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4th of July FireworksJune 30th, 2010
Lookout Lodge Resort has 2, count um 2 firworks shows that can be watched from our beach on July 4th. 9PM the Annual Rotery fireworks display from Founders Park, and at 10PM the Marker 88 Fireworks display (Next Door!) Enjoy a safe and happy 4th of July with us at Lookout Lodge Resort. (no personal fireworks allowed) Florida Keys dodging threat from oil spillJune 22nd, 2010Florida Keys dodging threat from oil spillForecasters say the state’s delicate chain of islands is in no imminent threat from the oil gusher.Florida Keys may escape oil spill
BY CAMMY CLARK
cclark@MiamiHerald.comThe risk of oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout reaching the Florida Keys and South Florida anytime soon is now so remote that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has suspended its trajectory maps for the area, effectively downgrading the region to low risk. “It’s kind of like being taken out of the cone of uncertainty for a hurricane,” said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Michael Herring of Sector Key West. “We’re temporarily out, but things could change.” On Monday, the nearest documented oil from the massive spill was about 385 miles from Key West, according to the Florida Peninsula Command Post in Miami. And thanks in part to changes in currents, the oil still spewing from the well site does not have a clear path to the Keys, said Billy Causey, the southeast regional director of NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program. The documented oil from the spill is about 100 miles from the northern part of the massive current dubbed Eddy Franklin, after Ben Franklin, which travels in a circular clockwise motion. In May, Franklin pinched off from the loop current, which travels through the Florida Straits south of the Dry Tortugas, south of the rest of the Florida Keys and then veers north up the Atlantic Coast when it becomes the Gulf Stream. In fact, conditions in the Gulf change constantly, said Robert Weisberg, an oceanographer at the University of South Florida who specializes in Gulf of Mexico monitoring and has been supplying modeling data on the spill to NOAA. In the last few days, for instance, he said there were signs that the huge eddy could be reconnecting. And two months ago, when oceanographers were warning that the slick was slipping into the loop, no one expected the loop to shed the eddy that has since become a protective barrier to oil moving south. “It’s like predicting weather,” he said. “There are subtleties to the loop current that are not well understood and difficult to predict.” The loop current isn’t the only vehicle that could propel oil down the coast. In recent days, westerly wind patterns have pushed the leading edge of the slick and tar balls east across Panhandle waters, he said. The more oil pushed into the shallower waters off the continental shelf, the more that is likely to stay closer to shore and potentially affect Florida’s west coast as far south as the Keys. There’s also the possibility that seasonal upwelling of deep cold water from the Gulf could push some of those still poorly understood underwater plumes toward the continental shelf. While NOAA has suspended its offshore trajectory map for the spill, Sean Morton, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, wrote in an e-mail to the area response committee that monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico will continue by air surveillance, vessel observations and satellite analysis. So far, the extensive monitoring over the past few weeks has found no “recoverable” oil from the blowout in the loop current or the eddy. “There have been a lot of false positives that have been reported,” NOAA’s James Jeansonne, who for weeks has been searching for oil from a Coast Guard’s C-130, said from 1,500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The group has checked out several reports of possible oil, as well as anomalies that were picked up by satellite imaging. Jeansonne said cloud cover, sargassum patches and natural sheens are often misidentified as oil slicks. He also said the Gulf is filled with oil sheens and tar balls from natural oil seeps and bunker fuels coming off ships. About 200 tar balls have been found on shorelines throughout the Keys, but none have proven to come from the Deepwater Horizon spill. “There is a lot of anxiety because people care a lot about the Keys and its resources,” Jeansonne said. “We want people to understand what is really going on.” Causey said he is concerned about people in the Keys initiating their own protection from oil they feel is on its way. “We’ve already heard of people doing experiments with their own devices,” Causey said. “One man in Marathon put together an oil boom in his canal and poured a can of oil into it to see if it worked.” Jeansonne said that with no imminent threat to the Keys, no protective measures other than beach cleanups should be taken. “It’s like going out to war and shooting guns before the enemy is there,” he said. Gary Davis, a retired research scientist with the National Parks Service, also said people in the Keys should be patient. “It’s not going to hit like a tidal wave or tsunami,” he said. “It’s slow moving. And should oil arrive, it’s very unlikely it will look like anything you see on the evening news in Louisiana. It’s likely to be scattered tar balls.” Youtube Video of the Keys June 2010June 15th, 2010Whats Happening in the Florida Keys JUNE 2010 Click on the link for a short video! July EventsJune 10th, 2010Islamorada / July 13 to July 15
Florida Keys Outfitters IGFA Inshore World Championship Tournament winners from around the world compete for one of the most prized trophies in angling. The tournament features inshore fishing for permit, tarpon, bonefish, redfish and snook. Islamorada / July 21
History of Diving Museum presents: FREE Seminar Series This month’s free seminar is to be given by NOAA’s Ellen Prager, themed “Bringing Marine Science to the Public.” Starts at 7 p.m. at Diving Museum, mile marker 83 in Islamorada. Immerse yourself in the fun! Islamorada / July 25 to July 26
Islamorada Fishing Club RedGhost Stalk Anglers compete to catch redfish and bonefish, the gray ghost of the flats. Winners qualify for the IGFA Inshore Championship. The tournament is open to anglers ages 11 to 25. Florida Keys Scenic HighwayMay 31st, 2010Over Seas Travel The Florida Keys Scenic Highway may be the closest you’ll ever come to driving on water. It’s been called “the Highway That Goes to Sea,” “the most spectacular highway in the U.S.” and even “the Road to Paradise.” It’s the kind of road that not only gets you some place but takes you somewhere. And it’s 1 of only 31 roads in the country that’s deemed an All-American Road by the National Scenic Byways Program, sealing its reputation as a destination in itself. It is the Florida Keys Scenic Highway, a 106.5-mile ribbon of road wrapping across 42 bridges over the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay and unfolding through some of Mother Nature’s most generous gifts: seamless stretches of calm turquoise waters and vast blue skies; patches of mangroves and palm trees bowing in the breeze; and a string of lazy little islands, or keys—some seemingly so fragile that if you blink, they might disappear with the tide. But you don’t merely look at the scenery here; you’re engulfed in it. You could drive the scenic highway from Key Largo to Key West, which follows in the tracks of oil tycoon Henry Flagler’s ill-fated Florida East Coast Railway (defunct spans of which still stand parallel to today’s modern highway), in just a few hours. But linger for an entire day to fully experience these islands where nature remains untouched and life is laid-back. And along the way, take time to drop a line off an old fishing pier, enjoy Conch cuisine, explore little-known museums, or relax on a beach and keep watch for birds and dolphins in the distance. Your journey begins in the Dive Capital of the World: Key Largo, home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Mile Marker 102.5), the first undersea park in the U.S. Snorkel or take a glass-bottom boat to explore the living reef, teeming with a menagerie of coral and hundreds of species of fish. Or dive to see the nine-foot-tall bronze Christ of the Deep statue, or scuba to the Spiegel Grove artificial reef. Continuing south from Key Largo, you’ll come upon Islamorada, the Sportfishing Capital of the World. Here, you can take a charter boat to fish for everything from mahi-mahi to tarpon to bonefish. Or stay on land to visit the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum (Mile Marker 83), showcasing the world’s largest collection of diving helmets and artifacts. At the heart of the highway is Marathon, home to the Crane Point Museums (Mile Marker 50.5)—composed of the Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys and the Florida Keys Children’s Museum, as well as a preserved tropical hardwood hammock. Kids will especially enjoy touring the nearby Turtle Hospital (Mile Marker 48.5) and getting up close with its resident sea turtles. Back on the highway, you’ll reach the famous Seven Mile Bridge (Mile Marker 47), one of the world’s longest bridges stretching 6.79 miles over open water. When the original bridge was completed in the early 1900s, it was called “the eighth wonder of the world.” The new bridge, completed in 1982, runs alongside its predecessor, which now serves as a fishing pier and walking trail. Next come Bahia Honda Bridge (Mile Marker 36)—get your camera ready for the boundless vistas—and Bahia Honda State Park (Mile Marker 37), renowned as one of the top 10 beaches in the U.S. Here, you can camp, swim, fish, snorkel, hike and kayak. Traveling the last leg of your journey is the gateway to Key West, where the highway ends at Mile Marker 0, the southernmost point in the continental U.S., just 90 miles from Cuba. Key West is where you’ll want to spend days—if not a lifetime—retracing the steps of authors, U.S. presidents and pirates; snorkeling, diving and fishing; popping in and out of shops, art galleries, and open-air restaurants and bars; and celebrating the sunset, as locals and visitors alike do at the end of every day. You’ve come a long way. You’ve virtually driven on water. Bring a towel, and as they say, leave only bubbles. Top 5 Little-Known Finds While you’re exploring those places in the Keys you’ve always heard about, take time to discover these lesser-known locations you’ve likely never heard of: Long Key State Park (Mile Marker 67.5), once a luxury fishing resort, where you can still enjoy some of the area’s best bonefishing. Grassy Key, where kids can learn about and interact with Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins and California sea lions at the Dolphin Research Center (Mile Marker 59). Big Pine Key, home to the National Key Deer Refuge (near Mile Marker 31), the habitat of the endangered Key deer. Looe Key (off of Big Pine Key), a reef that’s also a national marine sanctuary and regarded by those in-the-know as one of the world’s best snorkeling and scuba locations—along with being the site of the annual Underwater Music Festival. Pigeon Key, featuring a museum exploring the history of Henry Flagler’s railroad and the lives of the workers who resided on the island (Mile Marker 45). —ST Photos courtesy of Floridakeys.com. |
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