Dry Tortugas (D.T.'s)

Off on another boating adventure this week--but not on my boat.  Wednesday, I'm flying to Tampa to join three other guys for a sail out of St. Petersburg to the Dry Tortugas.  The Dry Tortugas are a group of small islands 70 miles west of Key West.  Our course from Tampa Bay is 180 degrees--due south for 200 miles.  If we make a slight navigational error, and miss the islands the next stop is Cuba.

They're called the Tortugas because Ponce de Leon thought they looked like turtles (very small islands) when he discovered them.  There is no fresh water on the islands so they're "dry."  Ft Jefferson is on one of the islands, but that's about all.  The islands make up one of the least visited U.S. National Parks.

Our plan is to leave the St Pete municipal marina on Thursday, and arrive at the Dry Tortugas sometime Saturday.  Spend a couple of days there, and then sail over to Key West for a couple of days, then sail back to St Pete.  I'm checking the Thursday marine forecast for the gulf, and NOAA predicts 40 knot winds, and 10 to 14 foot seas.  I haven't spoken with the other crew members yet, but I think there might be a change of plans.

I sailed to Key West in '07 on the same boat with one of the guys making this trip.  It's a 34' C&C.  "Key Breeze"  Home Port is Indianapolis.  (Just in case you read about it in a Coast Guard report.)

I've added internet access to my cell phone.  I can check the weather and emails and other simple tasks, and will attempt to post to my blog from it.  Of course we won't have service when we're offshore, but we should pick it up again in Key West.  My phone is not a "smart" phone--but as F.G. would say "I'm not a smart man."