Filed at February 6, 2010 under Florida Keys by Keys
NOAA – 6 Feb 2010 10:00 EST
Outlook for the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico…
Hurricane Whodat is predicted to make landfall on the South Florida coast in the vicinity of Miami on 7 Feb 2010 at approximately 2200Z (5:00 PM EST).
This extremely powerful hurricane is expected to produce damaging Shockey waves and Category 5 Brees. Reports from shipping indicate that this unstoppable storm has blown a huge flock of Cardinals all the way to Arizona, and that it has sunk a replica Viking longboat, the Brettigfarvren.
Predictive damage estimates are unavailable at this time, but they are expected to be significant. Livestock, in particular young horses, will be in severe danger of being decimated. All interests in and near the Miami area are advised to prepare for a storm surge of catastrophic proportions as Hurricane Whodat begins to arrive in approximately 2 days.
Hurricane Warnings extend from Key Largo North to Ft. Lauderdale. Hurricane Watch extends from Key West, through out the Florida Keys, to the Palm Beaches on the East Coast.
Residents of New Orleans, Louisiana and Indianapolis, Indiana should pay close attention to this EEE (Extremely Exciting Event).
Next advisory 07 Feb 2010 at 1500Z (10:00 AM EST).
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Filed at February 2, 2010 under On the Water and Fishing and Commercial Fishing and Animals and Fish and Lobster and Florida Keys and Lower Keys by Keys
By ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
Two Bay Point men were sentenced to a year in prison on charges that they conspired to poach lobster, a judge ruled Monday, closing the last chapter on two illegal lobster harvesting cases that snared eight people.
John Buckheim, 23, and Nick Demauro, 24, both apologized to federal Judge James Lawrence King, their friends, family and wildlife officers.
“I acknowledge and take full responsibility for what I did,” Buckheim said. “I was young and stupid and I’m not implying that I’m old or wise now, only that I’m heading in the right direction. … I’m sorry for this major mistake and you won’t find me in this position again.”
Demauro told the judge he had “taken everything for granted.”
Both men pleaded guilty in October to harvesting lobsters by diving on illegal artificial habitats, called casitas, primarily in the Content Keys area north of Big Pine Key, from July 2008 through October 2008, according to court documents.
The judge granted U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald’s request to delay their prison sentence 100 days so both men can continue their work removing as many as 600 casitas from Florida Keys waters. The judge ordered both to surrender to corrections officials on May 12.
The judge also allowed both men to resume legal commercial fishing immediately upon their release from prison, despite the prosecutor’s recommendation that both be prohibited during the two years of supervision that is to follow their release.
Miami defense attorneys Bruce Alter and Steven Potolsky urged the judge to consider the defendants’ ages, their clean criminal histories and their desire to make amends as mitigating factors at sentencing, but the prosecutor was unmoved, painting the men as astute fishermen who knew the risks involved.
“These were not youths who stumbled into this,” the prosecutor told the judge, describing taped conversations between the two men, and the hundreds of casitas they fished.
Buckheim and Demauro worked for David and Denise Dreifort of Cudjoe Key at one time. The latter were sentenced in July for spearheading a large lobster poaching ring that involved four other people, in a separate but related case. David Dreifort was sentenced to 2¬½ years in prison in July. His wife was sentenced to seven months in prison. Prosecutors found thousands of lobsters at one of their homes on Lookdown Lane last year.
Buckheim and Demauro began their own illegal operation after their stint with the Dreiforts, and they sold lobster to a Stock Island seafood company in 32 separate incidents for a total of $45,974, records say. The company has not been charged in the case, the prosecutor said.
Both men were warned by David Dreifort to cease their operation after he was indicted, but they continued, the prosecutor said. Federal agents began visual and electronic surveillance of Buckheim and Demauro during the larger investigation that involved the Dreiforts, reports say.
Both pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped two charges that could have added at least 10 years to their sentences.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
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Filed at January 30, 2010 under Florida Keys and Resorts and Tourism and Vacations by Keys
Forget everything you thought you knew about resorts. These 10 escapes deliver thrilling activities, plush amenities, and sweeping views, from $119 a night.
Casa Marina Resort
The 311-room beachfront Casa Marina is in tropical, laid-back Key West, Fla., where Ernest Hemingway bummed around in the 1930s (The Old Man and the Sea is based on his experiences here).The historic resort, built in the 1920s, hosts the largest private beach on Key West, a sinewy strand of white sand over 1,000 feet long. Book a day of water sports—which range from snorkeling with dolphins at a nearby coral reef to jetting around on WaveRunners—or relax in a cabana by one of the two oceanfront pools. On-site Spa al Mare offers treatments like the full-body Sun Soother Water Lily Mask, which soothes sunburned or windburned skin with naturally hydrating water lily oil. The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum (admission $12) is a 10-minute walk—see the house & original furnishings from Paris, the $20,000 pool, and 60 cats, some with six toes on one paw, descendants of Hemingway’s beloved litter.
All-inclusive? No.
On the beach? Yes.
Price From $149.
via Best U.S.Budget Resorts.
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Key West,
Resorts,
Tourism,
Vacation
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Filed at January 25, 2010 under Florida Keys by Keys
When Hurricane Wilma blew the 158-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht into a federally protected nature preserve in the fall of 2005, she was held for 28 months by the clutches of the environment.
Now, at anchor in Key West Harbor, she is held in the clutches of an insurance dispute. And while the dispute plays out in court, Legacy will remain where she has been for more than four years; off the coast of Key West, Fla.
Owner Peter Halmos has an insurance policy on his yacht for $16 million. Costs to date have exceeded that amount, Halmos said. Once an insurance company pays out its claim, it typically declares the vessel a total loss, giving it the right to lay claim on her. Halmos disagrees.
Halmos, too, has been paying millions of dollars for Legacy’s recovery and restoration, he said.
In addition, Legacy underwent a refit prior to Wilma, and Halmos said he has proof that he instructed his insurance company to raise the coverage to $30 million. The coverage was not raised before the storm.
So Halmos is suing his insurance company, first to remove the clause specifying that it can take the yacht. It has been reported that the insurer stated it does not want the vessel, but Halmos said he wants to be sure, legally. Second, he wants the insurance policy to reflect the increased replacement value he had asked for.
Initially, the case was to have been heard in January, but it has been postponed to May.
Until then, S/Y Legacy will likely remain at anchor off Key West, still waiting for her day to sail again.
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Filed at January 16, 2010 under Animals and Fish and Bonefish and Florida Keys and Animals and Fish and Tarpon by Keys
FWC responds to widespread cold-weather saltwater fish kills
January 15, 2010
Contact: Lee Schlesinger, 850-487-0554
Executive Order 10-02 (Dead Fish)
Executive Order 10-03 (Snook, Tarpon, Bonefish)
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has issued executive orders to protect Florida’s snook, bonefish and tarpon fisheries from further harm caused by the recent prolonged cold weather in the state, which has caused widespread saltwater fish kills. The FWC has received numerous reports from the public and is taking action to address the conservation needs of affected marine fisheries. The orders also will allow people to legally dispose of dead fish in the water and on the shore.
One of the executive orders temporarily extends closed fishing seasons for snook statewide until September. It also establishes temporary statewide closed seasons for bonefish and tarpon until April because of the prolonged natural cold weather event that caused significant, widespread mortality of saltwater fish in Florida. The other order temporarily suspends certain saltwater fishing regulations to allow people to collect and dispose of dead fish killed by the cold weather.
“A proactive, precautionary approach is warranted to preserve our valuable snook, bonefish and tarpon resources, which are among Florida’s premier game fish species,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “Extending the snook closed season and temporarily closing bonefish and tarpon fishing will protect surviving snook that spawn in the spring and will give our research scientists time to evaluate the extent of damage that was done to snook, bonefish and tarpon stocks during the unusual cold-weather period we recently experienced in Florida.”
Snook season currently is closed in Florida under regular FWC rules, and there are also regular closed snook seasons that occur in the summer. However, the FWC executive order extends the statewide snook closed seasons continuously through Aug. 31 and provides that no person may harvest or possess snook in state and federal waters off Florida during this period unless the fishery is opened sooner or the closure is extended by subsequent order.
The order also establishes a temporary prohibition on the harvest and possession of bonefish and tarpon from state and federal waters off Florida through March 31, unless these fisheries are opened sooner or the closures are extended by subsequent order. The FWC executive order for the snook, bonefish and tarpon closed seasons takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 16.
The other FWC executive order temporarily removes specific harvest regulations for all dead saltwater fish of any species that have died as a result of prolonged exposure to cold weather in Florida waters. It also modifies general methods of taking dead saltwater fish from Florida’s shoreline and from the water to allow the collection of saltwater fish by hand, cast net, dip net or seine.
All people taking dead saltwater fish under the provisions of this order may not sell, trade or consume such fish, and the dead fish must immediately be disposed of in compliance with local safety, health and sanitation requirements for such disposal.
In addition, all people taking dead fish under the provisions of this order are not required to possess a saltwater fishing license, and all fish taken under the provisions of this executive order shall be those that have died as a result of prolonged exposure to cold weather.
This FWC executive order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 16 and will expire at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1, unless it is repealed sooner or extended by subsequent order.
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Bonefish,
Snook,
Tarpon
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Filed at January 15, 2010 under Florida Keys and Restaurants by Keys
BY PAUL KNOWLES,
To claim to know the five best beachfront eateries in the Florida Keys betrays the typical arrogance of a travel writer. The Keys — from Mile Marker 110 at the top all the way to Mile Marker 0 in Key West — are a series of islands; makes sense that youll find a full menu of bistros on the water. But — arrogance at the ready — here are five not to be missed:
1. Marker 88 Restaurant: This bistro on Islamorada offers gourmet dining, with seafood the speciality and tables on the sand. Its popular with higher-end guests, an occasional dining spot for the presidents Bush Sr. and Jr.. The romantic setting is highlighted with live music on the beach.
2. Key Fisheries: In Marathon, it aint much to look at — but its your other senses, taste and smell, that are important here. Superb seafood ordered at a rustic window beside a handwritten menu — stone-crab soup, key-lime scallops, whisky-peppercorn snapper, about 60 items — including their famous “Lobster Reuben.” Tried the Reuben. Instant addiction.
3. The Morada Bay Beach Café: At Mile Marker 81.6, this is an exquisitely romantic setting. The menu is wide-ranging and inventive, including but not exclusively seafood most entrées in the mid-$20 range. Theres a lovely selection of tapas, superb service, and the setting — on the sand, gazing over the bay … well, if youre not in love during the appetizers, you will be by dessert.
4. Sunset Pier: You must have at least one meal — or even just a drink — in a waterfront eatery adjacent to Key Wests Mallory Square. Our choice would be Ocean Key Resorts Sunset Pier Zero Duval St., on the boardwalk facing the iconic sunset. Surprisingly, the menu is not pricey, and the view at sundown — when everything stops for a moment — is unparalleled.
5. Little Palm Island by boat from Little Torch Key, Mile Marker 28.5: High end? Heck, if you get to High End, you can just glimpse Little Palm Island. This is luxury at its finest, and the food served in a restaurant, or on a deck with a 180-degree view of the ocean, or on the sandy beaches, and always on linen is fabulous. You can stay over at a grand and up per night, or arrive just for lunch or their famous Sunday brunch. Do.– Paul Knowles, a travel writer based in New Hamburg, Ont., is a sucker for seafood, seafront and sensational service.
via 5 best beach bistros in the Florida Keys.
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Filed at January 3, 2010 under Animals and Environment and History and Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Key Largo by Keys
The annual “Delicate Balance of Nature” free weekly lecture series will begin its 19th season at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Visitor Center inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Mile Marker 102.5 ocean side.”The topics range from pythons and native Keys snakes, to birds of the Keys, from ethnobotany to the Overseas Heritage Trail history,” Park Manager Pat Wells said.
Park gates will reopen after hours at 7 p.m. and remain open as long as there are seats in the auditorium, which is wheelchair accessible. Seating is limited, so be on time; bring a seat cushion for added comfort. The program is sponsored by Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. For more information, call Elena Muratori at 305-451-1202.
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Filed at December 30, 2009 under Florida Keys by Keys
By LARRY KAHN
lkahn@keynoter.com
As we get ready to greet the new year, we look back at notables who left us in 2009, from the very young to the very old.
Tavernier resident David Cohn, well known in the Keys arts community, died in January from a heart attack at age 75. Cohn was a 30-year resident of the Upper Keys. Cohn was a Mariners Hospital “Founder,” meaning he donated more than $50,000 to the Tavernier medical center.
Deo Fisher, the widow of the late famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher, died in January in Key West. She was the rock behind Mel Fisher, who discovered the 1600s Spanish wreck the Atocha in 1985 and fought the federal government — and won — over rights to its booty. The find is worth an estimated $400 million. He died in 1998.
Artist Thomas Fundora died in December. The Cuba native owned the Fundora Gallery in Key Largo and had displayed his paintings worldwide. He studied at Escuela de Arte in San Alejandro and Escuela de Arte in Bologna, Italy.
Mardie Ingersoll, long-time Key Largo resident and director of the Humane Society of the Upper Keys, died in December at age 84.
Henry Vincent Haskins Sr., 73, a former Monroe County sheriff, died at his Key West home in August. He was a longtime member of the Utility Board of Key West and the Key West Housing Authority.
Scottie Kingsley, perhaps the best-known female captain in the history of Islamorada offshore fishing, died in late September at her retirement home in Texas. She was 74. Kingsley ran her boat, Swashbuckler, from Holiday Isle Marina for decades.
Banker Edward Vincent Lett III, 63, of Naples and formerly of Marathon, died in August. In 1994, he became chief executive officer and president of TIB Bank of the Keys, leading its expansion to the mainland.
One of Marathon’s greatest fishing ambassadors, Dave Navarro, died in July at age 51 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He owned the World Class Angler bait and tackle shop, wrote fishing columns for several publications, including the Keynoter, and was a frequent guest on local radio shows.
Marathon pioneer Marge Pierce, 88, died in September. She and late husband Charles “Chuck” Pierce, who died in 2006, moved to the Middle Keys from Youngstown, Ohio in 1950 and founded the Hurricane Resort in 1951, which still exists today as the Hurricane Bar & Grille and Blackfin Resort.
The Keys lost a respected environmental defender when Mick Putney, a vice president of Last Stand who built his solar-powered home on No Name Key, died in November at age 80. With wife Alicia, he led tours of the home to show their low-impact lifestyle. Putney also served as president of the Key Deer Protection Alliance for a decade.
Mary Key Reich, 76, a Monroe County commissioner from 1992 until 2000 and a county planning commissioner before that, died in November. Reich was active with the Florida Keys Association of Realtors, the Monroe County Veterans Council and the Alliance for Aging, among other groups.
One of Marathon’s earliest developers and greatest philanthropists, Alan Schmitt, died in November at his Marathon home. He was 84. In 1957, he opened a real estate office that survives today as Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate Co. There, he represented yet another Marathon pioneer, Stanley Switlik, in developing the Sombrero Beach portion of Marathon.
Dick Schultz, 76, of Marathon died in October. He was an artist and the president of the group that led the incorporation of Marathon. Following Hurricane Georges in 1998, he gave out “open for business” signs that are still visible in town today.
Steven Shea, 58, a former Monroe County Circuit Court judge from Islamorada, died in October.
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Filed at December 24, 2009 under Florida Keys by Keys
The Twelve days of a Keys Christmas
On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight Pairs of Flip Flops
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine Wild Iguanas
Eight Pairs of Flip Flops
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Key Deer
Nine Wild Iguanas
Eight Pairs of Flip Flops
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven Hurricane Shutters
Ten Key Deer
Nine Wild Iguanas
Eight Pairs of Flip Flops
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Twelve Sewer Hook Ups
Eleven Hurricane Shutters
Ten Key Deer
Nine Wild Iguanas
Eight Pairs of Flip Flops
Seven Lobster Tails
Six Legal Grouper
Five Atocha Coins
Four Weather Radios
Three Fishing Rods
Two Key Lime Pies
and a Parrot in a Palm Tree
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Christmas
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Filed at December 23, 2009 under Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Big Pine Key and Environment and On the Water by Keys
Stanley Switlik Elementary School fifth graders recently spent the day at Sea Camp on Big Pine Key learning about nature and man's impact on the environment.
Students dug through algae to find brittle stars, worms, sea cucumbers, crabs and even shrimp. Staff assisted as students practiced snorkeling in the swim area before going out on the boats in the afternoon.
An afternoon snorkeling close to the mangroves gave the fifth graders a closeup look at lobster, moon jellyfish, different types of coral and sponges, snapper, and sea grasses.
Students learned how pollution causes harm to the near shore environment, and why certain sponges cause rashes. They even got a chance to practice some science, learning about the structure of sponges.
Sea Camp donated the trip for 88 Switlik students, teachers, and chaperons.
Seacamp is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that operates on the cooperative effort of parents, scientists, businessmen, camp leaders and others dedicated to the education of youth in marine science.
Located at Newfound Harbor on Big Pine Key, Sea Camp includes a science lab, recreation hall, dining hall, arts and crafts building, four dormitories and staff housing, along with other services including an infirmary.
Anyone interested in Sea Camp's mission, or working as a volunteer is invited to join the Seacamp Association, located at 1300 Big Pine Ave., Big Pine Key. For more information, call 872-2331.
via Sea Camp kids learn nature’s lessons.
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