A gorgeous Key West sunset.

By Shayne Benowitz

Anyone who knows me knows that New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday. They would also know that I think a Key West sunset is one of the most beautiful sights a person can witness. Celebrating the final sunset of 2011 on New Year’s Eve is a fitting way to get your night of merriment started. At Fury, we now have more ways than ever to enjoy a sunset sail and we’ll be throwing a couple of great parties on the water.

On Saturday night December 31st, choose your cruise. We have many die-hard Cory Heydon Band fans, and they won’t disappoint with a special New Year’s Eve Commotion on the Ocean Sunset Sail. Dance the night away on the bow of our boat while Cory and the band rock! Our crew will be serving up the usual wine, beer, margaritas, and champagne, and we’ll have a great appetizer spread.

If you’d rather enjoy a slightly more mellow or romantic cruise, opt for our classic Champagne Sunset Sail where we’ll also be throwing a festive party complete with beer, wine, and champagne.

With all of the new trips we’ve added to our menu in 2011, we’ll have more boats on the water than ever for the final sunset of 2011. If you’d prefer a little more action or adventure while watching the sun sink into the western horizon, then book the evening Dolphin & Snorkel Adventure, Rum & Reggae, Double Dip Snorkel Trip, Island Adventure, or a cruise on the glass bottom boat.

I know I’m excited to celebrate a new year in Key West! Whether you make it out with us for the final sunset of 2011 or not, make a resolution to join us one of the 365 evenings of 2012. Happy New Year!

Stewart's winning photo!

By Shayne Benowitz

If you’ve been to our Facebook page this month, then you’ve definitely noticed our new profile picture of a lush green mangrove tree taken by Stewart Foster, our fan of the month! We especially loved his picture because our brand new trip, the Island Adventure, explores the backcountry of the Gulf of Mexico filled with mangrove tree islands.

On this trip you can kayak through the mangroves and relax on a sandbar beach while sipping Coronas. We also take you to the reef to snorkel. It’s a wonderful way to experience two completely different aspects of Key West’s water on one great trip. And, of course, we’ve got you covered with snacks and a tasty lunch from the Cuban Coffee Queen. It’s definitely my favorite new way to spend a day on the water in Key West.

Stewart and his wife at the Southernmost Point.

Stewart joined us in September of 2010 with his wife from House Springs, Missouri, a small town outside of St. Louis. They’ve been married for 32 years and travel to Florida almost every year. This was their first trip to the Keys and they stayed in Marathon. They found out about our Ultimate Adventure and sunset package from the Marathon Visitor’s Center and decided to make the 47 mile trek south to Key West for the day.

Stewart said he enjoyed the all day trip and our helpful staff. (What can I say? The Fury crew’s the best! They had a great time snorkeling and jet skiing, and even parasailing, although it made his wife a little nervous! They walked around the island and made it to the Southernmost Buoy for a photo opt before heading back to the marina for the sunset sail. It sounds like a pretty great way to spend the day in Key West!

Thanks for your great picture Stewart and congratulations again on being the Fury Fan of the Month!

Vroom vroom!

By Shayne Benowitz

What an exciting day on the water! The 31st annual Key West World Championship Powerboat Races started today and Fury was out in full force. As usual, our catamaran was positioned as an official turn boat during the race. This means we were literally apart of the racecourse. These amazing boats zoomed around us at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

We hosted a party like no other on board with a catered breakfast, snacks, lunch, and of course race day mimosas. It’s a thrill every year and our crew especially looks forward to the action. This year, we doubled the fun with a second viewing catamaran. Drifting just offshore Sunset Key, we had unparalleled views of the straightaway.

If you’re reading this thinking, “How did I miss this!?” Don’t fret! There’s still two days of racing left Friday November 11th and the grand finale Sunday November 13th, so get yourself in gear and head to Key West for the action!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.

Chuck gave him one of his Fury crew shirts, and when Dakota returned for the Commotion on the Ocean the next night he brought Chuck a signed copy of his GQ cover issue. Chuck reports that Dakota and his girlfriend had a great time on the Commotion!

“There’s times where I think we’ve screwed this world up a lot,” said Chuck. “Then you meet a guy like that and it makes you think we have a chance. It restores your faith in humanity.”

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crew member and freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.

By Shayne Benowitz

Jeff Haynes, winner of this month’s Fury Facebook Fan Photo Contest, should be an honorary member of the Conch Republic. I’m not sure who grants that distinction, but I’d be happy to welcome him into the honorary Fury Family! Jeff and his family have made regular sojourns down to Key West from central Florida and have definitely embraced our island paradise.

On a recent vacation, they spent two whole weeks in a rental on Eaton Street and explored the island on bicycles, catching the sunset at Mallory Square almost every night. They loved the bars, the live music, and the street performers, as well as touring sites like the Key West Cemetery (in search of “Sloppy” Joe Russell’s grave), the Hemingway House, and exploring the island for Jimmy Buffett points of interest. They were in town during Mel Fisher Days and rocked a performance by the one and only Howard Livingston!

The winning photo!

While in Key West, they also made a handful of trips with us at Fury including the Rum & Reggae and the Sunset Cruise. That’s where Jeff snapped the beautiful picture of the rainbow parrotfish swimming over a healthy outcropping of coral. Needless to say, I absolutely loved the shot! Parrotfish are my favorite! Jeff already has a trip to Key West scheduled during Fantasy Fest and another one in mind for 2012. I love his devotion to our little island!

Jeff’s a paramedic, and he explained that a getaway to Key West is the perfect remedy for the stress of his day to day work. I certainly admire anyone working in the medical field–absolute angels. Jeff mentioned that his daughter would like to work for Fury someday. That’s how it all starts! My first experience with Fury was a snorkel trip with my family when I was 15, and that thought stayed in the back of my head for almost ten years before I made it a reality! It’s a beautiful life here and we absolutely love sharing it with our guests from near and far.

Congratulations Jeff on winning the photo contest and we look forward to your next visit in October!

Shayne Benowitz is a freelance writer and Fury crew member. For more follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.

Fury Girl on the slide at Adventure Island.

By Shayne Benowitz

Sweet, sweet summertime. The days of summer are waning as Labor Day Weekend, the last hurrah, is approaching. It’s been an incredible season at Fury in Key West. The weather’s been gorgeous, our guests have enjoyed a host of brand new trips and boats, and we’ve been busy! It’s also been an incredible time on our Facebook and Twitter pages. We’ve hit the 6,000 mark for “likes” on Facebook and every day there’s a ton of interaction with our fans as they post vacation pictures and talk about their trip. It’s almost as good as the real thing day in and day out on the docks at the Westin, the Ocean Key House, and the Historic Seaport.

Parasailing is part of the Ultimate Adventure package.

As usual, we anticipate a busy Labor Day Weekend, so we’re doubling up on the Ultimate Adventure during our two busiest days, Saturday and Sunday September 3-4. In addition to our daily 10am departure, you can rock the Ultimate as an afternoon adventure that includes a sunset sail. Book your 2pm departure and enjoy snorkeling, parasailing, jet skiing, as well as sea kayaking and all the toys at the inflatable water park. Enjoy snacks, an early picnic dinner, as well as all you can drink beer, wine, and champagne. The trip will conclude with viewing the famous Key West sunset before we return to port.

A school of blue tang can often be found snorkeling at the reef!

If you’ve been out with us before, you already know why this action-packed trip is amongst our most popular! It’s also a great value considering two meals are included, as well as a sampling of all the water activities that we offer. Whether you join us on Labor Day Weekend in the morning or afternoon for the Ultimate Adventure or anytime of the year, we’re thrilled to share our love of Key West and it’s beautiful waters with you. Here’s to summer!

Shayne Benowitz is a freelance writer and Fury crew member. For more follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz

By Shayne Benowitz

If you happen to be in a West Marine or a Barnes & Noble this month, and you’re daydreaming about getting out on the water with Fury, scan the magazine racks for August’s issue of Multihulls Quarterly. You’ll find a feature article on Fury by Yours Truly!

I had the opportunity to attend the Miami Boat Show this year and spend an afternoon sailing on a gorgeous Benetau 43 in Biscayne Bay. I’m a Fury Girl at heart, but I am thrilled at any opportunity to get offshore on a boat, especially a sailing yacht. On board was the publisher for Blue Water Sailing Media, which publishes Blue Water Sailing Magazine and Multihulls Quarterly. We got to talking and I told him I was a writer and a boating enthusiast, and he put me in touch with the magazine’s managing editor. I pitched her a few ideas, and in addition to a couple of other articles, she asked me to write a feature on Fury.

I was thrilled at the opportunity. Of course, I know the ends and outs of Fury pretty well, but there was still some research to do. I interviewed the big boss men Scott and Marius, as well as Captain Chuck, and shipbuilder Randy Hinojosa. I wanted to tell the story of Fury’s growth since Scott took the reigns around the summer of 2005 when we were hit by the big storms. It was kind of a walk down memory lane talking with Scott and Marius about growing the fleet and developing our signature trips like the Ultimate Adventure and the Commotion on the Ocean.

Captain Chuck and Randy gave me all the details on the specs and the evolution of the Fury catamaran design. And of course, I couldn’t leave out what makes Key West such an ideal destination for boating, the beauty of the coral reef, which is the heart and soul of our daily operation.

It was an honor to write the article and it made me that much more proud of where we’ve been and where we’re going at Fury. If you’re a true Fury fan, you might find this article on our recent history interesting. If you pick up a copy, let us know what you think on Facebook or Twitter. Or just get down to Key West and tell us on the way to the reef!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crew member and freelance writer. For more follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.

The wedding party at Fort Zach.

by Shayne Benowitz

Earlier this week, one of our most talented Fury photographers was at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park & Beach around sunset capturing shots of our boats for upcoming marketing materials. He noticed an intimate wedding for a couple, probably in their seventies, taking place just down the beach. If you’ve never been to Fort Zach, it’s one of the most beautiful locales in Key West with sparkling views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. That makes it a popular place for destination weddings on the beach.

Our photographer noticed that there was no one there to take pictures and capture their special moment. As it turned out, the photographer they hired was a no show! Being the good Samaritan, our Fury photographer doubled his workload and in between getting pictures of the Fury fleet, he shot their wedding. He even got in touch with Captain Kerry to pull the Commotion closer to shore so that the Cory Heydon Band could serenade the wedding. They were thrilled that a photographer and entertainment magically appeared for their wedding.

The Commotion on the Ocean offshore of Fort Zach.

It turns out the bride and groom, Martha and Jack, had known each other as friends since high school. They had both become widows over the course of the last few years. Martha lived in New Jersey and Jack was in Jupiter, Florida. They reconnected over the phone, and eventually fell in love after all these years. Now, Martha’s moving to Jupiter and they’re starting their new lives together.

When our photographer shared this story with me, I thought it was so romantic. I was also impressed with his selfless act. Thanks to him, Martha and Jack will have beautiful photos to commemorate their wedding. I love hearing heartwarming stories like this. Key West is a very special place.

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crew member and freelance writer. For more, follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.

A jet ski tour getting ready to depart from the Westin.

For years now, we’ve offered jet skis as a part of our Ultimate Adventure all day package. It’s still the best deal in town if you want to do it all at one low price: snorkel, parasail, jet ski, kayak, plus breakfast, lunch, and all you can drink! For the true Key West jet ski enthusiast, though, we’ve come up short. People often wandered into the Fury Surf Shack and asked us if we had a jet ski tour, and we had to turn them away.

Well, not anymore! Just down the dock at the Westin Marina a fleet of jet skis awaits Fury customers looking to churn up the harbor on their own personal water craft. With tours departing every two hours starting at 9:30am, our friendly and professional jet ski guide will lead you on the ride of a lifetime!

How about a tour around the island 28-miles long? It’s such a cool way to see some of the famous sites of Key West while staying cool and having fun. You’ll get a great view of Mallory Square, the wildlife and mangrove islands of the Gulf of Mexico, sandbars, Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Southernmost Buoy! Bring your waterproof camera!

A map of the jet ski tour course (plus some waterproof cameras for sale!).

If you’ve got a need for speed, you’ll definitely have the opportunity to free ride and tear it up throughout the tour! I have to admit, from the day I started working at Fury, I’ve been a bit of a chicken when it comes to jet skis, so I’ll just wave from the dock! You get out there and have fun!

It’s a really exciting time at Fury Water Adventures with all of the new trips that we offer. To me, there’s still nothing else like snorkeling at the reef! What’s your favorite adventure on the water? Tell us about it on Facebook and Twitter, and of course get to Key West and come play with us!

Charly and his wife Louise with their granddaughter Ashley.

by Shayne Benowitz

We have been getting such amazing Fury and Key West pictures posted to our Facebook wall, and it is tough to choose the finalists every month. I have to say, though, this month’s winner was kind of a no-brainer. Charly Finn’s shot of the Ocean Key House’s colorful Sunset Pier near one of our departure points was downright captivating. His picture immediately got my attention and the attention of our nearly 6,000 Facebook fans!

Charly's award-winning photograph.

Charly and his family are from Havre de Grace, Maryland and although they’d vacationed in Key West many times, their trip last August was the first time they’d enjoyed a Fury water adventure. Charly and his wife Louise are both certified divers and licensed captains. He told me they were very impressed with their crew on the Ultimate Adventure. He said they made sure everyone was safe and having a great time. The trip happily exceeded his expectations and now he’s so passionate about Fury that his friends tease him about getting “kick backs” from us!

The big dip! Louise and Ashley parasailing.

I love to hear the enthusiasm our guests have for Fury because, of course, I totally relate! It’s such a pleasure introducing new people day after day to the beautiful waters of Key West. Being on a boat every day is the best part of my job. A close second? Sharing that fun with out customers! When’s your next trip to Key West? Post it on our facebook page or tweet us!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crew member and freelance writer. For more, follow her on Twitter @ShayneBenowitz.