Caribbean – Diary – Volume II – No. 23
13.03. – 16.03.2025
Encounters with crocodiles, Portuguese man o' war, and manatees…
For our first leg, we motor a short distance to Adams Key in calm conditions, where we anchor for the night. The next day, we continue on to Key Largo. To reach Key Largo Bay, we first have to navigate a considerable distance through channels in the mangroves. The Key Largo Channel is very narrow in places and, above all, very shallow. At low tide, it's barely enough for our 1,3m draft. So, the boats communicate via radio, using a Secure message and stating the marker where they are and the direction of travel (inbound or outbound).
The water here is so shallow and the channel so narrow that we have to navigate very carefully to get through. We ground once, but quickly break free again.
Since Key Largo is a nature reserve, we have to moor at a mooring. That evening, we receive a visit – two huge crocodiles appear next to our boat.
"Those are Tom and Jerry," the ranger informs us the next day at registration – "they're not doing anything... you're lucky you even saw them; they're actually very shy..." Well then... "There are only 2000 crocodiles left in Florida." We've already met three of them...
We visit the visitor center with its aquariums and walk along a forest nature trail. Our attempt to disembark in the village fails; everything here is privately owned – villas on waterfront property with private boat parking – presumably second homes for wealthy Miami residents.
The wind slowly picks up, allowing us to set sail for Tavernier Key the next day. We encounter kitesurfers and a long sandbar lined with mangroves. Bernd, Gordon, and Susi conquer the sandbar, and we take a dip in the crystal-clear water. Unfortunately, there's nothing to see; even though I'm wearing a swim mask, I can only observe a few aquatic plants.
For Gordon and Susi, the journey is slowly coming to an end. On Sunday, we set off on the final leg together: about 30 nautical miles to Marathon Island. From there, they plan to take the bus back to Miami on Tuesday. The wind has now picked up to over 30 knots, making things quite choppy. However, we can set sail and are making good progress.
The water is a pleasant light green, and Portuguese man o' war repeatedly swims past us. These jellyfish—actually colonies of polyps—have tentacles up to 50 meters long that are extremely poisonous. They're also called bluebottles, and they look as if someone had thrown a shimmering dark blue bottle into the water—like a message in a bottle floating past you. The name "man-o'-war" is probably more appropriate, given the creatures' high toxicity. We've found several bays with the same name in both Florida and the Bahamas.
Once we arrive in Marathon, we have to navigate another narrow channel to get into the bay. Once again, the entrance is very shallow, and we first have to find a place where we can get across with our 1.3m draft. However, we manage it on the second attempt.
When we reach the bay, it's already quite full of boats – all the buoys we've requested are occupied. However, it's not only full of boats, but also quite shallow in many places – too shallow for our catamaran. After some navigating, we find a spot on the outer edge of the anchorage.
We're in an area with manatees here – and sure enough, we spot two manatees a few meters from our boat. Gordon and I jump into the dinghy and try to get closer to them. They surface from time to time, but they're hard to spot in the murky water, and they don't visit us on the dinghy.
But as we row back to the catamaran, they are obviously coming after us and we notice them swimming under the bottom of our dinghy…
Tomorrow we want to explore Marathon Island and visit the Turtle Hospital…
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