At 61 years old, Diana Nyad is poised to attempt a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West. (Photos by Haig Jacobs, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Diana hopes to begin her marathon swim any day now, but it won’t be the first time she’s challenged herself to attempt the feat. In 1978, when she was 32 years younger and a seasoned athlete, she didn’t make it.

Instead, battered and weak, she was hauled into a support boat by friends after spending more than 41 hours battling strong currents and punishing waves.

This time, she believes, will be different. And while having turned 60 might seem to be a disadvantage, for Diana Nyad it was just the inspiration she needed.

“Honestly, I have not been sitting around for all these 32 years thinking ‘my life is miserable without making it from Cuba to Florida’,” Diana said recently during a break in her final training in Key West. (Click here to view a You Tube video interview segment with Diana.)

Tough and savvy, Diana is motivated by the desire to shatter negative stereotypes about older people.

In fact, she’s a popular radio and television personality and author who lives in L.A. and looks far younger than her chronological age. Yet after celebrating her 60th birthday last year, she decided somebody needed to shatter the modern-day perception that older people are “past it.”

“I’m strong, I’m vital, I still feel relevant to my community, but you’re not made to feel that way at 60 in this society,” Diana said. “I want 60-year-olds to look at me and say, ‘You know that silly bumper sticker ‘60 is the new 40’? She’s proving it’.”

So she began training for the 103-mile swim — which, coincidentally, is estimated to take about 60 hours (yes, that’s an almost unbelievable two-and-a-half days).

As well as being physically and mentally challenging, the feat also involved logistical challenges that rivaled those of an Everest expedition. They included getting government permissions from both the U.S. and Cuba, and assembling a support team (it eventually grew to 37 people).

Diana's nonstop marathon swim is expected to take an incredible 60 hours.

Unlike her 1978 attempt, Diana won’t be swimming in a protective shark cage. This time, she’ll be accompanied by professional kayakers with electronic shark repelling devices — just in case.

In mid-July, with the details falling into place, Diana successfully completed a 24-hour swim in the Gulf Stream off Key West. And recently, she’s been staying in the island city, where the community has embraced her as she waits for the right weather conditions to begin the marathon.

“The people in town have been so generous to me,” Diana marveled. “The Southernmost Hotel has given me a free hotel room for as long as I’m here, the Key West Yacht Club is giving us a free boat slip for our boats … these generous donations from the good people here in the Keys have helped me enormously and I will be forever grateful.”

A seasoned athlete with tremendous physical and mental reserves, Diana believes she has a better chance for success now than she did during her first attempt 32 years ago.

She hopes to end the swim in Key West. But if currents sweep her closer to some other part of the Keys, that’s just fine too.

She’s got plenty of mental techniques to help pass the hours at sea, like counting her strokes in every language she knows and following the beat of metronomic songs. But ultimately, it will come down to her personal resilience and staying power … qualities Diana believes have only increased with age.

“I definitely am a little slower than I used to be but I think I have a better chance mentally, and in spirit and will, than I did before,” Diana said. “And after all, that’s what it’s all about out there — the will.”

May this tough, inspiring lady stay safe, stay focused, and emerge triumphant on the welcoming shores of the Keys.

For example, at the recent “Anything That Floats” regatta, even boats that looked about as seaworthy as cottage cheese stayed afloat in the nurturing Key Largo waters while their intrepid crews completed the course.

These party animals paddled to victory in Key Largo's recent "Anything That Floats" race. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Granted, several teams got “that sinking feeling” and anticipated saltwater baths when their craft began to crumble. But that’s hardly surprising — after all, the precarious vessels were cobbled together from materials like lawn furniture, pool noodles, PVC and duct tape.

No, the surprise was that they all somehow held together and made it to the finish line, with more than 700 spectators cheering so hard you’d think they were watching A-Rod hit his 600th homer.

Among the oddly sturdy entries was a vessel built from a converted kiddie pool and empty plastic gas cans. Its mast topped with a tipsy-looking “macaw” holding a margarita glass, the so-called boat actually won the half-mile regatta. This makes sense only when you realize that one of its competitors was composed primarily of a plastic shelving unit.

While these boats stayed afloat against all odds, the best-known vessel associated with Key Largo was intended to sink. In 2002 the Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot retired Navy ship, was poised to become the largest ship ever intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef for divers.

Shortly before its planned scuttling, the Spiegel Grove sank prematurely and rolled over. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

On May 17, 2002, at the site of its planned scuttling off Key Largo (and just hours before the event), the Spiegel Grove unexpectedly sank on its own and flipped over. Crowds of supporters reacted in stunned disbelief.

It wound up on its starboard side in 130 feet of water. And though the sinking went badly wrong, shortly afterward the ship began to attract marine life — large groupers, busy schools of smaller fish, vivid-hued tropicals and more.

For the next three years divers flocked to explore the vessel, not realizing that it (and Key Largo) still had a major surprise in store for them.

In 2005, after Hurricane Dennis skirted the Florida Keys, diver Bob Snyder headed for the ocean floor to check on the Spiegel Grove. What he found was so bizarre that he wondered if he might be suffering from nitrogen narcosis, a condition that makes divers feel giddy or intoxicated.

Shifted upright by nature, the Spiegel Grove (bow shown here) draws dive aficionados from all over the world.

No longer resting on its side, the Spiegel Grove was standing upright on the ocean floor.

Wave action from the passing storm had shifted the vessel into the picture-perfect position originally intended by the sink team. In the deep waters off Key Largo, nature had accomplished what man couldn’t — and today the Spiegel Grove is a “must-dive” site for underwater aficionados from all over the world.

So why does Key Largo have such an unusual effect on boats? Nobody seems to know, but it’s even drawn such venerable vessels as the riverboat from the classic 1951 film “The African Queen.” Navigated on screen by Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, the “Queen” has spent its twilight years sheltered beside a Key Largo hotel.

There's no better way to beat summer heat than by slipping into the cool, clear water that surrounds the Florida Keys. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Unlike most other areas of summertime America, the Keys are surrounded by the perfect antidote for oppressive heat — the refreshing waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Wherever you find yourself along the island chain, you’re never very far from cool, clear saltwater.

For some hard-to-resist summer activities in, on and beside Keys waters, read on.

First, if you’re a diver, dive into adventure with the new Wreck Trek Passport Program — an incredible way to discover the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail.

How does it work? Basically, it charts a course for certified divers to explore nine shipwrecks from Key Largo to Key West — the Spiegel Grove, Duane, Bibb, Eagle, Thunderbolt, Adolphus Busch Sr., Cayman Salvager, Joe’s Tug and Vandenberg (the trail’s southernmost and most recently scuttled vessel).

The 327-foot former U.S. Coast Guard cutter Duane, a Wreck Trek highlight, is located in 120 feet of water off Key Largo. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau).

When you book a dive at a participating Keys dive shop, you’ll receive a “passport” or log book for recording your dives — and once you’ve completed at least one plunge in each of the Keys’ five districts, you’ll earn a prize.

Complete all nine wreck dives, and you’ll be entered in a drawing for one of several grand prizes including dive-and-stay lodging packages. The program runs through New Year’s Day, 2012, so there’s plenty of time for a late-summer dive trip or two (or more!).

If you prefer your adventures ON the water instead of UNDER it, check out the popular kiteboarding scene in the Middle Keys — and particularly the Kiteboarding Shop at Hawks Cay Resort. (For those of you who don’t know Hawks Cay, it’s a VERY enticing resort “village,” complete with cozy rental villas, nestled on the 60-acre island of Duck Key just north of Marathon.)

Kiteboarding blends windsurfing, wakeboarding and kite flying — and the Keys climate is warm year-round so the ’boarding season never ends. (Photo by Richard Hallman/Hawks Cay Resort)

Kiteboarding in the area is amazing — buoyed by balmy weather year-round, ever-present breezes and shallow-water flats with seemingly miles of room to ride. Whether you’re a total novice or have some boarding experience, you’ll find courses, equipment rentals and excursions that suit your style at the Hawks Cay emporium.

Want to slip into cool water off a sandy beach? Then indulge yourself at one of the top beaches in America: the pristine sandy expanse at Bahia Honda State Park, ranked the number-two beach in the country in 2009 by TripAdvisor. The highly-rated beach (it has also earned “best beach” raves in a flurry of travel studies, plus kudos from “The New York Times”) is located on Bahia Honda Key in the Lower Keys.

Forget the freezer -- head for a refreshing summer spot like Bahia Honda State Park. (Photo by Bob Krist/Florida Keys News Bureau)

One of the island chain’s most popular camping and recreation areas, Bahia Honda offers deep near-shore waters for swimming and snorkeling. You’ll also find camping, picnicking, watersports, a marina and rental cabins — and a stroll along the Old Bahia Honda Bridge, a historic span that was once part of the fabled Overseas Railroad, reveals an incredible panorama of sea and sky.

*****

I have a slightly demented friend on the Florida mainland who, whenever he can’t stand the summer heat and humidity any more, marches into his kitchen, opens the freezer door and sticks his head inside.

Besides its detrimental effect on his ice cream and frozen food, this practice doesn’t seem to be good for his brain cells (note “slightly demented” above).

Therefore, based on personal observation, I don’t recommend his approach. Instead, save your brain cells — and head for a late-summer break in the Florida Keys.

Historic Fort Jefferson and Dry Tortugas National Park, lying nearly 70 miles west of Key West, draw visitors eager to snorkel and swim in the cool, clear surrounding waters. (Photo by Rob O'Neal)

I answered so many questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Many people thought that, if oil had hit anywhere in Florida, it was here in the Keys — but it has not had any physical impact on the state except in the far northwestern Panhandle region, which is hundreds of miles from our clear Keys waters. We are truly blessed that we’ve been out of harm’s way.

Back in Key West, the recent Bone Island Bare It All Weekend was a great event for our naturist men friends. The pool parties were jammed tight, the Equator’s toga party would have made Rome blush, and adult film stars performed with drag queens — it was a sight to see. Bone Island Weekend’s naked shoppers left with bags of clothing (I guess they can’t be naked all the time!).

Pool parties are a prime attraction at Key West's sizzling annual Tropical Heat festivities.

This event will be staged again the first weekend in December, so pack your bags (or your small carry-on, ‘cause you don’t need a wardrobe for this party).

Tropical Heat always takes place on the third weekend of August, and this year it was over the top. (Make your plans for next year soon, since the gay properties are generally packed.) This year’s Tropical Heat kicked off at the Island House with an all-male party featuring adult entertainers, an open bar and food.

Other events included a midnight skinny-dipping pool party at the Bourbon Street Pub Garden Bar with a live DJ, and daytime pool parties at Big Ruby’s, Alexander’s and the Island House. Next year’s event will be even bigger.

Keys fishermen harvest large numbers of lobsters, some of them startlingly big, from local waters. (Photo by Steve Panariello/Florida Keys News Bureau)

It’s been busy on our weekends here with block street parties, nighttime ghost tours, snorkel trips, and a full moon just before “mini lobster season” in late July.  We have eaten our fill of fresh locally caught lobster … fruits of the sea!  I prefer the Keys’ yellowtail snapper myself, but gee, I won’t turn down a couple of lobster tails.

Speaking of tails, Womenfest starts the day after Labor Day. Great entertainment includes pool parties, snorkeling and dolphin watching, jet skiing and island adventures. Among the headlining performers are Sister Funk, Emily Saliers from the Grammy-winning Indigo Girls, and comedienne Suzanne Westenhoefer.

After Womenfest comes Key West Bear Fest. Bears, cubs, otters, and fans will gather for a honey-filled weekend. Click here to find out about all the activities.

Womenfest headliners include singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emily Saliers of the popular Indigo Girls.

It’s time for me to take a break, so I’m heading to the National LGBT Bar Association’s annual “Lavender Law” Career Fair and Conference in Miami Beach. Then it’s off to San Francisco for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association’s 20th annual conference. If you plan to be at either event, stop by my exhibit — I’d love to see you and say hi!

(Steve’s current American Airlines mileage ticker: 2,483,787 miles promoting Key West to the LGBT world. Divided by 450 miles an hour, that means 5,520 hours in a can at 30,000 feet!)

Each year, Keys lobster lovers celebrate the start of the Florida lobster season. (All photos by Steve Panariello/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the Keys are a paradise for lovers of fish and seafood — and the word “paradise” is not an exaggeration.

Imagine a place where you can wander into virtually any restaurant and order plump pink steamed shrimp, fish and chips made with mahi-mahi so fresh it’s practically still swimming, or chilled stone crab claws with creamy mustard sauce. (Your mouth is watering, isn’t it? That’s what I mean by “paradise.”)

Topping the list of superlative Keys seafood is our native lobster, often called spiny lobster. I’m not obsessive about many things (okay, maybe Springsteen music and calico cats) — except, that is, Florida Keys lobster.

Keys spiny lobster tails are often served grilled, with each bite dipped into melted butter.

For fanatics like me, August 6 each year is a holiday to rival Christmas. We regard the local fishermen who harvest our clawless crustaceans much like kids regard St. Nick.

For those interested in statistics, the annual Florida lobster harvest is pretty impressive — and the Keys’ annual catch is even more so. In 2009, Florida’s commercial fishermen harvested some 4.2 million pounds of spiny lobster. The vast majority of it, about 3.9 million pounds, came from Keys waters.

As previously noted, Keys lobsters are clawless. But unless diners are clueless, once they bite into the sweet and tender meat of the tail, they won’t pine for the pincers.

The most popular way to serve our luscious lobster is grilled with melted butter — or, like its Maine cousin, steamed or boiled. While traditional northern trimmings might include boiled potatoes and corn on the cob, it’s not unusual to find Keys lobster paired with Cuban black beans and yellow rice.

For maximum enjoyment, eat it in one of our waterside seafood shacks or gourmet emporiums, while watching an orange-red sunset and sipping something tall and cool.

But if you’re not lucky enough to be in the Keys right now, try having spiny lobster shipped from an area fish market and savor the flavor at home — while plotting your next island escape.

Here’s my favorite recipe that, hopefully, will allow you to do just that.

Grilled Lobster Tails (Serves 4)

Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive oil • 1 tablespoon Key lime juice • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 4 spiny lobster tails (about 8 ounces each)

Keys fish markets offer lobster fresh off the boats, ready for grilling and savoring with melted butter.

Preparation: Make the marinade four hours before grilling by combining the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cut the lobster tails lengthwise through the meat but not the shell. Open each shell to expose the meat. Add tails to the marinade and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for two to three hours.

To grill, remove the tails from the marinade. Insert a metal skewer through each tail lengthwise to keep it from curling. Grill over high heat, three to four inches from the heat source, for five minutes per side — or until the shell is red and the meat is opaque white.

Remove the tail from the skewer. Use a knife or meat scissor to cut the tail in half lengthwise through the shell. Serve with melted butter — and, for an additional island touch, add a generous spritz of Key lime juice to the butter.

Despite her misgivings upon meeting the ticket-taker, Kathy prepares to board the "trolley of the doomed." (Photo by Penn Alexander)

Oddly enough, that wasn’t my first clue that our upcoming tour wouldn’t be an ordinary sightseeing expedition. No, my first clue was the dried “blood” adorning the ticket-taker’s face, and his wolfish purple-lipped grin as he ushered us aboard the trolley.

Settling into my seat beside companions Penn, David and Kathy, I uneasily pondered the words on the vehicle’s side: “We’ll drive you to an early grave.”

Admittedly, the excursion was my idea. A fan of “Bones” reruns and other disturbing delights, I yearned to discover the spooky side of Key West on Old Town Trolley’s Ghosts & Gravestones “Frightseeing” Tour.

It was spooky indeed. We traveled past sites ranging from haunted 19th-century homes to saloons with resident specters while our “ghost hostess” recounted their histories — filled with tragedies, murders, burials, curses and other eerie events — in a sepulchural voice.

The trolley carries passengers through the darkening streets of Key West, which bears the lighthearted nickname of "Island of the Bones." (Photo courtesy of Historic Tours of America)

Kathy was particularly unsettled by the tale of Enriquetta Marrero, who loved her house so much that even death couldn’t drive her away.

Enriquetta lived with her husband, cigar baron Francisco Marrero, in a gracious Victorian home now called Marrero’s Guest Mansion. Unfortunately, Francisco also had a wife in Cuba — who, after he died suddenly, inherited the property and threw out Enriquetta and her children.

Enriquetta vowed that, despite the physical eviction, she would remain in spirit. Recent sightings by Marrero’s guests suggest she’s done just that.

As the trolley traveled through the darkening streets, our ghostly guide pointed out a grotto with protective power, related the secret past of a popular bar and, with grisly relish, discussed the dead children haunting a top tourist attraction.

Our black-garbed "ghost hostess" recounted horrible happenings with grisly relish. (Photo courtesy of Historic Tours of America)

We also heard a tale so bizarre that it made Penn shudder — that of Count Carl von Cosel, whose love for a dying Cuban girl in 1930s Key West had a grave-robbing twist. Penn was not happy to discover he shared a birthday with the count’s doomed darling.

(The well-documented von Cosel case spawned a book, “Undying Love,” written by local musician/attorney Ben Harrison. Believe it or not, he also composed a lively musical on the same subject.)

Yet even that saga wasn’t the evening’s weirdest. No, that honor goes to the creepy chronicle of Robert the Doll, and our “meeting” with him in an otherwise deserted Civil War-era fort.

The tale unfolded as we arrived at Fort East Martello Museum, a massive brick structure looming against the night sky.

This devilish-looking century-old doll has become a "paranormal pop star" who mystifies ghost- hunters even today. (Photo by Kathy Koontz)

Robert, whose “home” is a gloomy interior corridor near an authentic hearse, was given to local artist Robert “Gene” Otto, when Gene was a boy in 1904 (some say by a voodoo-practicing nanny or family maid).

Throughout his childhood, Gene blamed the doll for mischievous acts and bad behavior — and Robert remained his alter ego even when Gene grew up.

Naturally, the three-foot-tall straw-stuffed toy gained a reputation for eerie deeds — a reputation that increased exponentially when Robert moved to a secure glass case at the fort, where he’s rumored to ruin visitors’ photographs and cause unexplained events.

Called “a paranormal pop star” by our guide, Robert mystifies ghost-hunters and has appeared on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel among others. He also starred at a recent paranormal convention, and even has his own very popular blog.

David's grin betrays his uneasiness as he and Kathy bid farewell to Robert. (Photo by Penn Alexander)

And Robert is one devilish-looking doll. His unblinking eyes seem to hold unnatural secrets, and his primitive face appears somehow malevolent. As we circled his glass case, Kathy and I were glad he was safely confined. Even Penn and David seemed pleased to re-board the “trolley of the doomed” for our homeward journey.

As it turns out, the four of us weren’t doomed (or driven to an early grave) after all. But thanks to our spine-tingling tour, we have a whole new perspective on Key West — and the reasons its longtime nickname is “Island of the Bones.”

Key West resident Steve Smith, who has enjoyed the island's magic for more than 20 years, will share insights and adventures with blog readers.

Putting the top down on our car, I wondered what I smelled in the air. It was like a blend of flower blossoms and fresh fruit — sweet, delicious, but hard to identify. Later I discovered that it was a combination of frangipani, mangoes, and royal Poinciana blossoms.

Had I, a fourth-generation Floridian who had never been farther south than Islamorada, discovered a paradise? Well, six months later, with the help of my parents, we loaded a huge rental van and I drove to the island city I would call my home.

Now, 23 and one-half years later, I am just as much in love with Key West as I was that first day. Bicycling to my office I see the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the most delightful mixture of locals and visitors one could ever imagine.

Inga, an elegant "ambassador" for the funky and fabulous island of Key West, sports some delicious rainbow finery.

How does a person define where he or she lives? Over the years I have had rich conversations with men and women who have made Key West their escape for decades. The common denominator they’ve found is the easy welcoming lifestyle, being on an island far away from the real world, and being welcome everywhere they go.

What makes this island so intoxicating? I will try to share my thoughts with you as we travel together. There is magic here … the same magic that was here in the 70’s, the 80’s and the 90’s remains today. This is a place where it does not matter who or what you are, where you live or work, or who you sleep with.

I’m a lucky guy. My job takes me across the world promoting Key West to the LGBT market, encouraging gay men and women to visit our island, enjoy our hospitality, make new friends, and plan their next visit to our little piece of paradise.

I’m the ultimate brochure fairy — I fly all over the world telling my new friends how special our island is and how important it is to visit us.

Traveling with Steve, readers will discover the offbeat magic that characterizes Key West.

Recently I was at San Diego Pride, held in Balboa Park. What a great group of California and Arizona people I met. (Yes, Arizona — they say San Diego is Phoenix’s beach!?! Who would have known?)

I do my best to share my experiences with gay men and women around the world. Now I will be sharing my stories with you, the readers of our blog. Join me in my journeys and you can be part of the magic that makes Key West so special.

Next time I write you, I want to tell you about Bone Island Bare It All weekend, Market Days in Chicago and the upcoming fun events in Key West, my home — and I hope, soon to be your home away from home.                      – Steve

Sure, I had written about how daytime swordfishing, or catching a broadbill in broad daylight, had been fully developed off Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

Andy Newman fights a swordfish in the waters off Islamorada. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

But, after witnessing at least a dozen catches, I simply concluded it was just too much work.

After all, you sit in a big barbershop-like chair, holding a big game fishing rod as thick as a broomstick and a huge reel that looks like it could literally lift the world.

But on Sunday, July 19, after being “ordered” to sit in the chair, I found myself connected to a swordfish that was 1,800 feet away — with little choice but to crank that baby in.

I was out on the Catch 22, owned by Richard Stanczyk and skippered by his brother Scott. I was there simply to catch a few dolphin (mahi-mahi) and help produce a new Video of the Week for the Florida Keys website and the Keys’ You Tube channel.

As Andy battles the fish, strong winds and rough seas result in a saltwater shower. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

But now we were backing down on this fish and I was winding furiously to recover line.

We were 25 miles off Islamorada and, quite honestly, this was not the picture-perfect day that is so typical in the Florida Keys. The wind was blowing strong and the seas were rough. As we chased the fish, water was coming over the boat’s transom and I was getting drenched.

“Aha,” I thought. “So this is what Hemingway experienced to motivate his words for ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.”

As it turned out, the overcast skies and continued saltwater “showering” were a godsend. Had there been bright sunny skies with little breeze, which is the Keys’ traditional summer weather pattern, I likely would have suffered heat stroke.

Fifteen minutes into the fight, I had cranked in almost 1,200 feet of line and the fish leaped across the ocean’s surface.

The swordfish leaps across the water's surface, putting up a grueling 80-minute fight. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“This is the real thing, Andy,” shouted Richard, who pioneered daytime swordfishing in the Keys with his angling friend Vic Gaspeny.

Five minutes later we could see the leader, but then the fish took another run and dove deep.

I had to give up 500 feet of line. Within about 10 minutes I struggled to regain 250 feet of line — and then the stalemate began.

I’d get a few feet. He’d take it back.

We went on like that for at least half an hour and I really began to feel like Santiago, the main character in “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Finally, seemingly inch-by-inch, I was able to crank that fish to the boat and mate Hunter Baron grabbed the leader. Between Hunter and Nick Stanczyk, Richard’s son, they were able to gaff the 168-pound swordfish and slide it over the side and into the boat.

About 80 minutes after the hookup, there was backslapping and handshakes all around.

Andy, mate Hunter Baron (center) and Captain Scott Stanczyk display the prize catch. (Photo by Nick Stanczyk)

“You know, Andy, anglers from all around the world travel far and wide to catch a prized fish like that,” Richard said. “You caught one in your own backyard.”

I acknowledged Richard and reminded him he had already given me that quote for a story I wrote several years ago.

“You think back to the days of Zane Grey and Hemingway and the idea of going out and capturing one of these big monsters,” he said. “You don’t have to go to an exotic spot anymore for a world-class gamefish. People can come to the Keys, book a charterboat and have a chance of hooking a giant fish.”

My own catch certainly proved that.

Editor’s Note: Islamorada is known as the “Sportfishing Capital of the World” and features the largest offshore charterboat fleet in the Keys. Book at the following marinas:

Bud N’ Mary’s Fishing Marina

Caloosa Cove Resort & Marina

Holiday Isle Resort & Marina

Robbie’s of Islamorada

Whale Harbor Marina

World Wide Sportsman

These strange "undersea creatures" were spotted in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary during a past Underwater Music Festival. (Photos by Bill Keogh/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Unless, of course, it’s the second Saturday in July.

That’s the timeframe for the annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, an engagingly weird event that draws as many as 600 divers and snorkelers to boogie to the beat of music beneath the waves.

Staged by a popular local radio station, the submerged songfest takes place at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary about six miles south of Big Pine Key.

The station’s playlist — ocean- and water-focused ditties ranging from the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” to humpback whale songs and the themes from “Gilligan’s Island” and “Titanic” — is broadcast to participating divers and snorkelers (and a whole lot of curious fish) on special speakers suspended beneath boats at the reef.

A few years back, divers and snorkelers at the Underwater Music Festival came across a patriotic parade -- on the ocean floor.

While you might think music would be distorted underwater, it’s actually surprisingly clear. Plus there’s an ethereal “surround sound” feeling that comes from the sound waves’ transmission through the water.

Adding to that ethereal quality are the bizarre reef denizens that can be spotted during the event. Unsuspecting divers and snorkelers at past festivals have encountered an underwater brass band complete with tuba, marchers in an ocean-floor patriotic parade, and the “Divas of the Deep” — a trio of female divers costumed as Ella Fish-gerald, Tuna Turner, and (wait for it) Britney Spearfish.

One memorable year even Elvis himself decided to take the plunge, though he wasn’t wearing blue suede fins at the time. Elvis impersonator Neil Goldberg, dressed in a white caped jumpsuit and flashy gold chains, “performed” underwater on a bright red guitar for a mesmerized crowd of “sea fans.”

“The fish seem to be Elvis fans — they’re ‘all shook up’,” The King quipped after resurfacing.

Elvis impersonator Neil Goldberg performs for "sea fans" at a recent Underwater Music Festival.

For the 2010 festival, scheduled July 10, rumor has it that “Alice in Waterland” and her fictional friends will be on hand. Organizers are staging an offbeat salute to the classic tale “Alice in Wonderland” and the 2010 film it inspired, with underwater appearances by divers costumed as Alice, the “Mad Haddock,” “Cheshire Catfish,” and other take-offs on the story’s memorable characters.

Goofy as it seems, this good time has a serious purpose: preserving the Florida Keys’ unique coral reef ecosystem. The musical broadcast incorporates diver awareness announcements by Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary officials, offering tips on how to enjoy the ocean while minimizing your impact on the reef and marine environment.

So if you’re a music “afishionado,” dive into the doings at the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival. And even if you can’t come down and take the plunge, you can share the spirit — by “singing out” about reef preservation.

Ryan Butts of the Keys' Turtle Hospital releases Kentucky, the loggerhead sea turtle, into the Atlantic next to the Seven Mile Bridge. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

At least, it can make ME cry. There’s something about seeing the turtle slip into its saltwater habitat and swim joyfully away (okay, I’m anthropomorphizing here, but trust me — their entire shell-covered bodies radiate joy) that touches the heart and inspires a powerful sense of oneness with the natural order.

Such was the feeling recently when Ryan Butts, administrator of the Florida Keys Turtle Hospital, released “Kentucky,” a 10-year-old loggerhead sea turtle, into the Atlantic Ocean next to the Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon.

Even before the release, Kentucky (named for his discoverers’ home state) was one lucky creature — because the Turtle Hospital is the probably the best place in the world for a sick or hurt turtle to wind up.

Located in Marathon, the hospital is the world’s only licensed veterinary hospital dedicated to treating sea turtles. It’s so highly acclaimed that airlines have been known to fly turtles injured in the Caribbean to Miami, where hospital staffers meet them in their turtle ambulance (yes, they really have one — I’ve seen it!) and drive them down to the facility for care.

Governor Charlie Crist (shown here at right) helps release a sea turtle in the Keys after its treatment at the Turtle Hospital. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

The hospital’s primary goal is to treat injured sea turtles and return them to the wild whenever possible. On top of that, founders and staff work tirelessly to raise public awareness about sea turtles and their needs, collaborate with state universities on sea turtle research, and work toward environmental legislation that makes the beaches and water safer and cleaner for their charges.

Each time a “patient” is returned to health, its release is a joyful occurrence. Even Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist, has helped send a couple of the recovered creatures back to their watery homes — including a 140-pound green sea turtle that was serendipitously named Charlie.

But turtles aren’t the only marine denizens that find help in the Keys when they need it. Ailing dolphins, whales and manatees encounter willing and dedicated rescuers ready to lend a hand.

Caring professionals do their best to assess and provide what these marine mammals need so they can return to their pods or habitual territory. Assisting the trained professionals are volunteers — parents and kids, energetic 20-somethings and weathered seniors, first-time visitors and longtime residents — drawn together by the need to help.

Rescuers from the Keys' Marine Mammal Conservancy extricate a stranded infant whale from a mangrove island. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

The volunteers are particularly vital during whale strandings, when one or more whales are found in shallow water, disoriented and often seriously ill. Such whales are generally moved to sheltered lagoons for care and rehabilitation — and people are needed 24/7 to stand in the water holding the “patients” upright to make sure their blowholes remain above water.

A few years back, one of those volunteers was my husband. He doesn’t look like a whale rescuer — he’s stocky, laid-back and not very athletic. But when a pygmy sperm whale was found just a few feet off a popular local pier, he spent 18 hours in the water holding her. And that was after he nonchalantly hopped on a jet ski (for the first time in his life) to provide escort while the whale was transported several miles to a safe lagoon in an in-water sling.

I too had a volunteer assignment: driving the whale’s blood samples to a lab for testing and picking up fishy food rations in my trusty Chevy Explorer, which was quickly nicknamed the Squidmobile.

But what we did wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Each time there’s a turtle or marine mammal in need, dozens of people appear, seemingly out of nowhere, to help with whatever might be necessary at the time.

To me, that’s one of the things that makes the Keys such a magical place. And Kentucky the turtle, if he could reached in his blue-water habitat, would almost certainly agree.