Vol. 1, No. 6

April 2005

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Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

Super Vee-class boats cross the start line opposite the old Seven Mile Bridge during the 2004 Marathon Offshore Gran Prix.

Fast Boats, Hot Bikes
to be Featured at
Marathon Surf & Turf

Offshore racing powerboats, some achieving speeds in excess of 150 mph, combined with a motorcycle show, fireworks and two live concerts are on the menu for the first annual Marathon Surf & Turf, set for Thursday, May 12, to Sunday, May 15, in the Florida Keys.

The Surf and Turf event incorporates the third annual Marathon Offshore Gran Prix, this year featuring entries from the recently announced merger of Superboat International Productions Inc. and American Power Boat Association Offshore racing classes.

Prior to offshore powerboat racing Saturday and Sunday, event organizers plan heats for smaller tunnel and vintage class vessels.

Races are to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The dry pits are to be situated at Florida Keys Marathon Airport and will be open for free admission. A portion of the race course parallels the old Seven Mile Bridge, a Florida Keys icon situated in Marathon.

A free general-admission viewing area is to be located at Sunset Park, mile marker 47. Prime viewing from the water’s edge area of the park is to be available to VIP Club spectators. Admission to the VIP Club is $100 per person for a single day, or $175 per person for both days of racing and includes indigenous Keys cuisine and refreshments.

The weekend is to kick off with a raceboat and motorcycle parade through Marathon beginning Friday at 7 p.m. and concluding at Knight’s Key, MM 48, prior to the first of two concerts. The second concert is scheduled for Saturday evening. The bike show and judging is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Boot Key Harbor Marina, mile marker 53 oceanside.

More event details are available at www.keysoffshore.com or www.superboat.com.

Commemorating the birth of a nation is generally a pretty staid affair, but not when the nation is the Conch Republic.

Mike Hollar/Florida Keys News Bureau Gina Maseratti, left, and Gary “Trampie” Drews, both of Key West, compete in last year’s Conch Republic Drag Race on Key West’s Duval Street.

Instead, the republic celebrates the anniversary of its founding with a “drag” race featuring female impersonators, an open-air bed race billed as “the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on” and other events showcasing the Florida Keys’ independent and eccentric spirit.

Scheduled Friday, April 22, through Sunday, May 1, the 23rd annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration commemorates the day the Florida Keys “seceded” from the United States to form a fifth-world nation recognized by international public law as “a sovereign state of mind.”

The birth of the island nation was prompted by a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint, erected without warning, at the entrance to the Florida Keys so agents could ostensibly search cars for drugs and illegal aliens. It virtually halted traffic on the only road into and out of the Keys, angering residents and visitors alike.

Realizing the Keys was being treated as a foreign country, local officials protested by staging the secession.

The 2005 Conch Republic Independence Celebration is to begin at 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, with a kickoff party at the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West’s Historic Seaport.

The following day brings the only festival event requiring stiletto heels and hairspray. The Great Conch Republic Drag Race is to feature a gaggle of drag queens decked out in daring dresses, full makeup and teased tresses — all racing down Duval Street in their highest heels.

Other festival highlights are to include the “World’s Longest Parade,” a “sea battle” featuring historic sailing vessels and the Conch Republic Red Ribbon Bed Race.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the republic’s Web site at www.conchrepublic.com.

Dan Baker/Florida Keys News Bureau

Steve Weeks, a volunteer with the Florida Keys Marine Mammal Rescue Team, comforts a female rough-tooth dolphin.

Officials from rehabilitation centers aiding a contingent of rough-tooth dolphins that stranded off the Florida Keys have put forth a public plea for additional support.

“The biggest thing we’re in need of right now is volunteers,” said Lloyd Brown, vice president of the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo.

Currently, the Conservancy is caring for about a dozen dolphins of almost 70 that stranded off Marathon March 2. At the Mote Marine Institute on Summerland Key, members of the Florida Keys Marine Mammal Rescue Team are caring for three dolphins.

Brown said both venues also require food and water for people that come to help and money for medication and food for the dolphins.

“This is one of the largest efforts ever made on rehabilitation of stranded mammals in history,” said Robert Lingenfelser, MMC president. “This is a major effort on a little nonprofit that’s all-volunteer. “

Some volunteers came on their own after reading and seeing news reports.

German vacationer Pardia Gharib decided to cancel his plans to attend a motorcycling event in Daytona Beach to travel to Key Largo.

“I thought this was more important,” Gharib said.

Miami resident Susan Hudson was among those that assisted.

“It’s a really rewarding experience,” said Hudson. “I had one of them squeak at me when I gave him a hug. I think they know we’re trying to help.”

To aid dolphins at the Marine Mammal Conservancy, go to www.marinemammalconservancy.org. To assist the Florida Keys Marine Mammal Rescue Team, visit www.fkmmrt.org.

For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com