Leaving the first of the week from Tampa bay for Ft Jefferson. This is our
first time there, does anyone have any special information we should know?
- Allen
bushman (at) tampabay.rr.com

Know the fishing, snorkeling and diving rules... Most of the area is a
NO_TAKE zone.

Watch the wind direction and anchor accordingly

Bring an extra bottle of Rum or two (Nothing pricey) you can trade it to
the commercial fisherman who anchor in here for Lobsters, snapper,
grouper etc at an AMAZING trade rate. (I got 6 lobsters one time for
1/2 bottle of Rum)

Bring EVERYTHING and extra stuff as well... nothing available on the
island.

You will need a dingy or a kayak or some other way to get from the
anchorage to the island as there is no permanent dockage for non-tour
boats. You can dump your group, anchor out and take a kayak in but you
can't leave your boat and tour the Island

Have fun







bushman wrote:
Leaving the first of the week from Tampa bay for Ft Jefferson. This is our
first time there, does anyone have any special information we should know?
- Allen
bushman (at) tampabay.rr.com

that's a awsome place to visit...we took a seaplane out there
for the afternoon.....i am sure you will be amazed and enjoy the
visit !! it has quiet a history behind it.......

"bushman" wrote:

Leaving the first of the week from Tampa bay for Ft Jefferson. This is our
first time there, does anyone have any special information we should know?
- Allen
bushman (at) tampabay.rr.com

Check your charts. Garden Key has joined with Bush Key, so the north
channel is not open. You have to go around Garden Key to the west and
come up the south channel.

Ditto knowing where you can anchor and where you can't, and where you
can fish (if you are going to do that) and where you can dive.

Ditto that you have to bring every single solitary thing that you will
need, and you will need to take it all back with you also. There's no
trash disposal available.

There's no fresh water available. Bring all that you will need.

There's no fuel available. Bring all that you might use. Fill up in
Key West before you go - that's about the last place available. My
SIL has a power boat, and has to take a 55 gallon drum of fuel with
him for the run down there so that he can get back.

Ft. Jefferson is a National Park. There is a small fee for camping
there, and also a fee for visiting the fort. They may also charge the
fee for people to visit from the anchorage. Last time I was there I
went by sea plane and then had to come back by boat because the sea
plane had engine trouble. The seaplane people collected a fee for the
park from the passengers.

We were told that there were no sanitary facilities available for
day-trippers, that we should use the toilets on the boats. The
campers had permanent porta-potties. Originally they had salt water
toilets on the pier but I have been told that they are no longer
operational because of leaking contamination into the ground water.

The park rangers may padlock your holding tank so that you can't
discharge black water. They didn't with us the first time we came,
but I have heard that they will do that.

You can't go on some of the keys when the birds (sooty terns etc) are
nesting. That's usually in the spring. Check on whether you can
legally go to Loggerhead Key.

They used to make the daytrip catamarans go and anchor off, but they
do not seem to do that now. We followed one of their tours around and
no one seemed to mind.

http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/645f1/#TL and there are other
narratives with pictures at the same site.

grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote:

"bushman" wrote:

Leaving the first of the week from Tampa bay for Ft Jefferson. This is our
first time there, does anyone have any special information we should know?
- Allen
bushman (at) tampabay.rr.com

Check your charts. Garden Key has joined with Bush Key, so the north
channel is not open. You have to go around Garden Key to the west and
come up the south channel.

Ditto knowing where you can anchor and where you can't, and where you
can fish (if you are going to do that) and where you can dive.

Ditto that you have to bring every single solitary thing that you will
need, and you will need to take it all back with you also. There's no
trash disposal available.

There's no fresh water available. Bring all that you will need.

There's no fuel available. Bring all that you might use. Fill up in
Key West before you go - that's about the last place available. My
SIL has a power boat, and has to take a 55 gallon drum of fuel with
him for the run down there so that he can get back.

Ft. Jefferson is a National Park. There is a small fee for camping
there, and also a fee for visiting the fort. They may also charge the
fee for people to visit from the anchorage. Last time I was there I
went by sea plane and then had to come back by boat because the sea
plane had engine trouble. The seaplane people collected a fee for the
park from the passengers.

We were told that there were no sanitary facilities available for
day-trippers, that we should use the toilets on the boats. The
campers had permanent porta-potties. Originally they had salt water
toilets on the pier but I have been told that they are no longer
operational because of leaking contamination into the ground water.

The park rangers may padlock your holding tank so that you can't
discharge black water. They didn't with us the first time we came,
but I have heard that they will do that.

You can't go on some of the keys when the birds (sooty terns etc) are
nesting. That's usually in the spring. Check on whether you can
legally go to Loggerhead Key.

They used to make the daytrip catamarans go and anchor off, but they
do not seem to do that now. We followed one of their tours around and
no one seemed to mind.

http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/645f1/#TL and there are other
narratives with pictures at the same site.

Forgot to add - you will get very little radio or TV reception from
the US (will be some in Spanish which I guess was from Cuba), and that
goes for VHF radio also. There is a very expensive satellite phone in
the fort but it may be out of order. Regular cell phones will have no
service.

grandma Rosalie

Thanks everyone.
We will have to have everything onboard when we shove off as we are sailing
thru. This will be our first overnight passage and any detours from 185*
would just add miles and time. All this is dependant on the weather.
Thanks for the tip about the Booze for Fish program. Hopefully we will hook
up on the way down, a nice big Dorado would be great.
I have the information and photos of the pass closed up, we will go around
the west side of the fort. We have fuel for about 310nm of the 380nm round
trip. 100gal of water plus drinks. Have the extra thick garbage bags and
duct tape. No TV, radio, phones is perfect!
- Thanks again, will report back in two weeks.
- Allen

"bushman" wrote:


Thanks everyone.
We will have to have everything onboard when we shove off as we are sailing
thru. This will be our first overnight passage and any detours from 185*
would just add miles and time. All this is dependant on the weather.
Thanks for the tip about the Booze for Fish program. Hopefully we will hook
up on the way down, a nice big Dorado would be great.
I have the information and photos of the pass closed up, we will go around
the west side of the fort. We have fuel for about 310nm of the 380nm round
trip. 100gal of water plus drinks. Have the extra thick garbage bags and
duct tape. No TV, radio, phones is perfect!
- Thanks again, will report back in two weeks.
- Allen

If you go to the shrimp boats (which only shrimp at night) you can get
a bucket of shrimp for booze. The commercial boats in the harbor of
the fort will also have ice. I'd take more water than that depending
on how many of you there are and whether you can use salt water for
washing dishes and/or cooking.


grandma Rosalie

grandma Rosalie ... that's a great
blog site w/photos of the fort...we
enjoyed...i sent my wife a postcard...she
will dig it...thanx !!....

"~^ beancounter ~^" wrote:

grandma Rosalie ... that's a great
blog site w/photos of the fort...we
enjoyed...i sent my wife a postcard...she
will dig it...thanx !!....

You are welcome. I've been twice - once on our boat, and once by sea
plane. My SIL goes down there in his power boat about once a year for
fishing.

grandma Rosalie

You have the time of your lives. We were anchored near Boca Chica Key early
this spring, spending a couple days wandering around Key West. We were
waiting for a weather window to sail for Ft. Jefferson. My parents emailed
saying they were coming down...we ended up sailing north to get them at
Miami. Kind of bummed out that we didn't make it out there. Maybe next
time we will go and then continue on to Mexico and points further south.
Enjoy! Post some pictures.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net


"bushman" wrote in message
.. .

Thanks everyone.
We will have to have everything onboard when we shove off as we are
sailing
thru. This will be our first overnight passage and any detours from 185*
would just add miles and time. All this is dependant on the weather.
Thanks for the tip about the Booze for Fish program. Hopefully we will
hook
up on the way down, a nice big Dorado would be great.
I have the information and photos of the pass closed up, we will go around
the west side of the fort. We have fuel for about 310nm of the 380nm round
trip. 100gal of water plus drinks. Have the extra thick garbage bags and
duct tape. No TV, radio, phones is perfect!
- Thanks again, will report back in two weeks.
- Allen