 Key
West to the Dry Tortugas is a 78 nm voyage. A nighttime trip is
not recommended largely due to the lobster pots. A convenient
anchorage to the Tortugas is the Marquesas Key. The western
anchorage provides protection against the prevailing easterlies.
However, the approaches are shallow and the charts are
inaccurate. Visual bottom navigation is a must. We anchored near
the western shore of the Marquesas around 1400. The crew deployed
the dingy and quickly went ashore. There we met the crew of S/V
Tell Me Something Good and S/V SplashDance. We were
all headed for the Tortugas the next day. That night two other
boats came to the anchorage. We would later call them "Harry
and the Girl.
 The
first to leave the anchorage went aground several times before
acquiring the channel. Of course, we were the last to leave,
Small Craft Advisories were posted but the reef seemed to provide
adequate protection. We sailed then motorsailed most of the day.
We arrived at the Garden Key anchorage at 1630 and it was full!
S/V SplashDance called us on the VHF and told us to follow
the dingy. The dingy (with their handheld depthsounder) directed
us to a suitable anchorage. The dingy folks (S/V Charbonneau)
invited the Jule III to a fish dinner. All but Bob accepted the
dinner invitation. Bob stayed on board to insure that the anchor
was secure.
 The
next day, Bob and Ann celebrated the completion of Bob's dream;
sailing to the Dry Tortugas. Since the early 70's, he had been
planning such a voyage. This is great! Many of the boats left as
a weather window to Key West opened. Our plans were to stay for
at least a week. Bob climbed into the dingy to scope the depth
around the Jule III. Normal communications (VHF, wireless
cellular) did not work in this remote area. The Park Rangers
managed a satellite phone but the cost of $ 15.00/minute was
prohibitive. Jule III was the only one at the anchorage that had
email over SSB. Within a few days, Jule III became the
communications center of the anchorage. We helped close business
deals, contact family members, and provide weather information.
 Every
imaginable vessel seems to end up in the Dry Tortugas. The
majority of the visitors are sailing vessels followed by
commercial fishing boats. While we were there we saw a number of
tall ships, sea planes, a helicopter (picking up a visitor with a
heart condition), two ferry operations from Key West, the Park
Service shuttle. The anchorage can be crowded or nearly empty,
depending on the weather. Now that the eastern channel of Garden
Key has shoaled entirely, the is no current in the anchorage.
There is no longer a need for Bahamian anchoring.
 The
main attraction at Garden Key is Fort Jefferson, a pre-Civil War
structure that outlived its usefulness before it was completed.
Turns out that it was too heavy — it started sinking. It was
used as a prison, warehouse, and now a museum. Walking the moat
is a real experience. We saw all kinds of fish and coral
inhabiting the underwater portions of the moat. Ann did not want
to go snorkeling (her feet, you know) so we saw the sights from
the moat.
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