Dry Tortugas Boat Trip & Shipwreck Snorkel from Key West

Yesterday’s boat day was exactly what I needed. I can’t speak highly enough about Conch 'N Around Charters and the day we had. Seriously was one of the best boat days ever. We left the dock at 7am to head 70 miles west to Fort Jefferson & The Dry Tortugas National Park. It’s been a while since I was on a boat for that long so I bought some meds just in case. But the boat was so nice and so smooth that I never needed them. I got to sit next to Captain Kelly and learn about the boat and what we were passing as we headed out (even gave me  binoculars to check out some stuff). Just water and a few islands around us for about 2 hours before Fort Jefferson just appears on the horizon. It’s the largest brick-masonry structure in the Americas, built between 1846-1875, and sits in The Dry Tortugas National Park. It is one of the most remote and least visited National Parks because it is only accessible by ferry, private boat/charter, or sea plane. I have been there quite a few times (by ferry & sea plane) and usually spend my time snorkeling and not so much time in the Fort. Knowing we were snorkeling later, I walked the entire Fort on every floor. I also took a quick dip in the water because it was so clear and it was getting hot out. There were maybe 12-15 of us there, which was so nice to not have the crowd from the ferry. We left just when the ferry pulled in! After a quick 3-mile boat ride, we tied up to the only mooring ball at the Windjammer/Avanti shipwreck to snorkel… which means we had the place to ourselves! Of course we were quickly greeted by a reef shark. None of us had a camera or GoPro for this portion of our trip. We snorkeled over the 120 year old shipwreck. So many fish and coral and 2 Goliath Groupers!! Amazing! Best snorkeling I think I’ve ever done. We then headed to Loggerhead Key for more snorkeling, lunch, exploring, and some beach time. I think there were maybe 12-15 of us on the entire Key while we were there. I snorkeled for a little before being chased by the biggest  barracuda I’ve seen. He was not backing off, so back to shore I went. I have massive respect for the ocean wildlife so I let him have his territory (and I was not going to be his lunch). I did get greeted by a baby nurse shark who swam right up to my feet to say hello (“Disney Princess moment”). And, of course in true island fashion, I ran into KW friends Jessica Stringham Perloff while there! After over 2 hours there, we headed back to Key West. The ride home was so flat and clear. I saw a few loggerhead turtles throughout our boating time. We returned to a massive storm over the island and only had to deal with it the last mile to our dock. Captain Kelly took us a different route to keep from being in the storm for longer. Thank you Kelly & Yanelys Ballard for such an amazing day! If you’re in Key West (local or visiting), give Conch ‘N Around Charters a call for your boat day!!

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