Forty years after the release of their “Yellow Submarine” album, the Beatles are headed for another sub-sea adventure. The Fab Four — or at least divers costumed as the quartet — will take center stage Saturday, July 11, during the Lower Keys’ 25th annual Underwater Music Festival.

Musicians take center stage at the annual Underwater Music Festival -- this year to include an oddly familiar Fab Foursome.

Divers portraying “Ringo Starfish,” “John Lemon-shark,” “Paul McCarpney” and “George Herringson” are planning to rock the waters of the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef during the offbeat event.

While the Beatles might not be the authentic originals, the event itself is authentic to the core — and it draws as many as 600 divers and snorkelers each year.

The submerged songfest is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Looe Key Reef, part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary south of Big Pine Key. It celebrates the colorful marine life that thrives in the Keys’ unique coral reef ecosystem, and encourages environmentally responsible diving practices that protect the ecosystem.

Participating divers can even spot friendly mermaids at the Lower Keys' Underwater Music Festival. (Photo by Bill Keogh/Florida Keys News Bureau)

During the festival, finned fans can watch the Beatles pretenders “perform” beneath the sea accompanied by backup singer “Mako Ono”  — and they might even glimpse a replica yellow submarine saluting the album’s 1969 release.

The fish-friendly festival is staged by popular local radio station WWUS 104.1 FM, with the station’s musical selections piped underwater via special speakers suspended beneath boats at the reef.

 So what does music sound like underwater?

“It has a very ethereal sound — it seems to come from all directions,” advises festival coordinator and WWUS radio veteran Bill Becker. “The reason is that sound travels five times faster in water than in air, so it reaches both of your ears almost instantaneously, which gives it a very much of a surrounding sound.”

Each year the playlist includes ocean-themed ditties like Jimmy Buffett’s “Fins,” the unfortunately unforgettable theme from “Gilligan’s Island,” authentic humpback whale song and, of course, the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden” and “Yellow Submarine.”

Backup singer "Mako Ono" might wield this clambourine sculpted by Lower Keys artist August Powers.

Underwater musicians also jam on aquatic instruments sculpted by Keys artist August Powers. Blending elements of sea creatures and actual instruments, Powers’ creations include a trom-bonefish, manta-lin, drumfish and a clambourine.

(Note to readers: no, the puns won’t stop any time soon.)

Does seeing the Beatles in Lower Keys waters sound a little “fishy”? Well, they’re not the only unusual denizens of the deep that have appeared at the wacky festival. In recent years, participants have spotted a longhaired harp-wielding mermaid, several snorkeling Elvis look-alikes playing underwater guitar, diving diva “Britney Spearfish” and even, prior to the 2008 presidential election, “Barackuda Obama” and “John McClam.”

Get ready to rock the reef at the 25th annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival. Event founder Bill Becker can be glimpsed here waving the American flag. (Photo by Bill Keogh/Florida Keys News Bureau)

The Underwater Music Festival offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for divers and snorkelers — but equally important is its ongoing focus on coral reef preservation. Each year, the musical broadcast features diver awareness tips on enjoying the ocean while minimizing impact on the reef environment — and that’s worth promoting, as the Beatles might say, “Eight Days a Week.”

Want to dive into the 25th annual Underwater Music Festival? Look for a Lower Keys dive charter at www.fla-keys.com or www.lowerkeyschamber.com.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Environment, Events, Festivals, Highlights, Local Color, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

I really like to fish, and fortunately the Florida Keys are the perfect venue for that. And I like to share my fishing experiences. To me, being with friends is what it’s all about.

Despite his snap swivel issues, Larry Kahn (right) occasionally catches fish. Here, he compares his blackfin tuna to the far smaller catch of disgruntled rival Cal Sutphin. (Photo by Andy Newman)

But the best part is that, many times, you come away from a day on the water with more than fish for the table. Some of the experiences can leave you laughing so hard that your sides practically split.

For example, about two years ago I took Larry Kahn, the editor of the local “Keynoter” newspaper, out on my boat in the Upper Keys. We trolled near the Islamorada hump (literally an underwater mountain) and encountered a school of small dolphin.

Okay. Hold on a minute, Mabel. We’re talking about dolphin fish, otherwise known as dorado or mahi mahi. No, we don’t catch Flipper in the Keys. Flippers, a.k.a. dolphin mammals, are well protected and completely off limits to anglers.

Anyway, as I reeled in a small dolphin fish, I could see others behind the boat.

“Larry, take this pilchard and put it on one of those rods,” I commanded, handing him a baitfish and pointing to three fishing outfits that were positioned in forward rod holders.

It seemed to take Larry forever to affix the dead bait to the end of the fishing line. By the time he did, the dolphin had departed and we only caught one.

Larry’s pilchard dilemma inspired the creation of this helpful symbol, which indicates in easy-to-understand graphic format that a pilchard should never, EVER be attached to a snap swivel. (Graphic courtesy of Protect Our Pilchards)

We commenced trolling again, with Larry driving the boat. After I set the lines, my eyes drifted to the rods positioned in the forward holders. I saw the dead pilchard dangling from the top of one — and then broke out in uncontrollable laughter.

“What’s wrong, Andy?” Larry inquired.

I retrieved the rod with the dangling pilchard. Of the three available rods, two had pre-rigged monofilament leaders with hooks, specifically for casting to schoolies. But one had a snap swivel (the fishing version of a safety pin) that I had rigged to quickly attach a pre-rigged trolling feather for blackfin tuna.

Larry, who in a story for the “Keynoter” once compared his own angling prowess to that of Ernest Hemingway, had avoided the rods with fishhooks and had guided the snap swivel through the pilchard’s lips and closed it.

“Larry, how the heck can you possibly expect to catch a fish without a hook?” I roared.

He pondered for a second and said, “You know, I thought I wasn’t doing something right.”

Topics: Islamorada, Local Color, On the Water, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

Visual artistry can be seen all over the Florida Keys: in palm-fringed shorescapes that edge the Atlantic Ocean, orange and purple abstracts unrolling across the sky at sunset, and the clean-lined sculptural arches of the old Overseas Highway bridges.

Almost anywhere you look in the Florida Keys, you'll see the artistry of the natural world. (Photo by Bob Krist/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Yet even if you ignore these creative efforts, and even if you never step inside one of the Keys’ eclectic galleries, you’ll still see a wide variety of art. From offbeat large-scale sculptures to murals promoting ocean conservation, outdoor artistry flourishes in the island chain.

Some prime examples can be spotted along the Overseas Highway in the Upper Keys. Maybe because the road stretches above and beside the waters of the Atlantic and Florida Bay, a good number of the roadside creations depict the area’s abundant marine life.

For example, there’s Betsy. Betsy is a giant sculpted Florida Keys spiny lobster — a 30-foot-tall, 40-foot-long sculpted Florida Keys spiny lobster, to be more specific — that greets visitors to the Rain Barrel Artists Village at mile marker 87 bayside in Islamorada.

Crafted in the 1980s by an area artist named Richard Blaze, Betsy became a much-photographed icon in another Upper Keys location before she “retired” and vanished from the scene.

You don't see this every day! Betsy the lobster sculpture rolls down the Florida Keys Overseas Highway en route to her new home. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)

In late March 2009, she reappeared. Perched on a special trailer, the gigantic crustacean was chauffeured by local sheriff’s deputies along the Overseas Highway to her new home outside the open-air artists’ enclave.

Up the road in Key Largo, you’ll find a 7,500-square-foot mural portraying other undersea denizens — inhabitants of the living coral reef that parallels the Keys. Painted in 2007 by the renowned marine life artist Wyland, an Upper Keys resident, the mural wraps around all four sides of a four-story building in the highway median at mile marker 99.2.

“It’s the gateway to the Florida Keys,” said Wyland, who credits his frequent Keys reef dives with being an ongoing inspiration for his work. “The idea was to welcome people as they drove in from South Florida with a depiction of the sun warming the tropical waters here — taking people above and below the surface to see the tremendous abundance of marine life and color.

Marine life artist Wyland takes a break during the creation of his massive undersea mural at the gateway to the Keys. (Photo by Gary Firstenberg)

The mural features manatees, manta rays, corals, indigenous fish and bottlenose dolphins. Like Wyland’s other large-scale creations around the world, it’s designed to encourage environmental awareness and stewardship.

Another outdoor mural is making a splash in the Upper Keys as well. At mile marker 83 bayside in Islamorada, two exterior walls of the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum are the “canvas” for an undersea vista painted by acclaimed artists David Dunleavy and Guy Harvey.

Dedicated in February 2005, the 360-foot mural includes manatees, a whale shark, finfish and endangered species found on the nearby reef.

Also in Islamorada, outside Theater of the Sea at mile marker 84.5 oceanside, stands one of the Keys’ most surprising marine life sculptures. Carved out of an unusual medium — shrubbery — it represents the friendly dolphins that inhabit area waters.

Created from ficus growing on shaped metal frames, the leafy dolphins have been frolicking outside the popular marine park, believed to be one of the oldest such spots in the world, for more than 15 years.

Merina is one of the engaging "stars" at Dolphin Research Center ... and outside the center, a giant sculpture of a mother dolphin and calf welcome visitors. (Photo courtesy of DRC)

You’ll discover another dolphin sculpture down the Overseas Highway at mile marker 59 in the Marathon area. A dolphin mother approximately 30 feet tall, flanked by her smaller calf, beckons visitors to Dolphin Research Center, a not-for-profit education and research facility.

Sculpted in 1978 by Dale Hudson and Gary Jones, the piece entices visitors inside to meet the dolphin pod that lives in the center’s saltwater lagoons — and to experience DRC’s fascinating educational and interactive programs.

The outdoor art described here is only a sampling of the offerings that enliven the Keys landscape. Just as unique are a towering mermaid, a playful dog made of flowers, lifelike “human” bronzes that elicit double-takes and smiles, and many more.

Where are they? What other examples of open-air artistry can be spotted in the Keys? Share descriptions of your favorites by submitting a comment below.   

Topics: Arts, Environment, Islamorada, Key Largo, Local Color, Marathon, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

The 13-year wait is over — and, according to the first divers to explore the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the result is worth it.

Divers explore the superstructure of the Vandy in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West. (Photo by Haig Jacobs/Florida Keys News Bureau)

The 523-foot-long ship, nicknamed the Vandy by Keys locals, was recently sunk as an artificial reef seven miles south of Key West after 13 years of effort. The bottom of its hull rests on sand in depths that average 145 feet, but the ship is so massive that its superstructure begins about 45 feet below the surface.

Just two days after the Vandy sank in one minute and 54 seconds (thought to be a new world record), a group of divers including writers, videographers, photographers, project organizers and Keys officials descended on the vessel’s bow.

The water was gin-clear, free of silt or sediment from the wreck settling upright on the bottom. The Vandy’s superstructure was visible from the surface, punctuated by the platform-like kingpost and one of the iconic parabolic dish antennae, glowing white and beckoning from below.

Joe Weatherby, left, guiding spirit of the Vandenberg project, is congratulated by Keys' County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro, right, after tying a Conch Republic flag to a stanchion on the Vandy. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Among those experiencing the historic first recreational dive on the Vandy was the Keys’ County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro, who helped find public money to fund the project. He jumped into the blue water with Joe Weatherby, the project’s guiding spirit.

For safety and ease of descent, divers guided themselves along a lead line attached to one of the wreck’s mooring lines, put in place by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to keep boats from trying to anchor on or around the new reef.

Reaching the bridge approximately 70 feet below, Mario and Joe unfurled a Conch Republic flag, the official flag of the Florida Keys, and attached it to the ship. Then Mario broke a bottle of champagne against a stanchion, christening the new reef in style, and he and Joe shook hands to signify a job well done.

Diver Jaclyn Skafas explores the Vandy's massive superstructure. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau)

The dive instructors who accompanied the group included Megan Collins, who thinks the Vandy’s mammoth size will make it appealing to scuba divers of many different skill levels.

“It’s the possibilities for people of all levels without having to jeopardize their safety,” she said. “There’s so much to look at on the superstructure of the Vandenberg that, no matter your temptation, you don’t have to go inside.”

Joe Weatherby, who chose the Vandenberg from 400 ships rusting away in “mothball fleets” across the country, was ecstatic after his dive.

“I think it’s exactly what we planned it to be,” he said exultantly. “It’s the world’s best wreck dive.”

Bob Holston, president of the Keys Association of Dive Operators and owner of Dive Key West, reports getting calls from people as far away as Germany and Norway who are planning trips to dive the Vandy.

Jaclyn Skafas hovers above a parabolic tracking antenna on the Vandy. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau)

“We have more pre-bookings for the summer now than we’ve had in 38 years of being in business,” he said. “This is probably going to be one of the world’s classiest wrecks to dive.”

Many top Keys dive operators have debuted excursions to the planet’s newest artificial reef — so pack your scuba gear, make your plans and come dive the Vandenberg!

Topics: Environment, Highlights, Key West, On the Water, Voices Main Archive