Buskers, Boats and Bars in Key West

No one person can describe Key West. Just the mention of Florida’s southernmost island brings a myriad of images to the listener.  For me I see buskers, boats and bars.  There is no shortage of any of those. 

Ed and Tom at Schooner Wharf Bar

Others immediately conjure Jimmy Buffet and visions of Margaritaville.   Then there are the reef divers and deep-sea fisherman who see light green-blue waters when they define Key West. For others Key West is their party place with a pick of over 300 bars with liquid beverages as varied and unique as the Island itself.  

Eccentricity and individualism add to the color and experience of Key West.  On one visit we were not surprised to see a faux Anna Nicole Smith, dressed in a form fitting red floor length red gown, slink through patrons drinking mango mimosas with their breakfast at the Schooner Wharf Bar.  If an open-air bar can become quiet, it came as close as it could be that day. Some of the best female impersonators call Key West their home.

There are sculpture gardens, butterfly gardens, and beaches.  Key West is also the southernmost point of the United States and is marked with a larger than life red, yellow and black buoy that provides photo ops each day for countless tourists. 

Key West sunsets draw both locals and visitors each night to Mallory Square where just about anything can happen.  Sunset brings schooners and catamarans to sail back and forth along the waters edge while fire jugglers, acrobats, fortune-tellers, musicians and vendors line up along the bulkhead to entertain and pander to the crowd. 

Key West street performers are referred to as buskers.  Busking is a custom that comes from a time when wandering minstrels and bards traveled from place to place while performing to earn food or lodging.

Before recording and the electronic age, busking was a common way for performers to earn a living.  The term busking is said to have origins in Great Britain.  At sunset, be prepared to throw a few coins or bills in the hat or guitar case as buskers sing or perform for their supper.

At the historic seaport, schooners of days long gone, sit waiting to fill with tourists for scheduled tours that allow visitors to experience life on a sailing ship of old.  Mixed among the majestic schooners sit catamarans, fishing vessels and sailboats that offer diving, snorkeling, parasailing, fishing and history tours.

A Key West Christmas Tree with Lobster Traps

One fishing boat maneuvers in between an already docked sailboat and motorboat.  At the controls the captain completes a sideways shuffle using one screw to neatly stop at the dock along the bulkhead.   One by one the crew pulls fish from coolers, positioning the catch around the back of the boat in U-formation.   

Four foot and longer tarpon appear in the waters below waiting for the captain and crew to clean the fish.  As scraps go overboard, the almost tame tarpons snap up a free and easy meal.

My most recent foray to Key West began with husband, Ed and his brother, Tom, in late November. Even though I have visited there several times, there is always something new to see there. There is also something new to learn.

This year Key West, celebrates the State of Florida’s 500^th birthday, the anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida and the Gulf Stream in 1513.  Colorful red, white and blue banners featuring historic trivia hang from streetlights throughout Old Town. 

There is no documentation that Ponce de Leon ever set foot in the Florida Keys and the fabled quest for the fountain of Youth is mostly myth.  However, the Spanish explorer is credited for discovering the chain of islands west of Key West that he called the Tortugas for the sea turtles his men captured as food.

According to Key West history tidbits, the English later added the word Dry to the island chain warning sailors of the lack of fresh water on the islands.  I added another piece of trivia to my already overloaded brain circuitry when I learned that Ponce de Leone named the Florida Keys Los Martiers (The Martyrs) because the islands reminded him of suffering men.

Key West’s history is not complete without mention of the legendary Henry Flagler who built the Florida Overseas Railroad connecting the keys to the mainland.  He rode the first train into Key West during 1912.

By that time the industry of sponging, turtling, and the tradition of wrecking were already giving way to cigar making, tourism, churches and hotels.  By the 1890’s there were over 200 cigar factories in Key West that produced over 1,000,000,000 cigars a year for export.

Of course, history buffs all know that the first international phone transmission took place between Key West and Cuba on Christmas Day 1900.   And don’t forget that Earnest Hemmingway called Key West home for a time and the descendants of his six-toed cats wander around the grounds today.  Sloppy Joes Bar continues to pay tribute to its most famous hard drinking patron.

President Harry Truman stayed in his humble getaway in Key West.   American presidents to include Kennedy, Reagan, Eisenhower, Clinton and others have visited there.

Key West also continues to offer a haven for artists of all genres.  There are many galleries tucked in among the bars, shops and restaurants throughout Key West.  Renowned Maine painter Winslow Homer spent time in Key West, as did John James Audubon.  American folk artist Mario Sanchez hailed from the Keys.  The son of Cuban immigrants became famous for his carvings and vibrant paintings of life during the 1930’s in old Key West.

It doesn’t matter if you are strolling down Duvall, Simonton, Catherine or Whitehead streets; there is something in Key West that will make you smile.  Kick back.  Do a little happy dance.  Go on a pub-crawl or take a ghost tour.  Trying to choose what to do is the kicker.

Tough Year for Sea Cows

The underwater grazing sea cows of Florida are not having a good year. So far over 770 of the slow moving gentle marine mammals known as the West Indian or Florida manatee have perished.  This breaks the previous record of 722 deaths in 2010 that occurred when a record-breaking cold snap decimated the already endangered population.

Many of 2013 deaths have been caused by toxic red algae, according to Save The Manatee Club, co-founded by Jimmy Buffet to protect the species. An average of two manatees died each day for the first ten months of 2013.

Of that number, 126 were calves. The high mortality count skyrocketed with a sudden bloom of toxic oxygen depleting red algae that killed 276 manatees near Fort Myers.  Another 111 manatees died along with 47,000 acres of sea grass near Indian River under mysterious causes earlier this year.

Patrick Rose, Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club said that in 2010 the Florida Fish and Wildlife commission counted a record 5,077 manatees before the cold related deaths that occurred later that year.   He added that the 2013 toll is nearly double the 392 deaths that occurred in 2012. 

The Fish and Wildlife Commission reported another 453 manatee deaths in 2011.

Considered endangered, the West Indian manatees are protected in the U.S.  Under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 which makes it illegal to harass, hunt, capture or kill any marine mammal.  The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978 also protects the West Indian manatee.

Long before the conquistadors, explorers and European settlers made their way to the shores of what would become known as the Americas, the West Indian manatee made its home along the tropical and subtropical waters.  To the indigenous populations along the shores and inland rivers the large and slow moving marine mammal was a familiar sight.

Sailing in and around the Caribbean Christopher Columbus wrote about manatees. He is attributed to seeing three “mermaids” that are not as beautiful as they are painted while on a trip to discover a western trade route to Asia in the late 15^th century.

Adult manatees can reach 10 t0 12 feet long and weigh 800 to 1,200 pounds.   The aquatic mammals have human like round faces and paddle shaped tails.  Gray in color, manatees often sport a symbiotic dark tan algae growing on their skin.

On close inspection one can see that the skin is sparsely covered with tactile hairs that the manatee uses to detect slight changes in the water movement.  They have a whiskery snout that helps in locating underwater vegetation for grazing.

A small group of manatee barrel rolled and glided in around the dinghies tied to a dock in Marathon Florida recently.  The awkward looking creatures gracefully moved through the slightly murky aquamarine water without creating a ripple. A mother and baby stayed close followed by another adult manatee and a juvenile.   It wasn’t long before the word spread.  Dinghies streamed from boats in the mooring field to catch a real life manatee documentary in progress.

Manatees love and are drawn to fresh water and were probably looking for it near where the cruisers fill their water jugs. The manatees disappeared under a dinghy and reappear with a slow flip of a large paddle like tail used for propulsion. 

One might, with a little imagination, see why sailors mistook the manatee for a mermaid.  My son, Ian, while kayaking in Florida during a stint in the U.S. Navy described his first close encounter with a manatee.  “I was enjoying the morning and suddenly I saw this grayish body ahead.  I though it was a bloated dead body.” 

According to National Geographic the manatee skeleton consists of heavy, dense, pachyosteosclerotic bones that help serve as ballast.  Manatees have teeth is that are continually replaced as they are worn down by grazing.

Florida manatees migrate seasonally.  In the winter, many move to the warmer and southern parts of the state.   These giant and gentle marine mammals have low metabolic rates and a low capacity for retaining body heat.

Manatees are often called sea cows because of their normally slow pace and bulk.   They can however move quickly, gliding along at five miles an hour and swimming up to 15 miles an hour in short burst powered by their strong tail.

Often manatees are seen alone or in small groups for periods of time near feeding areas, freshwater areas or near warm water sources.   During extreme cold spells groups of 300 or more have been observed in the warm water outflows of Florida power plants.

In darker waters usually the only thing visible from the surface is the animals nostrils and snout as it comes up for air.  A resting manatee can remain below water for up to 15 minutes, but while swimming it must surface every three to four minutes.

Female Florida manatees can become sexually mature as young as three years old, although most first give birth at age four to five. Mothers must help calves to the surface for their first breath after birth.  The manatee calves drink their mother’s milk from a nipple found under her flipper.   Adult manatees are voracious grazers.  They can eat a tenth of its weight in a 24-hour period.  A calve may nurse up to two years.

This docile species can live up to 60 years.  While the manatee has no natural predators, it faces extinction at the hands of man and nature.  Some die as they are caught in locks, accidently hit by motorboats in the crowded Florida waters.   Manatees also succumb to unusually cold winters, poisoning by a red tide organism, and sometimes hurricanes.

Increased human population has also resulted in habitat loss.  Using former coastal zones and lowlands for agricultural and industrial purposes have led to pollution and run-off that add to threat of extinction for this migratory marine mammal.  

While concentrated in Florida, manatees can be seen as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts.  It is more common to see the grazing sea cow along Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina when the weather is warm.

The Bridge Connection

Alligator River Swing Bridge

Children sing of London’s bridges falling down.  Simon and Garfunkle sang about a bridge over troubled water and Frank Sinatra crooned over the Brooklyn Bridge.  Pierre Boulle wrote about the bridge over the River Kwai, a notorious bridge that allowed transport of Japanese munitions during World War II.   Both in literature and song, the focus on bridges whether literal or figurative have played a part in life and history.

Bridges take many forms.  There are twin bridges, arch bridges, swing bridges, bascule bridges, lift, and even pontoon bridges.  On Imagine we love the fixed 65-foot bridges that allow us to travel down the Eastern seaboard without an interruption of our trip.  

The open on demand bridges come in second. However there are many places where bridges  open only on the hour or half hour.   These bridges are often closed completely for two hours each morning and afternoon for commuter traffic.

Alligator River Swing Bridge Open

Not getting started early enough, or planning correctly, can result in a lot of circling with other boats waiting for a bridge to open.  Imagine always opts for going offshore after Lake Worth when heading south.  The next leg would include 22 opening bridges over the 36 mile Intra Coastal Waterway between there and Fort Lauderdale.  That is too many bridges for me.

Overall Florida boasts 11,451 bridges according the U.S. Department of Transportation.  That’s a long way from the 48,492 bridges that intersect and connect Texas, the state that ranks first in the nation for bridge count.  Ohio comes in behind Texas with 27,901 bridges.   New Jersey’s bridges number 6,377.  The total number of bridges crisscrossing the United States exceeds a half million at 590,111.  

I love watching the bridges open.  From the water we listen for the deep honk of a horn blowing to warn traffic that the bridge will be closing soon.   Lights stop traffic and rails lower on the road span above.   After a few moments the opening section begins to lift or swing, in the bridge is a swing bridge.   When the light turns green Imagine slowly begins to cross under and through the bridge opening.  Once through Imagine hails the bridge tender with. “Imagine clear. Thank you for the opening.”  Most tenders come back with, “Have a great winter, or enjoy your trip.” 

Then, as in life, there is the occasional individual who just is not having a wonderful day.   One tender on a bascule bridge, scheduled to be opened, on demand, yelled that he would open when he could.  Imagine circled. The tender took his time.  The delay made it impossible for us to make the next bridge where we would wait a half hour for the next opening.   Ed generously thanked the dispirited tender for the opening and did not receive a reply.   I guess everyone is entitled to a bad day.

East coast Florida bridges behind us, Imagine heads offshore for the 31 hour, 218-nautical mile trek to Marathon in the Florida Keys.   Passing Hallendale, Fort Lauderdale and Miami about five miles offshore, fireworks light up the nighttime skyline high above the lights along the shore. A brisk 17-knot east wind makes for a great sail as Imagine enters Hawk Channel. The radar glows with yellow ovals detecting the ships moving in and out of Miami harbor.   

Morning breaks as Imagine passes Key Largo and Rodgriquez Key.  Lobster pots bounce in the aquamarine waters.  On shore I try to count the bridges that join the Florida Keys like links in a bracelet.  Quickly I lose count.  I later read that there are 42 bridges connecting the keys.  There is no mistaking the Seven Mile Bridge.  It is probably the most famous bridge in Florida connecting Marathon’s Knights Key to Little Duck Key.

The original bridge was constructed from 1909 to 1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railways Key West Extension.  It was sometimes called the Overseas Railroad.  The Seven Mile Bridge withstood all hurricanes including the one in 1935 that washed away the railroad and many lives.   This old bridge continue to provide a link for another 40 plus years until a new bridge running parallel to the old one was completed in 1982.   The new bridge includes a 65-foot span that made the use of a drawbridge over Moser Channel obsolete.

It doesn’t matter which way one crosses a bridge.  Bridges make our lives easier. They have become idioms that we use in everyday language.  One can burn bridges, bridge the gap, mend a bridge, let the water go under the bridge, and cross that bridge when we get to it.   As for the bridge tender having a bad day, perhaps he can build a bridge and get over whatever is bothering him.

 

Because all roads are not paved

Following an unpaved road might prove bumpy or smooth.  It can also open the door to experiences that create a renewed appreciation for the interconnection of man and his world.  Imagine’s recent three day journey offshore from Beaufort, NC to St. Augustine, FL brought us not only closer to warmer weather, but also to man and nature. 

Day one found Imagine zigging and zagging in an attempt to sail around U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels conducting exercises in the middle of our unpaved road.  Helicopters hovered in the skies and planes circled overhead as all non-military boats were cautioned to remain a mile away from the exercise zone. 

Two hours later, four miles off course, head sail now furled as Imagine was forced to turn out of the wind, Warship 5, notified Imagine that the ship was ready to do an about turn and head further out to sea. 

As Imagine worked its way back on course.  We listened to the Coast Guard redirect another boat that appeared on the horizon.  The boat was Tyler J, sailed by Nova Scotian sailors who we had sailed with for several months during our second season at sea.   Ed hailed them on the VHF.  They were headed for Charleston and eventually Belize.  Even in a vast ocean one can meet friends traveling along the unpaved road.

It was a sunny day, seas were calm and flat during this part of our off road adventure.

Later that day, and now 40 miles off shore, Ed stood watch as a small finch landed on the lifeline and hopped into the cockpit.  Making itself at home, the small bird began finding spiders hiding in the rigging and between the folds of the canvas.   At dusk, the small bird found a quiet nook in a fold of canvas and went to bed.

After sunrise, I came up for watch and the small hitchhiker startled me as it flew in under the dodger.  

For the next five hours I watch the little bird fly around the boat and come back several times with a large moth that he would wrestle with until it was subdued and ready to eat.   Ed poured water into the top of a depression on the portside winch.  The little guy immediately began to drink. 

Back on watch, just before sundown, I watched the small light brown finch land in Ed’s beard.  “He’s getting quite friendly,” Ed said as he gently shook his head preventing his new friend from getting too chummy.  As I sat behind the helm, I felt a flutter on my shoulder.  Sure enough the tiny bird was perched there.  A slight breeze ruffled its feathers while it bobbed its head up and down, back and forth before zooming in on a spider. 

When dusk settled over the ocean, the small bird again found a spot to roost for the night.  The stars filled the sky with brilliance uninterrupted by man-made light. I watched for ships and meteors.   I talked with two commercial fishing boats on the VHF to make sure we would not come too close in the night.

After I while I watched the bright lights of the phosphorescence blink and ride the crest of the wake left when Imagine plowed through the sea.  As I looked behind, I noticed two soft red spots on the Eastern horizon.   The radar didn’t show any ship from that location. 

I began to feel a bit nervous as I see the red glow getting larger.  Suddenly the puzzle comes together.  It is a new crescent moon rising out of the sea.  It is scarlet orange, reflecting from a sun that won’t rise for several hours.  The moon continues to rise. The seas are picking up and Imagine begins to roll and pitch with the waves. I go below for a much needed rest.

Back on watch at 5:00 a.m., I look forward to watching the sunrise and our little hitchhiker as he begins what I’ve termed, “entertainment for the watch.”  The sun rises among grey bands of clouds hovering over the horizon. I notice our little friend is not moving.   I begin to fear the worse, which is confirmed after I gingerly touch our wayward hitchhiker.  Maybe birds get seasick?  Maybe the rolling boat was too much? I will probably never know what happened to our little friend.  I’m sad.  At the same time I am blessed that we had this up close and personal experience with one of God’s creatures.  As my friend Michele said later, “You can’t buy that experience in a store.”

Imagine is only a few hours from it’s destination.  In the ocean off St. Augustine, the wind is picking up.  The seas are getting larger.  In pitching seas we turn into the wind and flake the mainsail.   Imagine turns circles in the channel before the Bridge of Lions waiting in queue for the next opening.   The drawbridge opens and within minutes, Imagine is secured to a mooring ball.

Porpoises leaping out and over the waves, dolphins swimming in our wake, lights in the night… ships, stars and phosphorescence, old friends, and a one small feathered hitchhiker joined us on this leg of the unpaved road.  Who knows what adventure we will find as we continue down this watery road?