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This site contains a description  of our Christmas vacation of 1996.  Because it was so very enjoyable I decided to put together a journal with a collection of photos.  Read what you want and if you are interested in a particular picture click on it and a larger version will appear.  (Click on the back arrow to return to this site.)

Enjoy!!
 

Since 1991 we have vacationed regularly on Cudjoe Key in the Florida Keys. The following charts show where the area is located. It is in the lower keys at mile marker 23, that is 23 miles from Key West.

If you are interested in nautical charts the one below shows our playground. In the top left you can see Sawyer Key where we have dived for lobster and spearfished. The bottom right shows Looe Key, the Marine sanctuary where we typically dive. The rhumb line distance from Sawyer Key to Looe Key is about 15 miles. The red triangle in the center indicates where we stayed. North is the top of this chart. Like all the pictures here if you click on it, a large one will appear. (In this case a really large one.)

We stayed at Venture Out Resort, a large (one mile long) park that contains about 650 units. These units are either small charming, prefabricated homes or deluxe mobile homes with attached Florida rooms. Five hundred of these units are located on either a canal or the ocean. The park itself has a swimming pool, hot tub, basketball court, tennis courts, a golf driving cage, a community center with pool table and ping pong tables. It is a small, well kept, active community with its own post office and marina. The roads are excellent for roller blading and the people are incredibly friendly. There is much to do here. Day visitors must pay 4 dollars at the gate to enjoy the amenities.

The picture below shows the park layout. We were located in the south east corner. (The top right corner. The left side of this chart is north.)

The unit we have rented the last two times is a mobile home with an attached Florida room. It is located on an ocean front lot. Since a large shoal protects the whole island we can tie our boat up in front of our unit. We must follow a channel to get to open water. If we decide to go to the gulf side we turn left (go north) rather than right at the second channel marker and proceed under a bridge.

We spend about the same amount of time on the ocean and gulf sides. We spearfish and fish on the gulf, and dive and fish on the ocean side. The gulf side is always calm.

The photos below show where we stayed as seen from the dinghy, our Florida room view and Bobby and Candace exploring. They would motor out over the flats to the island seen in picture 3. The depths of the flats range from 0 to 5 feet and contain a great deal of sea life.

LooeKey is about 7 miles offshore. If the seas are rough it is really a wild if not terrible ride out to the reef. Even once you are there the rollers can be sickening. The first two days where bad. On those days we picked up a buoy and were in the water in less than 5 minutes. Any slower and we would have gotten seasick.

Below is a satelite shot of Looe Key. The following statement comes from the brochure distributed by the National Marine Sanctuary.

The Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary is a 5.3 square nautical mile area Iying in Federal waters off the southern Florida Keys. Designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1981.

Looe Key encompasses a number of spectacular coral formations and the diverse marine communities they support. These qualities make the sanctuary a popular attraction for skin-diving. snorkeling, fishing and boating. The remains of the H.M.S. Looe, which sank in 1744, and for which the sanctuary is named, still lie within its boundaries.

 
Coral reefs such as Looe Key are among the most biologically productive ecosystems. They provide the foundation for a rich population of plant and animal life that depends on the reefs for shelter, food, and a place to attach and grow. The excellent water clarity and moderate sea conditions at Looe Key permit its features and inhabitants to be easily observed from the surface. The wide range in depth also makes the reefs accessible to the beginning swimmer and the unexperienced diver. Brightly coloured fish can be seen swimming among the branching elkhorn and staghorn corals, huge brain corals, the less common pillar coral as well as the delicate sea fans and sea whips.

Several different types of reefs and associated habitats are found at Looe Key. Each area has a distinctive identity imparted by its form and features.

We had the best time ever as far as living off the sea is concerned. We would cast and catch. We began to catch and release because we were getting sick of fish. Usually Bobby or Candace out-catch me by number and size. This time I out-caught and out-weighed both of them. I caught a seven pound Cero (mackerel, second photo) which put up a great fight. It lasted two meals. Candace and I both caught a 3 foot blacktip shark. These things almost leap from the water when they strike. A Science Channel Special taught us how putting these fish on their backs puts them to sleep. This was helpful when we had to get our hooks out and untangle them from the net. Bobby's last strike will remain a mystery. He used a 3 pound Pompano for bait. Something large took it and snapped the 30 pound test line which had a 3 foot steel leader. (Do you hear the music from Jaws?)

Typically winter weather in Florida is hit and miss. We lucked out this year and had superb conditions.