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Making Tracks to Paradise
“…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?”
The notion of “high ground” means something different in the Florida Keys. There is little that resembles a hill along 160 miles of islands dotting the ocean between Miami and Key West. Standing on the hard, white coral of Pigeon Key I was reminded why it is so flat; the entire string of islands are the calcified remains of marine life poking up from the sea.
Pigeon Key is a mere speck on the nautical chart and a couple of miles from where our boat is docked for the winter. Standing on Pigeon Key, I can see turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the north and deeper blue ocean of the Atlantic to the south. Ruins of the historic Florida East Coast Railway railroad track tower above, dwarfing and shading the tiny island.
A week before, I identified Pigeon Key on the nautical chart as Glen piloted our boat through shallow water, zig zagging around countless crab pots on the more protected Gulf side. My mind was on our boat and destination; Boot Key Harbor, thirty minutes away. It was the third day of a shakedown cruise on Star Dust, an older boat we worked doggedly to refit in order to travel the Great Loop. After a month of sweaty repairs in Ft Lauderdale, we set course for the Florida Keys to get out of the city and test our repairs. I gave Pigeon Key little thought as I conversed…
