Apr 03 2009
Missing The Florida Keys is not an option
Florida is one those states with so much to do and see that one must commit to a second home or make multiple extended journeys. Regardless of time spent in the Sunshine State, if one fails to visit the Florida Keys, one has failed to experience the spirit of Floridian flair. Not visiting the Keys while touring Florida is like site-seeing California without driving coastal Hwy 101, or like taking a road trip through New York and skipping the Big Apple or visiting Arizona landmarks and omitting the Grand Canyon. Who would do that?
You say that fishing for Hemmingway’s giant fish suits you more than seeing the famous American writer’s home because all of those cats at the residence will ignite your allergies? No problem, here’s what you do . . .
REDBONE SUNRISE/SUNSET TARPON TOURNAMENT SET FOR APRIL 24-26
DUCK KEY, Florida Keys — It should be prime time for tarpon at the Redbone Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament, set for April 24-26 at Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key at mile marker 61 oceanside.Wade Boggs, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, is to serve as the celebrity host for the event, which benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.Registration is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Friday, April 24, followed by a gala kick-off dinner and silent auction. The dinner is open to the public. Auction items are to include bonefish excursions, trips to other Redbone events around the country, fishing rods, jewelry, artwork and more.Saturday, April 25, anglers are to fish beginning at dawn, 6 to 10:30 a.m., and again at dusk, 4 to 8 p.m. Fishing Sunday, April 26, is scheduled 6 to 10:30 a.m.The event is to close with an awards luncheon Sunday at 12 p.m.Entry fee is $3,000 per two-angler team, which includes guide fee and social privileges for each angler and a guest. For more information, call (305) 664-2002 or visit www.redbone.org. Hawks Cay features 177 guest rooms and 225 two- and three-bedroom villas. The property’s 85-slip full-service marina offers water sports, a sailing school and fishing charters. To find out about area accommodations, call the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce at (305) 743-5417 or (800) 262-7284, e-mail visitus@floridakeysmarathon.com, or visit the Florida Keys & Key West Web site at www.fla-keys.com.
You say you are an advanced scuba diver looking for a scenic reef with a kaleidoscope of multicolored tropical fish under a turquoise paint of clear sea? This just may be for you . . .
DIVERS CAN JOIN SEARCH FOR 1622 TREASURE GALLEON ON ATOCHA DIVE ADVENTURE
KEY WEST, Florida Keys — For the first time, adventure-hungry certified divers can work alongside professional treasure salvage experts excavating the wrecksite of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, one of the most significant shipwreck discoveries of the 20th century. The weeklong Atocha Dive Adventure includes training in commercial treasure salvage techniques, behind-the-scenes tours of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and laboratories where Atocha artifacts are conserved and two full days of diving the site alongside salvage experts seeking the galleon’s sterncastle. The first adventure is scheduled Monday through Sunday, June 8-14.
Approximately $400 million of the Atocha’s treasure and a significant portion of the vessel’s structure were discovered in 1985 by the late shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher, submerged in approximately 55 feet of water 35 miles southwest of Key West.
Crews led by Fisher’s family continue to search for the ship’s sterncastle and the gold and silver bars and coins that are listed on the Atocha’s manifest but remain undiscovered.
The Atocha Dive Adventure, created by the Fisher family and Mel Fisher’s Treasures of Key West, gives recreational divers a never-before-offered chance to be part of the historic search.
“This is the first time we are offering the public an opportunity to explore the working Atocha site and actually assist our crew finding treasure and artifacts,” said Sean Fisher, grandson of Mel Fisher and vice-president of Mel Fisher’s Treasures.
Any participating diver who discovers gold, silver or artifacts will be awarded a previously conserved Atocha piece of equal value, up to $2,500, from the Fisher family’s private collection.
As well as diving the Atocha site, the weeklong adventure package includes a private room and bath in an Old Town Key West vacation home, training and checkout dives on the Keys’ living coral reef, a wine lovers’ sunset sail and gatherings with the Fisher family and crew. The package is available throughout the summer dive season.
Cost for the week is $2,500 per person. Nondiving companions can share a room with a participating diver, enjoy all nondiving activities and receive a Key West attractions “passport” for $500 per person.
For more information, including available dates, contact Shawn Cowles of Mel Fisher’s Treasures at (305) 294-5441 or scowles@melfisher.com. For more information about the Atocha search, visit www.melfisher.com.For additional information about the Florida Keys & Key West, visit www.fla-keys.com. Perhaps hanging around Key West soaking up the laid back culture of true parrot heads while sipping marqueritas is your thing. There’s always time for fishing the pilings or catching a live performance at Sloppy Joes where willing tourists are often dragged on stage to perform with the artists in a Key West version of American Idol. Yours truly was once coaxed on stage there by a Jimmy Buffet-looking performer wearing cut-offs , tee-shirt and sandals. I belted out a couple of lines from some obscure sixties ditty while he picked it on a six-string. We were with friends and I am still living with the humiliation; the fun, would-do-it-again type of humility that is served daily in the Florida Keys.
