- Local News for Southern Sailors - May 2002 Next Story
Cruising the Florida Keys - Part II Part I
By Claiborne Young and Morgan Stinemetz
For auto travelers, there are two ways onto Key Largo. The Card Sound Road and (toll) bridge is the northern and less-traveled route. The other route, U.S. 1, cuts into Key Largo a few miles further south and west. It crosses over Jewfish Creek as a two-lane road and doesn't become four lanes until one gets to Key Largo proper.
Also part of Key Largo, but at the southern end, is Tavernier, which has its own community identity and an array of shops and services. Aesthetically different from Key Largo proper, Tavernier is newer and not quite as commercial.
When one crosses the Tavernier Creek Bridge from Tavernier to Plantation Key, things become even more laid back. Plantation Key is mostly residential, and many of those residents are out of sight. There is a great deal of money on Plantation Key, we have been told, but it is old money and not in any way flashy. The best homes are somewhat off the beaten track and do not attract attention.
After Plantation Key comes Windley Key, which is actually several small islands that have been conjoined to make one bigger one — which is still not very big. Windley Key has a geological site that will be of interest to visitors who want to see how the rock that has been used in various Keys construction projects was quarried locally.
Whale Harbor Channel constitutes the dividing line between Windley Key and Upper Matecumbe Key. Both Upper Matecumbe Key and its next of kin, Lower Matecumbe Key, are parts of the municipality of Islamorada. In fact, Plantation Key and Windley Key are also part of this melange. Islamorada ends with the very lower extremity of Lower Matecumbe Key. Between the two islands are Lignumvitae Key and Indian Key, both state sites without any extras, except mosquitoes. The former is botanical, and the latter is historical.
Once off Lower Matecumbe Key, you'll be on a bridge over what is called Channel Five. This is one of the main transition points from Hawk Channel to the ICW for boats that need substantial vertical clearance. Continuing west, you'll touch briefly on Fiesta Key and then go over another bridge and be on Long Key for a short while. Then the Long Key Viaduct will carry you over more water. Feet dry at Conch Keys for a half-minute or so, you then go on to Duck Key. Duck Key will show up on your left. It's both commercial and private, the commercial part being the luxurious Hawk's Cay Resort.
A short bridge connects Duck Key to Grassy Key, and then the highway continues onto Vaca Key and into Marathon. Marathon is commercial in the real sense of the word. It's mid-Keys and not much different from the mainland, particularly close to the highway. Marathon is not without its unique charm, but much of it does not come easily to view. You have to look for it.
After Marathon comes the Seven Mile Bridge, which spans Moser Channel and is another cut-through place for sailing vessels that can fit underneath its 63-foot vertical clearance. This bridge perches briefly on Pigeon Key along its lengthy transit. This isle is a lovely historical site (and sight). It has been left pretty much as it was when Henry Flagler was building his railroad through here.
The Seven Mile Bridge ends on Little Duck Key; then the roadway touches on Missouri and Ohio Keys before setting down for a spell on Bahia Honda Key and passing Bahia Honda State Park. This is the place in the Florida Keys for beaching it. There's real sand here, and the setting is just plain lovely, picturebook-like.
Pressing onward, we come next to Spanish Harbor Keys (which include West Summerland Key, which is miles east of Summerland Key) and then to Big Pine Key, one of the larger islands. The road jogs to the northwest here, then straightens itself out again, and heads west.
Big Pine Key is home to many of the endangered Key deer, and the speed limits lower smartly. Woe betide the motorist who runs down a Key deer.
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On the highway again, you'll pass over Little Torch Key — Middle Torch and Big Torch are further north — then Ramrod Key, Summerland Key, and Cudjoe Key. At Cudjoe Key the government maintains a couple of blimps that they let up into the air on tethers to (a) broadcast TV Marti signals to Cuba and (b) keep an eye over the horizon for smugglers of both narcotics and people. If the weather is good, you may see the blimp off to your north. When the weather turns nasty, the personnel at this secure base bring the blimps down to keep them from blowing away. They are not always successful.
Across the bridge from Cudjoe Key, heading west, is Sugarloaf Key, home to a lasting monument to man's folly and resourcefulness, the Bat Tower. See other references in this tome to the Bat Tower; it is a great tale.
In the back country to the north lie Johnston Key, Snipe Keys, Sawyer Key, Riding Key, Raccoon Key, Budd Keys, Tarpon Belly Keys, Barracuda Keys, Marvin Keys, and many others.
The road crosses Saddlebunch Keys next and then connects with Boca Chica Key, home of the Key West Naval Air Station. Most of this island is not open to the public, but you can see some exotic military aircraft coming and going from this area at almost any time of day.
Upon arriving on the shores of Stock Island, you are nearly to Key West. Stock Island is industrial, for the most part, and colorful beyond measure. Exploring the nether reaches of Stock Island is worth the time, but do it in the daylight. That way, you will be able to remember the faces and names of the interesting characters you come across. After dark, it could get a little scary.
The end of the line is Key West. This city is a carnival ride that never stops. You hop on, hold on, and take a deep breath. It will be over when it is over, cost you what it costs, and leave you with memories that, in your dotage, you can resuscitate in living color and smile at all over again. Nothing in the Florida Keys is quite like Key West. Come to think of it, nothing in the WORLD is quite like Key West. For so many, it is the end of the trip and the beginning of an adventure that may last for days or weeks or years. You never know how it will actually go down in Key West, but it will be an experience you will always remember.
Finally, for those intrepid cruisers who are ready to cross many miles of open waters, there are the Dry Tortugas. These remote, desolate isles offer two good anchorages, a historic fort, and the opportunity to visit what was once the most feared federal prison in America.
Florida Keys' natural and man-made history
The Florida Keys are far more than bridges and islands and gas stations and T-shirt shops, though the hordes of tourists who regularly descend upon the Keys for relaxation and recreation via U.S. 1 (the principal vehicular avenue of arrival) may believe that the 43 bridges which link 38 of the major islands in the Keys are the most significant structures. They are not.
Look for additional stories and local knowledge from Cruising the Florida Keys in the coming issues of Southwinds. The 565-page guide is available at marine stores throughout the South.
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