The Dry Tortugas (finally!)
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- čas přidán 23. 02. 2022
- I return to Key West for provisions and fresh water. Following the passage of another cold front, I finally set off for the Dry Tortugas during the late afternoon, planning to do the 60-mile run overnight. As the Dry Tortugas do not offer much shelter for small craft, and the fact that any other decent anchorage is at least 10 hours sailing away, the trip must be planned with special attention to the weather, especially during the winter months when powerful cold fronts come blasting through. Once there, however, the sailor is rewarded with an anchorage of exceptional beauty.
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MUSIC: Take the Win -- Kevin Boothby
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DRONE:
DJI Phantom 3 Professional
THE BOAT: Design: Gilmer 31; LOD 31', LWL 25', Beam 9.5', Draft 4.5', Displ. 13,600lbs.
Thanks for the virtual “holiday” in a beautiful place Kevin !
Thanks John, fair winds over there in Ireland.
Weather analysis, sunken boats, pesky fans, philosophic beach walks, military history. There's always more hidden stories behind Boothby's videos.
No need to apologize, man. I spotted your boat from about a mile away and just had to come say hello. I almost turned back when I saw the sail coming up, but I wanted to deliver my meager offering. I really appreciate the knowledge you take the time to impart. FW&FS!
Also, that fort was there to protect and resupply all the war ships they kept in the deep harbor there. Very strategic point for patrolling the shipping lanes.
Thanks Joe. Yeah I was scratching my head as to why any nation would be interested in defending a sandbar, but Bird Key Harbor is a good anchorage for larger vessels, so that makes sense.
I never tire of the sailing portions of your videos. The first and third person views of helming, tacking, and reefing. The reviews of engineless tactics. And the strategy guides for weather windows, weighing anchor, and timing arrivals. I know there is a market for selfie monologs and feeling connected to cruisers socially. But your pure sailing content is recognized and appreciated.
Thanks again Kevin
Thanks, as always.
So we have sitting next to you for 2 days unaware (your Mar 4th anchorage), and my wife is admiring your boat and telling me " That sure looks like Kevin's Ruth Avery and I'm like naw; Kevin's boat has burgundy colored sails! Lol
Thank you
Fantastic! Now I must put a stop over at the Dry Tortugas on my Wave Rover agenda.
Ha! And with twin keels and shoal draft the Keys will be much kinder--a lot more anchoring options. Now get back to work.
@@howtosailoceans1423 No rest for the wicked it seems.
When we sailed there last year, the park ranger explained that the fort was because it could control reshaping lanes . The fort could monitor sailing ship traffic that going East, West, North , and South. As I recalled, there was only one engagement in its history.. Technology quickly surpassed it’s importance e.g. steam power.
uncle google says......Fort Jefferson was built to protect one of the most strategic deepwater anchorages in North America. By fortifying this spacious harbor, the United States maintained an important “advance post” for ships patrolling the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida
Amazing, all those bricks had to be hauled out there and then constructed.
And without diesel powered machinery.
👍👍👍
Glad you made it to Fort Jeff and the Dry Tortugas! My first trip was 42 years ago, on a Coast Guard buoy tender. We used to supply the fort and the manned light station on Loggerhead Key with water and fuel (for generators) about 2-3 times a year. Been back on yachts several times since. Now that the National Monument is a National Park there are a lot more visitors. Biggest brick structure in the western hemisphere (I think). Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. I have never anchored off Boca Grande, but it looks better protected than anchoring off the Marquesas - which is what we have usually done.
Check out the forts of the "Third System", built after the war of 1812. Ones you may have seen on your travels include Ft Adams in Newport, Ft Clinch at Fernandina Beach, Ft Sumter, Ft Monroe in Norfolk, etc.
Thanks captain Kevin, I wish I could subscribe twice
Excellent as always.
Excellent video as always.
I always enjoy your videos. They are very well done and informative please keep them coming
Some great footage
Yet another beautiful video. Thanks Kevin
Hi Kevin, Thanks so much for sharing this. One of the guys from our little yacht club, PPYC at Smithville Lake (north of Kansas City) has his Seaward down in the keys for this winter and he commented on facebook that he saw a rope rigged gaff cutter on his way to Dry Tortugas. He had a picture too and I was sure it was you, now I am positive. Fair winds Brother!
Nice video !!! the last shot of RA was perfect
That Fort is fantastic
Nice video thanks
Great video. Love the trip. Wish I could do it someday. Keep living the dream.
Sweeeet! Thank You!
Loved it. Thank you for sharing this. Hopefully I'll be able to see you out there some day
Nice video and the place I had never heard of before, so thanks
Nice video. Thanks for sharing
Lovely anchorage and great footage. And more rewarding going there under own sails.
Another excellent video! Love the true sailing you practice Kevin. Its a pleasure to watch! Can't say though that I would ever want to be stationed on the dry Tortugas!
Nice
+1.
Thanks
I seen your boat the other day, I'm over in the mooring field.
Id imagine the fort was constructed to impose a sphere of influence into the area. I'm sure some senator made a good case for it at the time. but yes it is just a sandbar lol. the logistics of getting all the material and personnel out to such a place is pretty incredible for the time.
thanks for the tour! flown over the fort, but not set foot there…yet. cheers!
Worth a visit if have the chance.
What a place, I just looked it up on Google maps and switched to satalite view. Got to say, I am very pleased that I was not stationed on that fort! As ever I love your seamanship in navigating channels without the aid of a motor - Top stuff.
Wow! A Maryland dink on the beach in the Dry Tortugas. Doesn't look like "Baby Ruth", nor is she reg'd there, IIRC
Another great posting!
I love the keys. I love diving the keys. I am a dive master. Now a sailor with a 43 foot boat in the Chesapeake going to head south soon I hope.
Awesome! I'd like to sail out there one day. I took one of those seaplanes to visit back in 2014.
I actually found the seaplanes great entertainment, even if they occasionally disturbed the peace.
It's funny, fasizi was moored here in Toronto for a while. I didn't realize they sailed it to key West. I bought my first true cruising boat from an original crew member of the boat. Small world. K thought I wouldn't see it again. It's a fast one.
Great anchorage
You know I need to watch something when I eat my meals and relax after work etc. love the videos it really helps me chill out. Not a sailor but love watching anyway
Thanks for stopping by.
Lovely to see the place again! We sailed Sionna there in March 2018, and anchored very close to where you did. We were lucky enough to tag onto a tour group for free(!), so we got the full story of the fort’s importance and construction. Did you notice that the top floor is constructed of a different color brick? That’s because at the outbreak of the Civil War, they could no longer get brick from the southern source, and had to ship them by Schooner all the way from Maine!
Did n0t know that! Ah, the schooner days ...
I believe the fort was also used as a prison with Dr. Mudd, the physician who treated Lincoln's assassin JW Booth.
True enough. He actually earned his pardon by his work stemming the Yellow Fever epidemic that struck the fort while he was em prisoner there.
many of those building including the officers quarters were still standing when i first went there in july 1961
You are da man, a sailor's sailor, sadly we missed you in the Berry Islands. My wife's book is a good read, published by Austin Macauley of New York, literally a fictional story of sailing and adventure: "Seychelle and the Cannabis Yachties". It is very entertaining, hoping you will give it a read.
If l ever drift across the pond. This is on my places to visit list . That was so perfect. Thanks for shearing. You should get som funding from the government. You promote the USA in a way that will help foreigners choose your country as a holiday destination. Looking forward to the next episode best regards from Jarle
Thanks Jarle! It's generally easier sailing to North America from Europe than vice versa.
@@howtosailoceans1423 thanks.... I guess right after funding timing is everything 👍
She's so nimble compared to my Ingrid gaffer! Then again I have a 10 hp. Sabb.
The Ingrid's have very sweet hulls.
Apparently, Fort Jefferson had a great anchorage. So the warships hung out there resupplying. Ships might have been able to outmaneuver the forts guns. However, the warships that were resupplying there constantly prevented unsavory guests.
That's what Google says as well. The anchorage is Bird Key Harbor, which has excellent holding. However depths range from 30-50 ft, so a lot of scope is required, plus it would probably not be very comfortable in a small yacht in a blow.
Dry Tortugas is one of my favorite places to go. Looks like you had an empty anchorage.
Two other boats when I arrived, four when I left ...
Tough life Kevin, I suppose someone has to do it. (I know there is the odd drop of weather) ,,,
What? In the end part I thought I heard an old Wavestation?
Nice approach to the old fort 👍
You are hearing guitar, bass, and Mixcraft 8 drums and keys.
Yes, it is the keyboard I'm referring to 🎹
@@MiQBohlin The sample is just listed as "Warm Bells 1" ...
Awright, I get it. 👍
It looks like your sails are real canvas and it looks loose-footed and mast tided
The sails are Fibercon, made by Contender cloth.
I think I may be able to do this paypal tip thing. I don't trust the net so I got a prepaid thing to hopefully PayPal you with. I certainly appreciate your videos. Especially that you share the nuts and bolrs side of actually sailing.
Thanks Robert, and thanks for the support! (but no worries if you can't get PayPal to work ...).
Hey Kevin pased you in keywest I saw the sails a mile away.my boats "swan" by way of wind "if you want to pick up a good sailing book by Jim Moore.
I told you you'd enjoy, ps for those reading ... the campers always bring (and then leave) extra water and snacks! yay Yogi
Did not know that, but I saw the tents there by behind the beach.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. Can you remind me what the length and draft of R/A is?
31' on deck.
Looks to me like tartarian architecture. Look up Jon Levi on you toob. Fair winds
Nice video
Thanks for sharing
What are your sailboat details ?
Cheers
Sail on
In the description below the vid.
I wonder if that Appledore was up at Bay City, Michigan at one time?
I don't think so, she hails from Maine if I am not mistaken.
Man Kevin, please don’t ever change your channel content. One of the few true sailing channels out there. Just had to unsubscribe from another one. You authentically show the good and bad of blue water passages.
just wondering (I've never sailed a gaff-rigged boat, much less single-handed) ... would it help R-A go through the tack under main only if you can sheet in the main as you approach head-to-wind? Maybe it complicates the process too much when single-handed (you'd have to then ease it out as you come onto the new post-tack heading)
Yes it would, but there's quite a bit to do as it is.
To the fans: Does anyone recall a video in which he discusses the running backstays? With a gaff rig and a wooden mast I wonder about the order of operations, does it differ when coming about as opposed to a jybe, does it differ when close hauled as opposed to jibeing on a broad reach? How is tension determined, etc? I would bet it's been covered, I just don't know in which video.
Running backstays are necessary with a gaffer because the mainsail cannot cross the centerline without fouling a fixed backstay. So you have to set up the windward backstay everytime you come about or gybe, and slack the lee one so that it does not interfere with the mainsail.
Mr. Boothby, I know you are an accomplished sailor, and you know your rig and boat well. Can you help me understand why you keep your main so far from the centerline when tacking up-wind?
Sheet it too tight and she will just stall out. "Let her run a point free" as they used to say ...
@@howtosailoceans1423 Thank you, sir!
Nice! You having Grouper for dinner tonight?
That would be enough for several nights. Except you are not allowed to fish there.
I wonder if all those bricks were made on site or were they shipped in? Boggles the mind even thinking about it if they were shipped there under sail.
Manual labor was cheap back then (some of it was slave labor).
@@howtosailoceans1423 Wasn't talking about the loading/unloading, or even the actual building, but the shear volume of materials. Given the limited load carrying capacity, how many sailing vessels were required to haul all those millions of bricks????
As I look at several boats to purchase, there is one thing I do not grasp: The chain locker.
Many boats have an access to this from the vee berth. They also have access to this space from the fore deck.
I wonder if access from below is wise? Would you not want this area sealed off? Kind of like a water tight crash area in case you hit whatever maybe floating out there?
Obviously there are different schools of thought on this as some boats have this feature.
Do you have any opinions on this? Is this something that should even factor in to one's thoughts on a particular boat?
The boat would be for living on, getting out of the rat race. I have no kids, no commitments and have been making my living wrenching on boats for 15 years. Planning to sail for quite awhile. The keys and carribean to start. Maybe I like it, maybe I don't. We have chartered enough that I think it will be quite sufferable.
You would have to have access to the chain locker from somewhere to deal with tangles, but that could be done from a deck hatch. A good reason for a sealed chain locker is to prevent odors from marine growth on the chain getting into the cabin.
I just wonder if mortar could be made with saltwater. There is no freshwater source at FJ.
They built giant cisterns to catch rainwater, but most of them got contaminated with salt water over time.
My take; Fort Jackson was simply another example of a Federal Boondoggle fueled by greed and easy dollars for the contractors.
That's definitely a good guess ...
tempting to assume, but actually the fort played a vital role in limiting shipping by enemy forces. going from the east coast to the Mississippi river (to access the copious natural resources available from the mid-continent) offered very few safe anchorages in the case of heavy weather - Dry Tortugas was one. The fort meant that the French took a very high risk of losses because they couldn’t shelter there.