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!

By Shayne Benowitz

This Friday when the sun sets in Key West, the party on the water will just be gearing up. Our Cory Heydon Band is famous for selling out the Commotion on the Ocean night after night, so we decided an encore performance was in order. This Friday at 7:30pm, join us for Cory After Dark, a two-hour cruise through the twilight, under the stars and a bright half moon.

Our Commotion on the Ocean sunset cruise will still run at its regularly scheduled winter program from 5pm-7pm. We’ll just do a quick turnaround and rock it after sunset for  round two–Cory After Dark! This should be a fun way to experience the Key West Harbor at night. I always enjoy our special after hours trips, and we only do them a few times a year. Who knows? If you love it, Cory After Dark may become a part of our regular menu of trips.

As always, our crew will be on hand serving up beer, wine, margaritas, and champagne, and of course a tasty appetizer spread. Join us in this one-of-a-kind party under the stars. There’s really no dance floor quite like the bow of the Caribbean Fury surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico!

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

The Cory Heydon Band at sunset. Photo courtesy of Fury Fan Luci Dinsdale.

By Shayne Benowitz

This year, we’re celebrating the Parrothead’s Annual Meeting of the Minds festivities a little differently. In years past we’ve had special guests performers. This year, our very own house band The Cory Heydon Band will be rockin’ and rollin’ to headline a very special Commotion on the Ocean. Cory, Tom, and Terry have become such a popular trio that our Commotion on the Ocean runs the risk of selling out almost every night.

I had some time to sit down with Cory and chit chat about tonight’s show. Here’s a brief excerpt from the interview. Enjoy!

FG: How will the Parrotheads Commotion be special?

CH: We’re going to do exactly what we do all the time, but I plan to throw in some obscure Jimmy Buffett and other Parrotheads-style songs. We’ll play “Margaritaville” if someone asks.

FG: What’s your favorite Jimmy Buffet song?

CH: “Death of an Unpopular Poet” and “Come Monday,” which has the word Montana in the lyrics. [Note: Cory hails from the great state of Montana!]

FG: Tell me about your new original song “Out on the Fury.”

CH: Terry and I decided to collaborate and write a few songs. It’s the first one that we did, but there’s more to come. Our fans can look forward to more trop-rock songs like “Out on the Fury” on an album in the future.

FG: What’s unique about performing aboard a boat?

CH: It’s just the most beautiful place ever. It’s a really cool environment. It’s your own dance club in the middle of the water and you get to watch the sunset. The added feature is there’s a band on board.

FG: What do you think of the Fury crew?

CH: The Fury crew rocks, man!

The Cory Heydon Band Meeting of the Minds Commotion on the Ocean sets sail tonight at 5:30pm departing from the Historic Seaport. See you there!

by Shayne Benowitz

The Cory Heydon Band is as much a part of Fury Water Adventures as any captain or crew member. Performing their classic cover songs and original hits nightly, they’ve made the Commotion on the Ocean one of the hottest tickets in town for nearly six years. Guests return year after year to hear their favorite songs. I was aboard the Commotion recently when I heard a brand new tune in the playlist.

It had all the qualities I’ve come to expect: Terry’s energetic drumbeat, Tom’s bass melding with Cory’s rockin’ guitar rift, and the soulful bluesy cry of Cory’s harmonica. Then, I listened as Cory belted out the lyrics… “Well I got a little bounce to my step alright/ Cause the sun’s sliding into a Key West night!”

I liked the sound of it immediately. Then the chorus kicked in:

Out on the Fury!

Set that sun!

Out on the Fury

Have some fun!

Out on the Fury

Water’s fine!

Out on the Fury

Have a great time!

All I have to say is, it’s about time they wrote an original song about sailing with Fury in Key West! The song is a real crowd pleaser and encapsulates the fun of being, well, “Out on the Fury!” as the song is titled. The song was written by Terry who is the drummer and backup vocalist for the band.

Next time you’re in town, we certainly hope you’ll join us “Out on the Fury!” for the Commotion on the Ocean. We promise it to be an entertaining night complete with a gorgeous sunset at sea, along with margarita, beer, wine, and a delicious appetizer spread. In the meantime, check out the new Band Page app on our Facebook page where you can sample a couple of Cory Heydon Band classics while you’re scrolling through all the awesome fan pix on our wall!

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

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.

Adventure Island

by Shayne Benowitz

If you were dreaming of a white Christmas, depending on where in the country you live, many of your dreams came true. While my family was visiting me for the Christmas holiday, their neighbors in the suburbs of Atlanta were experiencing snowfall.

If you’re anything like the Benowitzes or the Fury crew, then you might have been dreaming of a Christmas in the mid to upper 70′s with bright blue skies and a crystal clear ocean surrounding you. That’s exactly what our customers got aboard Fury on Christmas day.

It was business as usual with parasailing boats running every hour, snorkel trips, and our selection of Key West sunset cruises. We made the day extra special, however, with our Christmas Ultimate Adventure.

The Caribbean Fury set sail to the reef with a boatload of Christmas revelers excited for a morning of Key West snorkeling. Lucky for everyone, visibility at the reef has been phenomenal with up to 100’ of clarity. There was so much to see: yellowtail snappers, parrotfish, sergeant majors, and colorful coral.

A parrotfish: ideal conditions at the reef.

For the sail out to Adventure Island, the crew served up a delicious Christmas luncheon complete with all the fixings to fuel everyone up for an afternoon of more fun. A fleet of parasail boats was at the ready to whisk our customers 300 feet in the air for a stunning view of our island paradise. Key West jet skis and kayaks were standing by and all of Adventure Island’s inflatable toys were waiting to be pounced on.

Of course, as soon as everyone’s water activities were complete, happy hour commenced with free-flowing beer and wine. It was a truly memorable Christmas. Isn’t it nice to return home to the cold and the snow with a glowing Key West tan!? Happy Holidays!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer. For more travel stories visit her at web.me.com/shaynebeth and follow her at twitter.com/ShayneBenowitz.

Cory Heydon Band & Friends.

By Shayne Benowitz

Earlier this fall, the Cory Heydon Band reached a monumental milestone- 1,000 Commotion on the Ocean performances and still going strong! We couldn’t let this occasion slip away without notice! In typical Fury fashion, we threw Cory a rockin’ shindig aboard the Caribbean Fury.

Ever the hard worker, Cory was the entertainment for his own party, along with longtime bandmates Tom & Terry. He also roped in some special guest musicians for the task: John Solinski, Chris Thomas, Jeep Couillett, Chris Cooke, and Eric Holt.

1,000 Commotions Celebration Party!

The party was strictly invite only, and the Caribbean set sail right before sunset with a boatload of Fury Key West VIP. The band performed Cory’s greatest hits including Crosby, Stills, & Nash’s “Southern Cross,” Sawyer Brown’s “Mission Temple Fireworks Stand,” and they even learned the Golden Girl’s Theme “Thank You For Being a Friend” for the special occasion.

It was a raucous party with Captain Chuck’s constant commentary from the helm and Cory’s colorful cast of characters performing for everyone. Scott Saunders even got in on the action with the tambourine, and his mother Helen didn’t disappoint when the request for “More cowbell!” came in.

It was truly a celebratory night, not unlike the Commotion on the Ocean every night of the week. If you’ve never experienced the Cory Heydon Band aboard the Fury, there’s really no excuse. It’s one of the best parties in town!

If you have, we’d love to hear your memories and see your pix! Check out our facebook and twitter pages. Also, we’ve got lots of Commotion videos up on our youtube channel. For exclusive videos from the 1,000 Party, just search “Cory Heydon’s 1000th Commotion” and at least 3 videos will pop up. Hope to see you out with us soon!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer. For more travel stories and a daily dose of what’s cool around the globe visit her Wanderlust Website at http://web.me.com/shaynebeth.

Fingers Taylor & KD Moore perform on the Commotion. Photo Courtesy of kdmoorejr.com.

by Shayne Benowitz

The Parrotheads landed! As if Key West wasn’t already a year round haven for Jimmy Buffett die-hards, the annual Meeting of the Minds week was a time to come together and live the dream!

As always, Fury Key West had the Parrotheads covered with our annual Meeting of the Minds Commotion on the Ocean sunset sail. This year we rocked out two whole nights. Friday singer/songwriter and perennial favorite Scott Kirby played his beach-folky storyteller-style songs as he picked his fingerstyle guitar to a sold out crowd.

On Saturday, living legends KD Moore and “Fingers” Taylor performed with other Coral Reefer alumni, Amy Lee and Rob Mehl. The boat definitely rocked when they performed crowd-pleasing Jimmy Buffett classics.

The wind was strong in the sails aboard the Caribbean Fury, and moving to the music kept everyone warm when the sun sank into the ocean. The crew served up pitchers of our delicious margaritas. When in Margaritaville, you’ve gotta have a few margaritas! Ice-cold beer, wine, wine spritzers, and champagne flowed freely, as usual. For our hungry Parrotheads, the bar was full of tasty appetizers like chicken wings, meatballs, and fresh veggies.

The Commotion sets sail every night with our beloved Cory Heydon Band, so don’t miss out on the fun the next time you’re in town!

By Shayne Benowitz

At Fury, we love our Cory Heydon Band. Cory, Tom, and Terry rock the boat six nights a week to often sold out crowds. Last week on Facebook, Fury friend Carolyn Guarini informed us that Cory and the boys would be performing their 1,000^th gig aboard the Commotion, quite an accomplishment!

Many memories have been made aboard the Commotion. Every night, Cory gets the crowd on their feet as they lose their inhibitions dancing under the stars at sea. When people disembark, they often exclaim that they had the best time of their vacation with us! Of course, the Fury crew is at your service with all you can drink margaritas, beer, wine, and champagne, as well as a great appetizer spread. And don’t forget the mesmerizing sunset!

The inimitable Cory Heydon.

Everyone has a favorite Cory & The Band moment, and I know I’ve got a few favorite songs, including: “Georgia,” “Pinball Wizard,” and “Fat Bottom Girls.” We’d love to hear your favorite Commotion memories. Post them on our Facebook page or tweet about it! We always love getting fan pictures, too!

To celebrate, I’ve posted a new YouTube video featuring my favorite, “Georgia.” Feel free to search through the archives for more Commotion videos! Congrats to Cory on 1,000 Commotions. Here’s to 1,000 more!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer. For more travel stories and a daily dose of what’s cool around the globe visit her Wanderlust Website at http://web.me.com/shaynebeth.