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From to Dry Tort

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t was 8:45 on a rainy October had left his home around 5 that tional fuel tanks. We had the standard morning, and I was on my morning and had just crossed the 80-gallon tank that comes mounted way to Bishop International border. in the center pontoon. We also had Airport in Flint, Mich. Before the 36-gallon tank that comes stan- I left the Avalon/Tahoe Built for Fun dard on two-tube models mounted in Pontoon manufacturing Our pontoon had just come off the the port rear corner and two addi- facility in Alma 45 minutes production line the previous week. It tional 45-gallon tanks mounted in the earlier, I checked the weather is a stock boat except for three addi- privacy station area toward the rear of Ifor Key West one last the boat. The guys at the time. As luck would plant did a great job inte- have it, the day of my grating all the tanks and departure was also the even installed a knob on the day the forecast took a dash so we could easily turn for the worse. monitor and switch As I paid attention to between them. the wet and slippery Aside from the 206-gal- road, my cell phone lon fuel capacity, our boat rang. It was Doug also has the Rough Water Haskell, a Tahoe Package (aluminum tubes Pontoon dealer from are .110 inch thick instead Devil’s Lake, Mich. of .090 inch and all seams “Have you seen the are joined with continuous weather?” he asked. I welds), the Watersports just laughed and said, Package (triple-tube setup, “Here we go again.” aluminum under sheeting and high- Doug was in Central Florida, Three men test the performance lifting strakes on all about three and a half hours from our limits of an Avalon three pontoons), captain stand scheduled rendezvous at Ft. Myers upgrade (includes a built-in stainless Beach. He had left the previous pontoon fresh off steel refrigerator, retractable wine morning from south Michigan and the production line rack and sink), double Bimini top was towing the 26-foot Avalon (two 10-foot Biminis for maximum Pontoon that we planned to take for a BY JIM WOLF, shade coverage), wakeboard tower ride around the Keys. Bruce England, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF (with Infinity tower speakers), col- a Tahoe Pontoon dealer from Atlanta, AVALON/TAHOE PONTOONS ored wall skin upgrade (we chose ugas in a Pontoon

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black walls), sport graphics and step up the plan by a day. We didn’t simulated teak wood on the front want to be in the open waters of the deck instead of carpet. Dry Tortugas when the cold front Powering the decked-out Avalon came in and the wind and waves is a 250 hp Yamaha four-stroke with picked up. This was supposed to be digital shift controls. Yamaha was a fun adventure, not a deadly one. excited to team up with With the front coming in Saturday Avalon/Tahoe on this project, and all afternoon, we had to make it over to of us were excited that the boat the Dry Tortugas and back by then. would be powered by such a reliable Instead of burning all day Friday and maintenance-free engine. going from Ft. Myers to Key West, we decided that we would drive straight Change of Plans to Key West and depart Friday As I neared the airport, I gave morning for the Dry Tortugas. Doug the updated forecast. “OK, so now they are calling for the cold Moment of Truth front to come in Saturday afternoon From left to right: Avalon dealers The next morning in Key West, we instead of Sunday. Saturday we are Doug Haskell and Bruce England with purchased our fishing licenses and looking at 10-knot winds shifting to Avalon president and CEO Jim Wolf, nonresident lobster permits, then the northwest and increasing to near- safely tied up at the marina. headed over to City Marina at ly 15 knots during the afternoon. Seas Garrison Bight where Doug had building beyond the reef 2 to 4 feet Key West by sundown. Saturday we dropped the boat the night before. with scattered showers. Sunday, would travel the 70 miles from Key When the dockhands at the marina north winds near 20 knots and gusty. West to Dry Tortugas National Park. heard our plan to take the 26-foot Seas beyond the reef 4 to 7 feet, even After hanging out all day we would pontoon to the Dry Tortugas, they higher in the Gulf Stream.” We both spend the night on the boat, go back to said we were crazy to attempt that knew that our plan needed to change Key West on Sunday and maybe spend journey with our rig, especially with and it needed to change fast. a couple of extra days kicking around the impending storm. Originally our plan was to spend the Keys before returning to Ft. Myers. After topping off all the tanks we Thursday night in Ft. Myers, then After the last look at the weather, backed the Avalon down the ramp depart on Friday morning and be in our thought was that we needed to and put her in. We were all anxious to

1513 to Present

lmost 70 nautical the Dry Tortugas have been a hazard miles west of Key to navigation and the site of hundreds A West is a cluster of of shipwrecks. seven islands composed of U.S. military attention was drawn and dry sand called to the Keys in the early 1800s due to the Dry Tortugas. Along with their strategic location in the Florida the surrounding shoals and Straits. Plans were made for a massive waters, they make up Dry fortress and construction began in Tortugas National Park. The 1846, but the fort was never complet- area is famous for its bird ed because the invention of the rifled and marine life, legends of cannon made the fort obsolete. As the pirates and sunken gold, and military value of waned, its military past. its pristine reefs, abundant sea life and The Tortugas were discovered by impressive birds grew in value. In 1953, Ponce de Leon in 1513. Sea turtles President Roosevelt set aside Fort (“tortugas” in Spanish) provisioned his Jefferson and the surrounding waters ships with fresh meat, but there was as a national park. The area was desig- no drinking water — the Tortugas nated as Dry Tortugas National Park in were dry. Since the days of Spanish 1992 to protect both its historical and exploration, the reefs and shoals of natural features.

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see how she floated fully loaded and come and go. We came within 100 carrying the additional 1,500 pounds yards of a commercial fishing boat, of fuel. The 27-inch pontoons and we were certain they couldn’t appeared to do an excellent job keep- believe their eyes when they saw three ing her high, dry and well balanced. guys cruising by in a pontoon. The 250 Yamaha turned over quickly, and all was good to go. Arrival As we backed away from the dock, About 10 miles from our destina- we all looked at each other and, in tion, Doug spotted the 150-foot light- unison, blurted out our team motto: house on , 3 miles “Let’s get ‘er done!” With that, we past Garden Key, which is home to headed into the unknown. Fort Jefferson. The sight of land was a relief. We reached the Dry Tortugas, On the Open Seas the sun was beating down, the water Safety First With Bruce at the controls, Doug was crystal clear and we still had all lthough spending four days started dialing in the coordinates on day to explore, play around and catch Atraveling around the Keys on a the GPS, and I pulled out my camera some dinner. pontoon sounded like a blast, it and snapped some photos. We slowly Fort Jefferson was impressive as it also took us through the Gulf motored through the no-wake zones came into view. We backed off the Stream and out of sight of land for around Key West, and soon we were throttle and took our time navigating several hours. The three of us all free to roll. We took the Avalon up to through the shallow water in between have significant boating experi- cruising speed and settled in around small islands of white sand. The first ence, and we knew that the Avalon 23 to 25 knots. We were running off the order of business was to set foot on is a well-built boat that could with- port rear fuel tank since consuming dry land and visit the fort. We followed stand some pretty harsh conditions. the fuel in this tank first would give us the well-marked channel into Garden We also knew the Yamaha is an better balance from side to side. Key and passed the main visitor’s dock extremely reliable engine that As we headed due west from Key where a large ferry (Yankee Freedom would get us there and back with- West, we traveled along the outer II) from Key West was getting ready to out failure. But there’s still a little islands that are spread out over a 30- depart. Through the zoom lens on my craziness in taking a pontoon over mile stretch. The Mule Keys are a camera I could see the bewildered 350 miles of open ocean, out of group of scattered islets between 3 look on the faces of the tourists. sight of land and out of contact and 12 miles west of Key West. After We decided to beach the boat with the people that knew our that we passed , Man directly in front of the fort where plans. Key, , and there was a sign designating the area We did our best to prepare for . The U.S. govern- for “dinghies.” After startling a few the unexpected and spared no ment has placed most of this area off- unsuspecting snorkelers, we killed expense on safety equipment. On limits as part of Key West National the Yamaha, stepped on shore and board we had Type V PFDs, a flare Wildlife Refuge. The islands were to were struck with a sense of true kit, strobe lights, an EPIRB, a hard- the north, and we were running remoteness. wired marine radio with a 6-foot approximately 3 to 5 miles offshore. We walked about 100 yards to the whip antenna and a range of 14 After another 10 miles or so of entrance of the fort and asked a park nautical miles, submersible VHF open water we passed the Marquesas volunteer — Bill Hamilton — to take radios, a first aid kit, a spare prop, a Keys, an uninhabited group of small our picture in front of the huge brick tool bag, flashlights and a SPOT mangrove islands. As these faded structure. He took a few photos and GPS tracker. We discovered the away in the distance, the GPS showed was very curious to see our boat. We SPOT system while poking around a we were approximately 30 miles west walked back to the boat as Bill gave us West Marine store. It’s about the of Key West and nearing our halfway some history about the island, the size of a cell phone and, when acti- point. The next time we saw land, it fort, how often the ferries run, what vated, tracks your location at 15- would be the Dry Tortugas. to expect at night, where we were minute intervals. It’s connected to a Once we hit deeper water the waves allowed to fish and snorkel, etc. Bill Web site (findmespot.com) so began to kick up as we passed through seemed pretty impressed that we not friends and loved ones can track treacherous Rebecca Channel and the only attempted our journey, but that your progress and identify your ride got a little rocky. There was no land we actually made it. He works as a exact location anywhere in the visible, but every half hour or so we volunteer for one month a year and world. would see another boat on the horizon spends the rest of his time as the cap-

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Exploring the Fort he perimeter of Fort Jefferson is the fort housed prisoners from the surrounded by a , and the Confederate Army as well as desert- T 75-foot brick walls shooting ers from the . The most straight out of the moat are an famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel impressive sight. The fort is built in Mudd, the physician who innocently the shape of an octagon, the interior treated the leg of President Lincoln’s peppered with trees and grass. The assassin. He was convicted of treason inside walls of the fort have deterio- and imprisoned at Fort Jefferson. He rated, and you can see what used to was pardoned in 1869 for his heroic be square rooms used for living or jail efforts treating prisoners and guards cells. During and after the Civil War who contracted yellow fever.

tain of El Tortuga Dive Charters out of dinner. As the sun started going the front 86-inch benches and I slept Panama City, Fla. down, we motored back to the fort, on the rear sundeck, which had a cracked a few beers and played some great view of the star-filled night. Ocean’s Bounty music. The sunset was perfect and After a short stroll around the fort, made for some great photos as the The Plot Thickens we were all dripping with sweat and sun slowly sank down over I woke up at 3 in the morning to wanted to get back on the water to cool Loggerhead Key. Our thoughts turned the sound of waves lapping against down. We motored out past the again to the approaching storm, and the beach, except it sounded like the restricted fishing zone and picked a we decided that we would depart at waves were right under me. The tide random spot to throw anchor. Then we dawn in order to make it back safely. had gone out, and three-quarters of donned our masks and fins and Stuffed from our seafood feast, we the boat was now solidly on shore. jumped into the clear, 80-degree water. called it a night and rolled out our There was nothing I could do about Bruce grabbed his speargun and sleeping bags. Doug and Bruce took it, but it was difficult to go back to swam off. Within five minutes he was back with a large hogfish thrashing at the end of the spear. Doug spotted some lobsters peeking out from the rocks about 10 feet down, so we grabbed our nets and pokers and soon had two impressive lobsters on board. We were excited to know we wouldn’t be going hungry later that night. We kept at it for a couple of hours and ended up with six large lobsters as well as three nice-sized fish for

The 26-foot Avalon pontoon easily made the journey before the foul weather came in.

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sleep as I worried how we would get down to 18 knots, and off to our star- the boat off the beach in the morning board side we spotted a waterspout in time to beat the storm home. about 5 miles in the distance. This At 6 a.m. we were up and securing kept us preoccupied for at least 20 items for the return trip. Most of the minutes, but next thing we knew we boat was now on the beach, but the were passing the series of keys off Key quick and steep drop-off still allowed West, so we cranked up the Infinity us to trim the motor all the way sound system and watched the miles down. I took the controls as Doug go by. and Bruce pushed from the front. In The island of Key West was a wel- full reverse, the powerful Yamaha come sight. We arrived exactly 24 inched the tubes off the sand into hours after we had departed, dirty, deeper water. A few moments later tired and hot. We pulled into the we all sighed with relief as we floated main marina and as we walked down freely a few feet from shore. Time was the pier we looked at each other and, of the essence, so we headed out of in unison, said, “We got ‘er done!” the harbor right away. Back at City Marina, we pulled the The wind was blowing harder and might bury the front end into the back- boat out and within five minutes the the waves were much larger than the side of a wave. But the boat was run- storm hit with a fury: pouring rain, day before, but we had no trouble ning great and felt incredibly stable in gusty winds and cold temperatures. reaching a cruise speed of 25 knots. On the rough seas of the gulf. At our The conditions deteriorated the horizon we could see a dark storm halfway point, we knew we would soon throughout the day, so we knew that in the distance. We were in 2- to 4-foot be in sight of the . we had “got ’er done” just in the nick following seas, and I worried that we The building seas forced us to slow of time. BW

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