Author: Shayne Benowitz

“I account it high time to get to sea…” –Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Melville’s sentiment is part of my daily philosophy living and working on the water in Key West. Nothing gets the day started quite like a cool ocean breeze on the deck of a large catamaran sailing out to the coral reef on a balmy day in Key West. I have been told time and again by customers at Fury Water Aventures that I must have the coolest job ever. After having worked as a crew member on and off for nearly three years, I often find myself thinking the same thing floating in the crystal blue waters by Sand Key Lighthouse on lifeguard duty while our patrons snorkel and explore the reef.

If you are planning a trip to Key West, the best advice I could give you is to spend as much time as you can on the water. That is what makes Key West so beautiful and unique, and during these hot summer months it is the coolest place you can be. In fact, my first trip with Fury was on a shore excursion off of a cruise ship with my family when I was fifteen and then again after my college graduation with two of my girlfriends. Having grown up in southern California, I have always loved the ocean and I have traveled to many beaches around the world. I have had the opportunity to snorkel in Hawaii and the Bahamas, but Key West has always stood out to me as the best. I love that the water is deep and clear. There is so much variety at our reef from schools of yellow tail snapper and midnight blue parrotfish to sea turtles, and even the occasional nurse shark.

I began working at Fury as a summer job while I was teaching middle school in New York City. During my month down here, I absolutely fell in love with the simplicity of Key West’s laid-back lifestyle. My commute to work was a ten minute bike ride on palm tree-lined streets with pastel-colored conch cottages and my uniform was a bikini, board shorts, and lots of sunscreen. After returning to New York for the school year, it became clear that I had to come back for more. Now, I work as a mate on our catamarans and parasail boats and I enjoy the excitement of working on the water year round.

I am delighted to author Fury’s first-ever blog, so be sure to check back regularly to learn more about what it’s really like to work on the water and live in Key West full-time. I’ll tell you all about the amazing marine life I see at the reef, the gorgeous sunsets (no two are alike), what to expect when you go parasailing, what it’s like being one of the only girls working in the boy’s club (it’s fun, most of the time), how to get along with your captain, what I like to do when I get a day off, and the interesting people I meet from around the country and all over the world. It’s just another day in paradise, so stay tuned!

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer who is working on her debut novel. Shayne can be reached at sbbenowitz@gmail.com.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 3:03 pm and is filed under About Shayne. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.