On the Town - Island Getaways
Island Getaway
© SI SCOTT
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
SAIL ON SAILOR
With its endless vista of sky-meets-sea, Key West — the southernmost point of the Continental US — is a paradise for the nautically inclined. Here’s why:
BY DIANE BAIR & PAMELA WRIGHT
ILLUSTRATION BY SI SCOTT
#1 Key West Race Week
Sailors from all over the world flock to Key West to compete in this event (Jan. 18-22), which officially kicks off the international racing season. All sorts of sleek vessels — ranging from 20-foot sport boats to 80-foot yachts — race around the marks as they compete in the largest mid-winter regatta in North America. Colorful spinnakers fly, and yachts are packed tightly together as they race to the finish, looking as if they’re going to collide (and sometimes they do).
#2 Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center
Those who love seafaring culture can take a break on land at this free center, located across from Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Owned by the National Marine Sanctuary, it features a model of an underwater ocean laboratory and a 2,400-gallon reef tank. 305-809-4750; www.floridakeys.noaa.gov
#3 Wild Dolphin Encounter & Shipwreck Snorkel
Take a cruise on a majestic catamaran with Catamaran Echo, which stops for an hour of snorkeling over a shallow-water shipwreck or reef. The best part of this trip: watching the wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, who swim alongside the boat and entertain passengers with their acrobatic moves and deep dives. Snorkel spots vary depending on the weather, but there’s always something to see, such as a reef-encrusted shrimp-boat wreck and marine animals that include stingrays, nurse sharks, tarpon and reef fish. $79; 305-292-5044; www.dolphinecho.com
#4 Dry Tortugas National Park
This isolated outpost of seven islands, located about 70 miles west of Key West, is accessible via private or charter boats. (Non-sailors don’t have to miss out; the park is also accessible by ferry and seaplane.) Once you reach solid land, you can go fishing or bird watching, or take a self-guided tour of Fort Jefferson, one of America’s largest 19th-century coastal forts. Some 300 vessels are shipwrecked in the surrounding Dry Tortugas reefs, which are fairly shallow and ideal for snorkeling. Visit the website for a list of approved vendors that service the park. www.nps.gov/drto
#5 “Commotion on the Ocean” cruise
This is no ordinary, recorded-easy-listening-songs-playing-on-the-speakers sunset cruise. Hosted by Fury Catamaran, it sets sail at dusk and offers passengers beer, margaritas and appetizers, plus live music acts by Hog’s Breath Saloon musicians. Thanks to the rocking live tunes, it’s the best floating party in town. $49; 877-994-8898; www.furycat.com
#6 Pirate Invasion Charter
Ahoy, matey! Captain Finbar Gittelman, First Sea Lord of the Conch Republic Navy, takes the helm of Key West’s own pirate ship. (The Conch Republic was created after a tongue-in-cheek protest secession of the city of Key West from the US in 1982.) Climb aboard the Wolf, a 74-foot topsail coastal schooner, for a private charter complete with a crew dressed in pirate gear, swashbuckling sword fights, sing-along chanteys and even cannons a-firing. Prices vary; 305-296-9694; www.schoonerwolf.com
#7 Power Adventure Sail
During this six-hour, action-packed adventure sail with Key West Sebago, you can parasail, snorkel, ride a jetski and play on banana boats and a water trampoline. $149; 305-292-4768; www.keywestsebago.com
#8 J World Sailing School
Don’t know a jib from a jibe, but wish you did? Then take a lesson with J World Sailing School, which has been rated the top sailing school in the US for the past 15 years by Practical Sailor magazine. It offers two- to five-day courses, and you’ll spend six hours a day on the water. The instructors are so confident in their teaching skills that if you’re not a pro by the end, you can take the class over again — for free. From $475; 800-343-2255; www.jworldschool.com
#9 Silent Faith
This luxurious 50-foot catamaran from Restless Native Voyage Charters is fully equipped with snorkeling gear, vests and jackets, floating mattresses, hammocks and a swinging air chair. A “drag net” also hangs off the back, so let the crew take the wheel while you and your entourage relax by holding onto it from behind (extra points for doing so without spilling your cocktail!). From $650; 305-394-0600; www.restlessnative.com
#10 Stargazing Cruise
On a Calypso Sailing evening excursion with Key West astronomer Joe Universe, you’ll discover celestial navigation and admire constellations from the deck of a 118-foot-long ship. $49; 305-896-8004; www.calypsosailing.com
PUERTO RICO
PUERTO ECO
From hiking through a jungle to kayaking in microorganism-filled waters, an eco-adventure awaits in Puerto Rico.
BY MARK CHESTNUT
Jumping into the nighttime waters off Puerto Rico’s Vieques Island is a surreal experience. Every move results in bright flashes in the gentle, pitch-black waves, as tiny beads of light dance along swimmers’ bodies like shooting stars. It may seem like a special effect from a science-fiction movie, but the magic is purely natural; the microorganisms that inhabit the waters of the bioluminescent bay at Vieques Island make for one of the most breathtaking experiences in the Caribbean.
This after-dark adventure is just one way to connect with nature in Puerto Rico. The island boasts two other bioluminescent bays (in Fajardo, on the east coast, and La Parguera, in the southwest). And an easy drive east from San Juan is El Yunque, the only tropical
rainforest in the US National Forest system, where lush, scenic hiking trails lead to lovely waterfalls and streams. The 28,000-acre site is also home to El Portal Rain Forest Center, a visitor’s facility complete with exhibits and video presentations.
Guánica Dry Forest Reserve, on Puerto Rico’s south coast, features dramatically different terrain. This 10,000-acre World Biosphere Reserve is home to more than 600 types of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species (16 of which are unique to Puerto Rico). The trails here are ideal for hiking and cycling, and visitors can spot rare birds, spiny bushes, a 400-year-old Guayacán tree and perhaps the shy coquí, a species of tiny frogs that lives only in Puerto Rico.
The island’s ecological areas are vast — and brimming with wildlife, from tall trees to microscopic organisms — making an eco-minded visit to Puerto Rico the most natural thing in the world.
FISHING LINES
Also known as “Bonefish Simon,” 41-year-old Simon Bain is a two-time winner of the Bahamian National Bonefish Championship and owner of Fly Fishing Adventures in Nassau, Bahamas. Here, the pro explains how he got hooked on the sport:
INTERVIEW BY BOB MORRIS
“I grew up on Andros Island and first started catching bonefish when I was just a boy of six. This was on a hand line. My mother taught me how to do it. We would go down to the water with our spool of line, put some bait on the hook and fling it out there. Pound for pound, the bonefish is the strongest fish in the water, and there is nothing like it when one of them hits. Bam! It changed me forever.
“I didn’t start catching bonefish on a fly rod until I was 19. It was my brother, Stanley, who got me started. He paid to have the best bonefish guide on Andros teach me everything he knew. He showed me how to cast and how to read the tide and the temperature and everything else that determines where the creatures are gonna be hiding out.
“I was a bonefish guide on Andros for 14 years. When I made the move to Nassau in 2003, I was the only bonefish guide here. The theory was that there weren’t any bonefish in Nassau, that all of them were in the Out Islands, but I changed that theory real quick. We’ve got 21 miles of flats with more bonefish than you could ever hope to catch.
“I’ve guided all kinds of famous people, from Roger Waters of Pink Floyd to that fellow named Bon Jovi. There is nothing I love more than putting people on bonefish. Even after 20 years of doing this, when a fish gets caught, I’m still the most excited person on the boat. I’m screaming and hollering like nobody’s business. I tell my wife: ‘Honey, you take an X-ray of my brain. What you are gonna see in there is a big ol’ bonefish.’”
NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
Uncovering the mysteries of Jamaica’s cave system.
BY BOB MORRIS
Stefan Stewart is a man possessed. Since first traveling to Jamaica in 1985 and falling in love with its rugged, seldom-visited interior, the Canadian speleologist has logged more than 60 return visits, exploring nearly 300 of the island’s caves. “That’s just scratching the surface,” Stewart says. “No one knows how many caves exist in Jamaica. My guess is that there are several thousand.”
Along with cohorts from the island and abroad, Stewart founded the Jamaican Caves Organization in 2002. Its mission: to chart the island’s cave network and heighten awareness that protecting Jamaica’s caves is directly related to the health of the island’s underground water supply. And for those seeking something beyond the typical sun-sand-sea experience, the organization invites visitors to join in on some of its explorations for $150 a day. “It’s more like being a paid volunteer than a sightseer,” Stewart says. “You’re expected to help with the fieldwork.”
While newbie spelunkers are welcome, be advised: These are not the typical “tourist caves” with steps, handrails or refreshment stands. “We try to give people a taste of what real caving is all about,” Stewart says. “That means the occasional bump or scrape, and certainly a bit of dirt and grime.”
Since many of the caves are located in the legendary “Cockpit Country,” in the rugged mountains southeast of Montego Bay, it also means a glimpse of a part of the island that is off-the-radar for most visitors. Marked by spire-like hills and cup-shaped valleys that might have been drawn by Dr. Seuss, the region was originally settled by runaway slaves, who used the terrain to fight off attempts to re-capture them. The landscape has scarcely changed over the centuries, so it remains a place of splendid isolation and incredible beauty.
One reason so many Jamaican caves remain unexplored is that they are located on private property, and owners often deny access because they are suspicious of cavers’ motives. “They think we are really searching for treasure stashed away years ago by Caribbean pirates,” Stewart says. “As if pirates would have bothered with lugging their booty 50 miles inland and then descending into deep holes.”
The caves that have been charted bear names as colorful as the local parlance: Belly-Full Cave, Gremlin Cave, Home Away Cave and Too Far Stream Cave. At Deeside Cave in Trelawny Parish, about an hour’s drive from Montego Bay and one of several sites suitable for novices, Stewart leads visitors on a short climb up a steep hill to the cave’s yawning entrance, which is marked by milky pink stalactites and stalagmites. With everyone outfitted in hard hats bearing headlamps and carrying rappelling gear, the trek soon reaches a “constriction,” which is spelunker speak for a place where you have to get down on your stomach and squeeze through. The short stretch of slithering brings the party to the lip of a 40-foot cliff. Rappelling gear is strapped on and visitors descend to the Scree Chamber, an immense vault where the air is cool and the headlamps illuminate wondrous formations at every turn (and yes, there are bats).
Depending on the fitness and ardor of the party, the trek can last from three to five hours. A visit can include dramatic sights like The Canyon, where the rocky floor gapes open to reveal vertigo-inducing depths, and Hanging Gardens Chamber, where the walls boast flowery formations galore. The final stop in Deeside Cave is the River Pit, a bare-rock bluff where the roar of rushing water some 50 feet below competes with conversation. Stewart always yells for everyone to turn off the headlamps. “Behold absolute blackness,” he says. “No place on the planet gets any darker than this.”
WIND POWER
Learning to windsurf in Aruba is a rite of passage.
BY JIMMY IM
Like many vacationers, I identify a sublime island getaway with relaxation, a beach chair and a cold, fruity drink. Aruba, the smallest of the “ABC” islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) in the Dutch Caribbean, is one such destination, chock-full of luxurious resorts, miles of sandy white beaches and myriad spas dedicated to the art of unwinding. So what in the world would make me turn what could have been a laidback vacation into an exercise in balance, strength and patience?
Windsurfing, baby.
In the Caribbean, Aruba has always been the place for wind-surfing. The sport, which is similar to surfing — except you ride the wind instead of the waves — utilizes a long, wide windsurf board with a sail attached by mast. It’s a national pastime, thanks to the island’s perfect conditions.
“Aruba’s location in the Caribbean makes windsurfing optimal,” says 26-year-old Wim Eelens, who owns Aruba Active Vacations, an adventure activities operator that offers lessons on Fisherman’s Hut, a quiet, isolated beach spot on the island’s north side. “There are strong winds on Fisherman’s Hut every day, and the water is shallow and flat. It’s a great location for all levels.”
The island even hosts the Aruba Hi-Winds competition (co-organized by Eelens) every July, and world-champion wind-surfers — like Robby Naish, Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Anders Bringdal — not only compete (and rack up top prizes), but also take advantage of Aruba’s calm waters and strong winds for recreational purposes.
Eager to experience these ideal conditions firsthand, I arrived promptly at 10am at Aruba Active Vacations, which is just a shack on the beach. The no-frills attitude was as inviting as the shallow waters and cool breeze, and Eelens’ 21-year-old sister Marianne — my instructor for the day — greeted me warmly with some confidence-inducing words: “The great thing about windsurfing is that everyone is able to do it in the first lesson.”
Marianne didn’t waste any time, offering straightforward instructions and a thorough demonstration on land. The board was wide enough for me to stabilize my knees on, before steadily shooting up to my feet. While in “surf stance,” I pulled the sail up from the water using the rope attached to the mast. Now that the mast was vertical, it was time to determine the direction of the wind with the sail. In order to steer, I had to grip the mast with my left hand while my right hand held onto the wishbone boom for balance.
Feeling confident, I waded into the shallow water — about 20 feet in — with Marianne and the windsurf board. I stood waist-deep as she effortlessly demonstrated the lesson. Before I took my first go at it, I looked out far into the sea — flat as a pancake with a turquoise gleam. I saw a group of teenagers windsurfing past the warning flags into expert territory with stronger winds and deeper waters. As they zipped along the surface, I thought, “Hey, if teenagers can do this, so can I.”
I thought too soon. Getting my balance was almost impossible; the board wobbled underneath me and I clumsily plunged into the water. There was so much to remember — keep your back to the beach at all times, left hand on mast, knees slightly bent — that I almost forgot to follow the wind. Buoyed by Marianne’s solid encouragement and my own ambition, I finally stood up, picking up speed with the wind. Success! As Marianne clapped in celebration, I kept going and going and, well, going. Thus, the reality of the next challenge dawned upon me: turning around.
Turning a windsurfing board is difficult; you are more prone to losing your balance, and repositioning the board on the water’s surface requires all of your strength. I spent a lot of time falling and was very tempted to simply stay in the water. I enviously watched the teenagers’ agility and speed far out at sea — which was just enough incentive to get back on the board. Fifteen minutes later, I was putting all of my body weight and core strength into the turn. Following Marianne’s directions, I scooped the end of the sail close to the board’s nose to guide the vehicle into the wind, shuffled and switched my feet around the mast, then redirected my route — without falling in the water. Reuniting with the cool breeze was a comfort because it indicated that I had sailed through the challenge. It just took practice, patience and determination.
Although Marianne was right — all it takes is one lesson — I was exhausted and sore. However, I glanced one last time at the boys at sea and knew I would be back for more — but not before getting a beachside, deep-tissue massage at my resort. This is Aruba, after all.
ARUBA ACTIVE VACATIONS
Fisherman’s Hut; 297-586-0989; www.aruba-active-vacations.com
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