Snorkeling Sand Key Reef, Key West Florida

When Brittany and I first met, one of our first dates was going snorkeling on Sand Key Reef in Key West, Florida. I mean, who takes their first date on a snorkel cruise. Sand Key Reef is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The reef is located about 6 nautical miles to the southwest of Key West so it was a pretty quick ride to get there from the marina next to the cruise ship docks aboard the Fury Catamaran. Our captain just happened to be Captain Billy, a friend from work. He and his wife Irene, were part owners of Cowboy Bills, the only saloon and the largest entertainment complex on the island.

Captain Billy and Irene, Cowboy Bills 2009

Once in the water, Brittany and I kind of went off by ourselves so we wouldn’t run into other snorkelers. If you’ve never snorkeled or scuba’d with others, its not the most enjoyable. Nothing like running head first in to someone else or having your mask knocked off by someone’s fin.

The fish and other wildlife on the reef where amazing but the highlight was this guy that decided to swim by. I tried to swim after it to get more pics, but was not able to keep up for long. The whole time I could hear Brittany screaming in her snorkel.

Shark at Sand Key Reef, Key West Florida

We where only down about 10 feet and there wasn’t much other fauna around but I supposed it could be because it scared it all away. I’m not sure what kind of shark it was but if anyone knows, please comment. I’d love to finally learn which species it is.

Shark at Sand Key Reef, Key West Florida

Recently, Brittany and I got the opportunity to shoot back down to Key West, after several years of being away, for a weekend vacation. One of the first things we did was book a snorkel excursion with Fury back out to Sand Key Reef. Although we loved living in Key West when we first met, this short trip was especially enjoyable as we got to reminisce about that time and relive some of the memories.

As we were waiting for our time to board the Fury Cat, the captain came walking up the dock and who do we see? Yep, Captain Billy. This was the icing on the cake for the trip.

Key West Fury Snorkel Cruise

Unfortunately the GoPro was in a mood and decided to have an issue so I wasn’t able to get any good underwater video. Just means we will need to go back again soon.

The beautiful, brilliant and talented, Brittany Bower