by Shayne Benowitz
Mangrove islands of Key West’s backcountry
You may not realize it when you step aboard a Fury catamaran for the 9:30am snorkel trip or the 10am Ultimate Adventure, but your hard working crew has been on the docks since 8am preparing for your arrival. With the new Fury Island Adventure, we’re all pitching in to make this trip extra special for our guests.
As you sail out to Mule Key in the backcountry, you’ll immediately notice the glistening Fury Island shining white with Fury’s logo painted on it. Well, this floating island has taken an hour-long sojourn from the anchorage near Wisteria Island through the Northwest Channel.
This morning, I joined Captian Davey with the task of transporting this island on a towline behind our parasail boat. I have to say, my job is pretty athletic, and there are times when I’m really pushed to the limits. We arrived to Fury Island and immediately started to hustle. There was a lot of jumping back and forth from the parasail boat to the island, securing lines, tying knots, flaking the tarp, and making sure we had everything we needed.
For the trip to the Northwest Channel, Davey drove the parasail boat and I stayed on the island adjusting the towline as needed. You can only go so fast on a boat when you’re towing a heavy object behind you, so once we were underway it was actually a peaceful passage in the quiet morning. For a moment, I felt like Huck Finn floating down the Mississippi River on his raft.
I sat down on one of the large inflatable rafts that our guests would later enjoy in the shallow waters of the lakes and made myself comfortable. It was a beautiful morning and actually rare to have a moment on the water all to myself. From the parasail boat, Davey turned on a little Jack Johnson, which was the perfect mellow soundtrack, and I stretched out on my inflatable cushion enjoying it. A few minutes passed and Davey pointed out a pod of dolphins swimming nearby. They must have been feeling friendly because they swam so close to the boat that Davey could nearly touch them. Not a bad morning commute!
We finally reached the mooring line where we secure Fury Island. It was back to moving fast with no room for mistakes. I reached for the line with our boat hook as Davey swung the island close to it. Quickly, I attached the eye of the line to the bridal on Fury Island, and secured it to the cleat. We were secure. Next, I had to quickly untie the towline from the parasail boat, so Davey could swing back around and pick me up. We raced back to the Margaritaville Marina just in time to fly a boat full of eager parasailors. Just a typical morning as a mate at Fury Water Adventures!
Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer working on her debut novel. 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.
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