FLATS FISHING OFF TAVERNIER KEYUPPER KEYS FACT'S
Accommodations Ocean Pointe Hotel Condominiam Rental.
INFORMATION *** CALL 516-991-9575
Florida Keys Vacation Condo Hotel Resort at Ocean Pointe - Rent Owner Direct Vacation Rental at Ocean Pointe Suite Key Largo - Upper Keys Fishing Spots - Upper Keys Diving - Dive the Spiegel Grove - Snorkeling and Scuba Diving John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park - Upper Keys Deep Sea Fishing - Everglades Fishing - Upper Keys Backcountry Fishing - Upper Keys Flats Fishing -Kayaking John Pennekamp Park - Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville - Sailing Seminars - Sail with Rick White - Upper Keys Accommodations - Discount - Best Value - Stay and Play
Key Largo, Florida is the most northern part of the Florida Keys. Originally called "Rock Harbor," Key Largo changed its name in 1948 to capitalize on the success of the movie of the same title starring Humphrey Bogart. Like all of the Keys, Largo is best seen in the water! Whether you fish, snorkel, dive, or just cruise, include some time on a boat in your itinerary.
Today, 80,000 Keys residents live on 32 of the islands. Their numbers are dwarfed, however, by the estimated 4,000,000 visitors that journey to the Keys every year on vacation. Businesses catering to tourists—dive shops, marinas, hotels, and restaurants—line the Overseas Highway in long, often crowded, commercial strips on some of the larger islands, and in scattered clumps on the smaller keys.
Coral Reefs and Shipwrecks off Key Largo
Each year, more than 300,000 people came to explore the reefs at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the adjacent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key Largo.
Elliott Key, Old Rhodes Key, Sands Key, Boca Chita, Ragged Keys and Soldier Key. All of these linking islands were called "Islandia" under a Dade County charter.
1969, the new Card Sound bridge opened providing easy access to the mainland cutting 12-miles off the travel from the mainland to Ocean Reef and the Angler's Club.
Nike Hercules formed a defense perimeter from Miami southward. The actual missiles were across the road in hardened storage bunkers now part of the Crocodile Refuge. The north Key Largo site was one of three local sites, the other two being in Key West and the Everglades near Florida City.
THE MARVIN ADAMS WATERWAY - refer to it as "the Cut." waterway that lies about midway of Key Largo at mile marker 103.6. A short cut from ocean to bay.Without it, one would have to travel southwest to Tavernier Creek or northeast to Angelfish Creek.
Largo Sound, a peaceful, protected body of water--perfect for a day of fishing, swimming, kayaking, or exploring the myriad mangrove channels and coves of Largo Sound and John Pennekamp Park.
From Largo Sound, a boater can take either North Sound Creek or South Sound Creek into Hawk Channel (the inside-the-reef portion of the Florida Straights). From there, one has access to the Straights of Florida, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, from Largo Sound, boaters can take the Cross Key Canal through Key Largo to Blackwater Sound, where they can enjoy the serene beauty and fabulous fishing of Florida Bay.
To the south of the mainland of Florida are the Florida Keys. This island are the skeleton of an ancient coral reef. There are about 882 charted islands.
Paleo-Indian Period (10,000 b.c. to 8,000 b.c.) - It is thought to have been about 3,000 years later (10,000 BC) before any of these early Paleo-people arrived in North Florida. This would have been at a low water period and Florida would have been about twice as large as it is today because the sea level would have been about 20 to 30 feet lower than today. The additional land mass would have been all of the Florida Bay and a significant part of the Gulf of Mexico.
Like the Florida Keys, indigenous Indians settled the Bahamas long before the whites came.
HISTORIC FLORIDA INDIANS At the beginning of the historic period, in 1492 AD, it is conservatively estimated that there were about 100,000 Indians living in Florida. Some estimate as many as 350,000. Accepting the first estimate, the distribution is thought of as this: Timucuans in the northeast, 40,000; Apalachee and Pensacola in the northwest, 25,000; Tocobaga in the west-central, 8,000; Calusa in the southwest, 20,000; Tequesta in the southeast, 5,000; Jeaga, Jobe and Ais in the east-central, 2,000. There were others, as well as sub-groups, i.e., Saturiwa, Santaluces, Boca Ratones, Tocobaga, etc. By the late 1700s, it is thought that all of these indigenous Indians were gone.
When the Spanish arrived in the 1500's, two primary groups of Indians, the Calusas and the Tequestas--lived in the area. The Tequestas were fishermen, while the Calusa ate shellfish, clams, and oysters. However, the Indian population was largely eliminated by the diseases introduced by the Spanish explorers, such as tuberculosis, influenza, and polio.
Also, note that there is no mention of the Seminoles, as they did not enter Florida until the early 1700s.
Indians were given all kinds of names, usually depending upon the white settler. Indians seldom referred to themselves by the names given to them by the European settlers. When Columbus came to the Bahama Islands, he called the inhabitants "Indians," but they called themselves Lucayans, which means "Island People."
Aborigines inhabited Cuba, as in all the New World, in pre-Columbian times. These are generally thought to be of three groups: Guanahatabetes, Ciboneys and Tainos. Of the three, the Tainos were the most advanced and subjugated the Ciboneys. As well as being hunters and fishermen, the Tainos were agricultural, and grew yucca, maiz, peanuts, squash, peppers, fruit and tobacco. They lived in villages in round shelters and the men wore no clothes. They were experienced ocean travelers and easily could have traveled the 90 miles to the Keys. The Guanahatabetes, who were the oldest, practiced a shell culture with similarities to that of the Keys Indians.
Dry Tortugas: Many believe the Florida Keys end in Key West. However, this is just the end of US1. The chain of the Florida Keys continues for a further 70 miles west. The very end islands being the Dry Tortugas.
Before the 1820s the Florida Keys were without permanent white settlements. The first white people to settle in the Keys in any number were of the maritime industry from the Bahamas and the New England states. In large part they settled in Key West after Florida became a U.S. Territory in 1821. They were involved in wrecking (salvaging), fishing, sponging and turtling industries. Later, Bahamian farmers, who knew coral-island farming techniques, brought proven plants/seeds and farmed successfully in the Upper Keys.
Farm the Upper Keys, like fishing, the wrecker did between salvaging shipwrecks. As the wrecking industry closed in the latter 1800s, the farming industry expanded.
Early Blacks in Monroe County were from the Carolinas, Georgia, Cuba and the Bahamas. The first official count was in 1830 when the government census showed 83 Free Negro and 66 slaves. This is significant as the total population was 517, therefore 28.8 percent were Black.
In the late 1800's tracts of land on the Keys which were devoted to the culture of pineapples, tomatoes, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, cassava, tapias, beets, carrots, turnips, and various tropical fruits which flourish in abundance. The average shipments of pineapples alone reach more than $200,000 per annum. The best melons come from Key Largo.
Cotton harvesting in the Upper Keys occur in the 1930's.There were two reasons for the harvesting. One was the belief that the "boll weevil" wintered in the Keys and then would swoop up to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to ravage the cotton fields. Another reason was that the Keys could provide a stepping stone for the Caribbean island "pink boll worm" to migrate north to the U. S. cotton fields.
The cotton in the Keys is the Wild or Sea Island cotton and is the prehistoric ancestor of our domestic cotton. It is of an inferior quality for commercial use. Wild cotton cannot be spun. It is a scrub, but grows to as much as 12 feet in height. How the cotton plants got here, some think that it was brought over from the Bahamas.
The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
The hurricane monument, which marks a dark day in Keys history. It was constructed in memory of those who lost their lives in the most powerful storm ever to strike this area. The Labor Day hurricane of September 2, 1935, with winds of 200 mph and a storm tide of 18 feet destroyed everything in its path.
August in 1935, the citizens of the Keys were warned that a hurricane was on its way. Nobody knew the path of the hurricane , or force it would be. Key West prepared for the worst, but was spared the brunt of the storm. On the afternoon of September 2nd, the barometer at Islamorada read 26.35, a sign for a terrible storm.
In an attempt to try to take the residents of keys to a safer area, Overseas Railroad officials sent a train out of Miami. Unfortunately, many factors contributed to delays. The train finally reached Lower Matecumbe around 8:30 p.m., just about the same time as the hurricane. The winds were clocked at about 200 mph and the tidal surge reached eighteen feet.
Part of the train was thrown from the track and laid on its side. The engine, however, remained standing, and several men climbed in and survived the storm. Some of the survivors happened to be in houses that were able to float. The huge tidal wave swept the island almost clean, soil and all.
When it was all over, the destruction was unbelievable. Most of the dead were so mutilated by the winds they were unidentifiable. Many bodies didn't even have faces, as the winds sand blasted them into pulp. Some victims also died by being swept into Florida Bay by the tidal surge. Others were sucked into the Atlantic by the undertow caused by the passing of the wave or being hit by flying debris.
FLATS FISHING OFF TAVERNIER KEY
SUNRISE FROM THE BEACH AT OCEAN POINTE.
THE FLATS OF KEY LARGO
FISHING THE MANGROVE CREEKS OF KEY LARGOKayaks go where bigger boats can't. The reefs, shallows and mangrove beds. Islands and streams with inaccessible shorelines. All the places the fish and birds are waiting.
VACATION RENTAL - OCEAN POINTE
FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE CONDO CLICK HERE
SEND AN E-MAIL: Abassett@netzero.net
500 BURTON DRIVE, #1307, TAVERNIER, FLORIDA 33070
Beautifully decorated, two bedroom, two bath, third-floor Condo. This unit is located at Ocean Pointe Suite and is perfect for anyone who dives, loves to boat, or wants to fish. This cozy unit is warm and inviting for those looking for a relaxing vacation or a getaway. | |||||
Amenities: Phone, Air Conditioning, Cable TVS, VCR, Stereo, CD Player, Full Kitchen, Microwave, Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Ice Maker, Cooking Utensils provided, Linens provided, Washer, Dryer, Hot Tub, pool, BBQ grill
|
FOR INFORMATION AND BOOKINGS CALL 516-991-9575
 |  |
OCEAN POINTE Holiday Vacation
Ocean Pointe Suites at Key Largo. Spread across 67 acres of the Florida Keys ... 2 Lighted tennis courts, large pool, private beach, kayaking, volleyball ...
ISLAMORADA DEEP SEA FISHING CHARTERS*WATERSPORTS AND ECO-TOURS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS*KAYAKING JOHN PENNEKAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK*BACKCOUNTRY FISHING GUIDES, ISLAMORADA FLATS FISHING,UPPER KEYS ACCOMMODATIONS,*DOLPHIN TOURNAMENT ISLAMORADA, FLORIDA*CHALLENGER FLORIDA KEY *FISHING REPORT IN THE FLORIDA KEYS*TOURISM VACATION PACKAGE DEALS TRIP ADVISOR DIRECTLY BY OWNER* LODGING INFORMATION KEY LARGO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE*DIVE AND SNORKLE SPOTS OF THE FLORIDA KEYS*TOURISM OF THE UPPER KEYS*JOHN PENNECAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK LODGING AT OCEAN POINTE HOTEL CONDOMINIAM RESORT LODGING RENTAL KEY LARGO*OCEANVIEW CONDO BY OWNER AT OCEAN POINTE KEY LARGO, FLORIDA
