as all of the boats were behind us. Our hearts pounded as we could imagine our 22 tons dragging and cascading damage onto those behind us.

By 0130 we thought the storm was over. A few people checked in on channel 71 to report that they were okay. We all turned off our engines and prepared to attempt sleep. Unfortunately, it was just a minor reprieve. At 0145 the 35+ knot winds returned. We all raced back up to our cockpits, fired up our engines, and turned on our electronics. A working wind instrument would have been so wonderful! We were dealing with the wind the old fashioned way, as Ponce de Leon himself might have done when he discovered the islands in 1513.

At 0300, drama ensued at the southwest end of the anchorage. A trawler’s anchor had come loose. The trawler blew backwards until his anchor chain drug across the set anchor chains of a tri-maran and a monohull. The tri-maran slid into the monohull and the stays of the two boats became entangled. Eventually the boats broke loose and drove to safety with minimal damage considering what had happened. Not far away, another trawler’s anchor drug. The trawler blew aground on some rocks, but not before its anchor chain unrolled and the final link left the boat. Apparently the long chain was not attached. The trawler's keel had broken and it had to be towed 70 miles back to Key West. Then, between Island Chariot and Fort Jefferson, a schooner’s anchor drug. The happy ending for its crew came when the schooner blew right onto the ferry dock at the fort. Their anchor grabbed and their chain lay across the channel; however, they tied the schooner to the dock and were safe for the night.

By 0500 the storm had finally passed. We went below to grab an hour or so of sleep. By 0630 we were awake and preparing for our departure. When we were ready to leave, both anchors came up easily and completely clean. Although the winds blew and the waves rocked, it was the smoothest departure from an anchorage we have had! Thank goodness!