The second leg of our trip to the Dry Tortugas was a 4-5 hour sail into the Venice Inlet. The weather was fine, just a few squalls on the horizon. We motored under the Longboat Pass Bridge again, without the anxiety of its narrow space this time. The waves in the pass maintained their washing machine stature, but we slowly worked our way to deeper water. Once there, they were still 3-4′, but at least they were coming at us from about 50 degrees instead of right on the nose. A bit more comfortable.
We had a single reef in the main and sailed nicely for a few hours. I, on the other hand, wasn’t having as much fun. As I get older, I seem to get more prone to seasickness. As a child, I don’t remember experiencing that. But of late, it’s getting to be bothersome. My father told me that he’s thrown up all over the west coast waters of Florida. I’m not looking forward to joining that club. On our sail to Florida from the BVI, I wore Sea Bands everyday and took Bonine every morning. I was fine. But I didn’t think I would need it on day trips. Wrong!
Just a few miles from the Venice Inlet, the skies turned black once again. Another squall. Welcome to Florida. We tacked to starboard and sailed around the squall, coming in behind it. We approached the Venice Inlet with caution. It’s a very narrow pass with stone jetties on either side. Another washing machine, but this time in very close quarters. And such a short distance from the pass to the marina! Within a few minutes, we were side-tied to the dock at the Crow’s Nest Restaurant and Marina.
We took a lovely walk on the beach, then out to the jetty where people were fishing and taking selfies in the sunset. Major excitement at the end of the jetty where two young men were risking their lives doing something. Many bystanders had their phones out filming them down in the rocks, getting pummeled by the crashing waves.
“What’s happening?” I asked a woman.
“They’re trying to save a fish, a grouper I think. It’s stuck in the rocks.”
A grouper? Seriously? They were risking their lives to save a fish? I’ll bet they were trying to catch their dinner for the night. But why risk your life? Publix was 1.5 miles down the road. Then a roar of excitement. They took advantage of a large incoming wave and were able to clear the fish from beneath the rocks. Now they could better push it back into the Gulf. But when we saw it, we were stunned! I’ve never seen a fish this big in my life! It was a Goliath Grouper about 6′ long. They estimated it weighed about 250 lbs!
When the fish was safely back at sea, and the men were safe on the jetty, albeit bleeding from their knees, shoulders and hands, I asked one of them, “Why? Why risk your life for a fish?”
“We love to fish. But these guys are special. You don’t see them every day. We had to save it.”
That’s one way to look at it.
July 2020