BY MARION MOOREHEAD It was with great expectation and a thrilling sense of adventure that I stepped from the porch of Miss Pinder's Boarding House for Women on Caroline Street, where I am currently vacationing, and strolled leisurely along Key West's tree-shaded streets to the Land's End Marina at the end of William Street. For it was on this fine warm morning that I was to board the Windjammer Appledore and sail out seven miles to Western Sambo, a segment of North America's only living coral reef. It was an experience of a lifetime, and I was prepared. At precisely 10:30 a.m., 14 adventurous souls, including myself, boarded the 86-foot-long wooden tall ship, settled ourselves at various locations about the deck and prepared for the one-and-a-half-hour journey to the reef. The sun was rising high and bright in the blue Key West sky, and a fellow passenger pointed out to me what looked like a group of black dots, circling high above our heads. "Magnificent frigate birds," said Dr. Matthew Wiggins, who soon became an invaluable companion, due in part to his extensive knowledge of sea creatures, and in part to his refreshing adoration of the natural outdoors and amiable character. As we neared our destination, our captain, Clark Voss, a rugged blonde individual with.a reassuring sense of confidence on these high seas, explained some facts about the natural wonders we were about to experience beneath the surface of the blue-green waters that surrounded our sturdy sailing vessel. Soon, down came the sails and we were moored. "The waters of the Florida Keys are filled with delicate sea life" he said, "and under no circumstances should you disrupt the delicate sea coral - the living animals that have created the reef over the last two-hundred-million years."
It was a wonderland. Fish and seafans of all colors of the rainbow go peacefully about their business in this magnificent marine world that ranges from just inches of water to about a 20 feet deep. It was but minutes after my immersion that I found myself snorkeling effortlessly alongside a huge school of gorgeous blue tangs, their colors a mix of indigo and bluebird blue. They seemed unaffected by my presence. Swaying purple seafans and boulders of brain coral set the aquatic stage for the many schools of fish that made their ways through the clear waters. Most astonishing to me were the bar jacks, their sleek silver bodies graced by single brushstrokes of black and blue along their graceful dorsal line. In the shallows, where I floated silently just inches above the bottom, I watched with extreme fascination the rainbow-colored parrot-fish nibbling at the hard coral. Quietly, I listened to the crunching noises made by their rock-hard teeth, They were making sand. As I flippered my way, feeling very much at home in the water, to a deeper area of the reef, I was shocked as suddenly from my peripheral range of view came gliding a magnificent green sea turtle. Its shell must have measured three feet across, and its saucer eyes seemed to watch me with curiosity and wonder. I was paralyzed with awe as this unusual creature gracefully maneuvered its way up and over a crest in the reef, and out of my sight. Back on deck, warm and dry in the midday tropical sun, Dr. Matthew Wiggins and I examined the Appledore's identification books and charts. We found we could agree on sighting dozens of marine species, including damsel fish, sponges, jewfish, spiny sea urchins and so much more. I can truly say that, as the crew raised the sails of the mighty Appledore and we headed back to Key West, I knew my adventure on the reef will remain always.at the top an the list of highlights in my life. (I hope my dinner this evening with Dr. Wiggins will prove as exciting.)
|
Enough said, I thought, as deck-hand Mark Frederick assisted me with a pair of
duck-foot-like rubber flippers, a snugly fitting underwater mask and a snorkeling tube,
through which I would be breathing for the next hour or so. After simple instruction on
how to use the gear, I was over the side and immersed in the warm waters amidst the most
stunning and unusual environment I could ever imagine.
