Beginning in July 2020, I became a regular contributor to Wisconsin Outdoor News (WON) in "From The Little Cabin In The Woods" column.
This article was published in the WON Sept 17, 2021 issue. It is the first in a three-part series I wrote on our trip to Key West. The first article about lobster hunting is also up on this site.
“I cannot believe you are doing that!” Shannon snorted as she went upstairs.
“Why did you do that?” Roberta Laine, Shannon’s mother-in-law, asked incredulously.
“Well, YOU won’t be going into the water!” my friend, Jodi Przekurat, opined when she heard what we had done.
What Dan and I had done was watch Jaws during Shark Week, about ten days ahead of a trip to Key West. I do not know why I watched. The first time I saw the movie was when it came out in theaters in 1975. Stan and I went to see it with his sister, Sandy, and brother-in-law, Don Hanson. Stan told us at the time, that we should ask for a refund, because Sandy and I spent most of the time with our faces covered in horror and had, in Stan’s opinion, not actually seen the film. Like many movie-watchers, worldwide, I have been irrationally fearful of sharks ever since. The Jaws refresher only served to add anxiety to the many reasons that I was apprehensive about our lobstering/snorkeling/fishing trip to Key West.
I related the “lobster” part of the trip in my last column. We were hosted by Shannon’s friends, Jen Snyder, and Clint Hough. I did think about sharks as I dropped into the water for lobsters. Sharks consume lobsters too. However, I did not see a fish of any kind while we were looking for lobsters. I had my hands full with paying attention to real issues, like staying with my group and navigating the ebbing tide. There really was not emotional room to fixate on problems not immediately at hand. So, I forgot about sharks.
On the third day of our trip, with the two-day lobster season behind us and lobsters in the freezer, we planned to make a run to the Dry Tortugas for snorkeling. We were to meet at Clint’s boat, the El Cid, at noon.
“Change of plans,” chirped Jen as she joined us at lunch. “We are headed to Machu Picchu, the one in Peru.” Long silence. “Just kidding.”
“Actually”, Clint clarified, the seas are a little high today and the weather a little iffy, for the two-hour trip to the Tortugas. We propose a trip over to Looe Key, where there is a nice reef. The trip will be shorter. There should be lots of wonderful reef fish there.”
We all agreed enthusiastically. I quietly wondered if “wonderful reef fish” included sharks.
I did a quick Google of Looe Key. It turns out that it is basically a reef about 45 minutes by water, east of Key West. It takes its name from a 44-gun Royal Navy war ship, the HMS Looe. The Looe was dispatched to the Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coasts to protect them from encroachment by the Spanish. On the morning of February 5, 1744, the Looe, with a captured Spanish merchant vessel in tow, ran aground, on a sandbar near Big Pine Key. The story is complicated, involving lifeboats and the capture of an additional Spanish vessel. The long and short is that the crew and cargo were saved. The grounded vessels were torched and sank. Three and a half centuries later, what is left of both vessels is now part of the reef. The reef is a National Marine Sanctuary. Part of it is open to diving. Some is reserved for research only.
The trip over to Looe Key was rough. Dan and I sat in the front. Keeping my “butt in the saddle” was challenging, as the seas were running a little higher than predicted. I was airborne several times. When we finally saw a group of pleasure craft up ahead, I was glad to slow down. There were at least a dozen boats strung out over the reef. Some wise decision-maker had arranged for mooring points to be installed along the reef. These were evidenced by large floating balls, with mooring rings attached. The balls were anchored on the bottom. This is convenient for snorkelers and protects the reef from every group that comes along potentially damaging the reef with their anchoring activities. A group of snorkelers was leaving as we pulled up, which worked out well for us.
With El Cid safely anchored, Clint gave us some “lay of the land” instruction on how to best see the reef while keeping tide and currents in mind. Just looking over the side of the boat, the kaleidoscope of colored fish was phenomenal. The schools of glittering jewels that surrounded us were an open invitation to the water. Our group put on gear and dropped in one by one. I went in behind Dan and Shannon.
I no sooner hit the water and adjusted my mask and snorkel when I heard someone yell, “SHARK!”
“Are you kidding me?” I thought. “This cannot be happening.”
Shannon was turned to face me and pointed down. Sure enough, there was a shark swimming slowly, directly under me. I am no shark expert, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was a reef shark. It was between three and four feet long, swimming away from me in an undulating motion. It was not paying any attention to the many snorkelers in the water. I wondered, briefly, if sharks are deceptive. I decided all was well and became absorbed in the snorkeling experience.
The snorkeling experience turned out to be the highlight of the trip. I swam along following Shannon and Dan. That gave me confidence, as I did not have to worry so much about where we were. This allowed me to just soak in the sights. We saw barracuda and several varieties of parrot fish. I really liked the ones with the green scales, edged with purple. A school of tarpon surrounded Dan. There were clouds of bright blue tangs and graceful French angel fish. It was other-worldly and I felt privileged to spend an hour in their environment.
Later that evening, as we shared the last dinner with the Houghs and their friend, Jim, at the Firefly in Key West, everyone told stories about their adventures. Story telling is an important part of the outdoor experience. Shared stories bind relationships. This night, I got to join in, as I had shark stories to tell.
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