While most kids who visit New York’s Coney Island find themselves enthralled by the rides, sights and sounds of the boardwalk, Pasta Pantaleo found himself obsessed with a large replica sailfish.

Islamorada resident and gallery owner Pasta Pantaleo is internationally acclaimed as a gamefish artist. (All photos courtesy of Art by Pasta)

“I grew up with a love of cars, so I always said that sailfish are like a Ferrari and tarpon are like a four-wheel-drive truck,” Pasta said. “I’ve always been fascinated with the structure of a sailfish, and found myself drawing that sailfish from Coney Island millions of times before I ever saw a real sailfish.”

Today, he’s recognized around the world as a gamefish artist and runs the acclaimed Pasta Pantaleo’s Signature Gallery in Islamorada. And as president of the area’s Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, he helps showcase the creative culture of the Upper Keys.

A native of Italy, Pasta spent most of his childhood in an Italian immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a young teenager, he made his way to South Florida.

"Gimme Shelter" showcases Pasta's talent for capturing the underwater world and its gamefish inhabitants.

Though he was born Roberto Pantaleo, he’s gone by the nickname “Pasta” for many years. He inherited it from his older brother Nick, often called “pasta fazul” by friends because of his Italian accent and their problems pronouncing the name Pantaleo.

He credits his artistic talent to another inheritance — abilities passed down from his artist father.

Pasta Pantaleo spent much of his professional life working as a commercial graphic designer, and indulged in sport fishing and boating as hobbies. His career in gamefish art began in 1999, when he was contracted to produce a poster for a Florida fishing tournament.

“That was when I realized that my fishing life, my marine life and my art life could be put together a little bit more,” Pasta said. “Because the two loves I had were painting and fishing.”

Shown here helping local art students, Pasta (right) was chosen Florida's best artist of 2011 by Florida Monthly Magazine.

During the early years of his fine-art career, he worked with several Keys galleries and fishing tournaments, frequently traveling to the Keys for art shows.

In 2006, Pasta decided to move to the Keys permanently. He opened his first gallery, called Keys to Life, on Windley Key.

Soon afterward he began offering gallery nights, partnering with other local galleries and businesses to create culturally entertaining evenings for visitors.

“In my opinion, the fishing guides, artists, musicians and chefs are the fabric of what holds the Keys together,” Pasta explained. “They all work with each other to make a really great experience in the Keys — they’re what people come down here to experience.”

Eventually, those gallery nights and partnerships led to the formation of the Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, a nonprofit volunteer organization whose mission is to increase awareness, knowledge and support of the arts and unique culture of the Upper Keys.

Pasta's "Daily Special" depicts a light-drenched underwater vista.

On the third Thursday of each month, the organization hosts the Morada Way Arts and Cultural District Third Thursday Walkabout. The 5-9 p.m. cultural stroll features national and local artists and artisans who are showcased in galleries along Morada Way — as well as live music, food and vendors.

“I’ve always been a person who likes to band people together to better the community,” Pasta said.

Each day, he strives to improve his craft of capturing the majesty and beauty of the Keys’ marine life and environment. He sees his life in Islamorada as similar to living in a small Italian fishing village … with a slow pace allowing the time to stop and appreciate the natural beauty that inspires his work.

Topics: Arts, Highlights, Islamorada, Local Color, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

Twenty-five cents can buy a gumball, 15 minutes at a parking meter or a phone call on a pay phone. But for world-renowned underwater photographer Stephen Frink, a quarter led to a profession, a passion and a lifetime of success.

Stephen Frink is captured here on the other side of the lens -- off the coast of the Red Sea. (All photos courtesy of Stephen Frink)

Stephen always wanted to be a scuba diver, but his ultimate motivation was the offer of a part-time job cleaning yacht hulls that required him to be dive certified.

“I always say I got certified as a scuba diver for 25 cents a linear foot, because that’s what I got paid for cleaning boats,” he joked.

Stephen grew up a landlocked Midwesterner, but constantly fantasized about what it would be like to scuba dive. He took his first and only photography class while getting his master’s degree in experimental psychology at California State University at Long Beach.

“Seeing the black-and-white darkroom and the alchemy coming up in the tray, I just knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said.

Stephen bought his first underwater camera from a surfer, and initially enjoyed underwater photography as a hobby. Once he finished school he spent six months in Hawaii working as a tourism photographer, shooting what he described as “drunk people at luaus at night,” and diving and shooting underwater photos during the day.

Stephen shot this brilliant photo of Key Largo's iconic Christ of the Abyss statue.

Subsequently he gave up the island life and scuba diving for “coat weather” and a darkroom job as a custom color printer in Colorado.

Competitive swimming had been a big part of Stephen’s youth, and coincidentally it’s what brought him to the Florida Keys. An old friend from his swimming days, who was living in Key Largo and working as a treasure hunter, invited him to visit.

He arrived in Key Largo in April 1978 and immediately realized he could make a living processing film and renting camera equipment.

He rented a small space in what was then the Ocean Divers building, eventually buying the building and creating what is now the Stephen Frink Gallery and his working office.

Surprisingly, he has never taken an underwater photography class. Instead, he perfected his craft by trial and error.

“Underwater photography is so unique,” Stephen said. “Each day you dive is going to be a little different, and there’s always the challenge to photograph even a familiar subject in a better way.”

Stephen captured this manta ray and the remora fish tagging along with it.

On a rainy winter day in 1979 — a day he remembers distinctly — he began his work as an educator.

“A guy drove up in a brand new Cadillac and asked me if I taught underwater photography,” Stephen said. “I thought the guy looked like he could pay for it, so I said, ‘Of course I do,’ and I’ve been teaching ever since.”

Today, he teaches master photographers through the Stephen Frink School of Photography, hosting two underwater photography seminars in Key Largo each summer.

His photojournalism career began in 1982 when a Miami–based magazine needed underwater photos of Marathon. Although Stephen had never used a wide–angle lens, he borrowed one from a friend, took a model down to Marathon and got the shots. Two weeks later, he was called to hit the road and travel to the Cayman Islands to shoot for the magazine.

Since then, Stephen Frink has traveled the globe as a photojournalist and worked with publications including Skin Diver magazine, Scuba Diving and Alert Diver magazine. He also authored a coffee-table book titled “Wonders of the Reef.”

Stephen's photo of his daughter Lexi, swimming with a dolphin when she was only 3 years old, remains close to his heart.

An active environmentalist, Stephen sits on the board of directors of the Sanctuary Friends Foundation of the Florida Keys — a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the area’s coral reef ecosystem. He finds himself in constant awe of the world that lies just offshore in the Keys.

“Sometimes I’ll be out with my buddies and we just shake our heads with disbelief,” he said. “So many places I go just don’t have much marine life anymore, and we have this legacy of conservation here — it is such a big deal. I truly enjoy diving and living here.”

Topics: Environment, Key Largo, Local Color, On the Water, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

The fastest woman in the underwater world lives in the Florida Keys. In fact, the fastest woman in the underwater world, Kelly Friend, is an exuberant blonde who’s proud to be a seventh-generation Keys resident.

Kelly Friend enjoys a victory lap after powering her DPV to an amazing underwater speed record. (Photo by David Sirak)

Kelly’s roots run so deep in the island chain that her family dates back to 1820, just after Key West’s settlement.

“The romance of the ocean is genetically imprinted within me,” she says. “I remember swimming and boating all the time as a kid — my parents used to take me to Higgs Beach when I was barely even two years old. Snorkeling and exploring the reef was simply what we did back then.”

Kelly didn’t earn her speed title for swimming, boating or snorkeling. Instead, in early October at Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, she set the world’s first underwater speed record for driving a DPV — also known as a diver propulsion vehicle or underwater scooter — propelling it at a remarkable 2.58 mph.

But that’s not all. The day after setting the record, Kelly was forced to defend it against a challenger who temporarily bested her — and trounced the challenger by reclaiming the record with an amazing top speed of 4.55 mph.

Kelly earned her first racing triumphs on land. (Photo courtesy of Cope's Creations)

Her first racing triumphs, however, were achieved on land. After high school in Key West and college in Texas, Kelly took up motorcycle road racing in the early 1990s. She finished the 1995 season with a regional championship and a twelfth-place ranking in the national finals.

In 2000 Kelly began working for Key West’s Audio Video In Paradise and eventually bought the business. She quickly rediscovered free diving and spearfishing as both competitive and contemplative sports.

Then, in May 2009, the 523-foot-long General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was sunk as an artificial reef about seven miles south of Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Affectionately nicknamed the Vandy, the former Air Force missile tracking ship was the second-largest vessel in the world ever scuttled to become an artificial reef.

Kelly steers her DPV around the Vandenberg artificial reef. (Photo by Digital Island Media)

The Vandy is so huge that its hull rests on sand in about 150 feet of water, but its superstructure begins about 45 feet below the surface. And that’s where Kelly’s need for speed and love of the underwater world combined into a whole new adventure.

“I caught a segment on CNN about underwater scooter racing around the Vandenberg and immediately called the co-founder of the sanctioning body, the Wreck Racing League, who was my friend Joe Weatherby,” she explains. “I had finally found my true love — back on the race course and underwater!”

In May, Kelly participated in the Vandenberg Underwater Grand Prix, where divers using DPVs sped around the ship’s superstructure. Demonstrating both speed and style, she took top honors in the Wreck Racing League’s recreational class with two first-place victories and a third-place podium finish.

Now Kelly hopes for more underwater challenges and triumphs. (Photo by Mike Hentz)

Founded to inspire greater awareness about artificial reefs, the Wreck Racing League is the organization that recognized and recorded Kelly’s recent speed record in Weeki Wachee.

Despite earning the title of the fastest woman in the underwater world, she’s not planning to rest on her laurels any time soon. Instead, she’ll continue to compete in her chosen sport.

“The spirit of competition and camaraderie of racers is a great mix,” she says, “both above and below the water line.”

Chances are, as DPV racing gains fame among divers drawn to exhilarating adventures, you’ll be hearing plenty more about speedy Key Wester Kelly Friend.

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

In 1993 Jimmy Johnson had just won his second consecutive Super Bowl, and was celebrating with his Dallas Cowboys team in the locker room, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jammed a phone in his ear.

Former NFL football coach Jimmy Johnson stands at the wheel of his "Three Rings" fishing boat off the Upper Keys at sunset. (All photos by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

The caller was Bill Clinton, then president of the United States.

“He said, ‘Coach Johnson, I want you to come to the White House, and congratulations on winning the Super Bowl’,” recalled Jimmy, who also coached the Miami Dolphins and led the University of Miami to a national championship. “I said ‘I’m sorry, Mr. President, I’m going to the Florida Keys. I’m going fishing’.”

Jerry Jones, standing next to him, was shocked to hear him refuse an invitation from the president.

“Jerry Jones grabbed the phone and he says, ‘Yes, Mr. President, we will be at the White House’,” Jimmy said, laughing. “I wasn’t even thinking, but that was my mindset: I wanted to go to the Florida Keys.”

Jimmy displays a nice dolphin fish he caught while trolling off Islamorada.

Jimmy Johnson has had a residence in the Keys since just after that second Super Bowl victory. He moved to his current home in Islamorada 11 years ago and his name graces Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill at Fisherman’s Cove, a dining and entertainment complex as well as a private residence club in Key Largo.

Jimmy began visiting the Keys in the mid-1980s while he was head coach at the University of Miami. Toward the end of that period, he earned his dive certification and developed a lasting love for the subtropical island chain.

“I came down to the Keys (for) my final open water dive and just fell in love with the place, the people and all the things you could do down here,” he said.

While he was the Cowboys’ coach, he decided he eventually wanted to live in the Keys. When he retired from Dallas, he sought a home that offered specific benefits.

Jimmy is happiest at the wheel of his fishing boat.

“I wanted to get away from all of the hustle and bustle and autograph seekers, and go to an area where I could just lay back and enjoy life,” he said. “{In the Keys} I can go out anywhere and not be bothered.”

Although Jimmy still dives and loves to catch Florida lobster, these days Florida Keys sportfishing is his primary passion.

Behind his Islamorada estate he keeps a 39-foot SeaVee center console boat named “Three Rings,” after his three coaching championships. A dedicated room houses a large collection of rods, reels and boxes of lures and other tackle. Photos in the room and on his iPhone showcase past notable catches including a big bull dolphin (mahi-mahi), a large wahoo and an estimated 235-pound blue marlin he caught while fishing alone.

In fact, Jimmy usually fishes alone — a testament to the real reason he enjoys the sport.

“I fish for fun and for relaxation,” he said.  “I don’t fish for meat. I don’t fish to brag to everybody what I can catch.

Shown here heading home aboard "Three Rings," Jimmy has traded the pressures of coaching for the tranquility of Keys living.

Jimmy particularly enjoys the freedom of solo fishing, without a schedule or pressure to catch anything.

Sometimes he doesn’t even put a line in the water.

“When I was coaching, everything about my entire life was so regimented,” he said. “Now, going out by myself fishing, I load the boat and I go out and stay as long as I want to stay.”

That’s where he usually can be found — except during the NFL season, when he travels weekly to Los Angeles to help anchor “Fox NFL Sunday.”

“There’s only two things that get me away from the Keys,” said Jimmy Johnson. “The Fox TV show, and if someone gives me a big check.”

Topics: Islamorada, Key Largo, On the Water, Profiles, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Fans of Crystal Ruffo’s artistry don’t just appreciate it on a visual level. Instead, they rub her creations into their skin, savor their tropical fragrances and even lather them into pets’ fur.

Crystal Ruffo crafts all-natural tropical bath products at her Key West store.

That’s because Crystal’s artwork doesn’t consist of paintings, sketches or sculptures — it’s a unique type of “mixed media” composed of natural ingredients, fragrant essential oils, botanicals and ground-up minerals blended into tropical hues.

A friendly and outgoing blonde, Crystal is the artisan and owner of Purely Paradise Natural Bath Products. Her inviting emporium, located at 1108-A Duval St. in Key West, offers all-natural personal-care products that she handcrafts on site.

“Many artists work in the mediums of oils and watercolors; I work in the mediums of soaps and salts and bath products,” says Crystal, a longtime Key West resident who explored fiction writing and Web design before discovering her passion for “potions.”

At Purely Paradise, you’ll find a wide range of artisan wares including body and facial butters enriched with mango, scented shampoo with coconut oil and aloe vera, sea salt and sugar scrubs, revitalizing skin toner made with green tea, handcrafted sunburn relief products and even natural aluminum-free deodorants.

Soaps are crafted in whimsical, Keys-inspired shapes and scented with tropical fragrances.

“We can create personalized facial products based on your skin type and what you’re looking for the product to do,” Crystal says. “I especially enjoy creating things for people with allergies — lotions and soaps that make their bodies feel good.”

But it’s not just people who benefit from her soothing proprietary formulas. Motivated by her dog Nicky’s skin and coat problems, Crystal developed a pet shampoo with goat’s milk, shea butter and essential oils to calm skin irritations.

“We use castor oil to make their coats shine but not be oily, and we use several different essential oils which naturally repel insects,” she reveals. “Several of the vets in town recommend our pet shampoos.”

NIcky's sensitive skin inspired Crystal to create pet shampoos for four-footed "customers."

(Nicky’s skin problems, by the way, are now completely gone and his coat is glossy and beautiful.)

Many customers at Purely Paradise favor the fragrant multicolored soaps, all crafted in whimsical shapes that communicate the spirit of the Keys.

You’ll discover palm trees, two-toned flip-flops that invariably evoke a smile, conch shells, cats inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famed six-toed feline, roguish pirates, bare feet, manatees, parrots, dolphins and intricately “sculpted” mermaids with flowing hair.

Crystal takes particular pleasure in formulating and blending the unique colors that tint her soaps and lotions.

“None of our products are made with artificial coloring or dyes, so I create all of our colors by mixing ground-up minerals together — playing with the colors until I get the shade and hue I like,” she explains. “I try to stay very tropical with aquas for our water, a light ‘Key lime’ green, pinks and corals.”

According to Crystal, Key West is "purely paradise" -- inspiring the name of her Duval Street emporium.

Since its debut in 2010, Purely Paradise has become a gathering spot for locals and visitors drawn by its inviting atmosphere and personalized all-natural offerings. Nonstop tunes by Jimmy Buffett — Crystal’s favorite entertainer — provide a laid-back soundtrack while customers browse, sample lotions and creams, and watch her craft products behind a pastel-painted counter.

“I’ve done many things throughout my life, and many of them were very satisfying,” says the “artist in residence” with a characteristic smile. “But I think this is the most fun and the most self-satisfying adventure that I’ve ever undertaken.”

Topics: Highlights, Key West, Local Color, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

In the 1700s sailors with the British Royal Navy brought fine goods to the Caribbean colonies, sailing the seas and earning the nickname “limey” for their practice of sucking limes to prevent scurvy on long voyages.

Captain Tony Murphy, who skippers the aptly-named Key Limey, displays a substantial prize.

Today, Tony Murphy is a limey who brings fun and laughter to the Florida Keys — both with his light-tackle guide business on his boat Key Limey, and at Captain Tony Murphy’s Saltwater Angler fishing outfitter.

“I always want to have fun; it’s all about having fun,” Tony said. “When it comes to guiding, if you’re having fun, your equipment is fantastic, your boat is clean and you present yourself … then the fish are just extra.”

Tony attributes his success as a guide to his passion for fishing and unconditional ability to have fun.

He caught his first chub fish at age 4 in the Thames River, and he’s been hooked on angling ever since. The self-proclaimed fishing fanatic grew up in London, and spent every weekend fishing with his uncle 30 miles away in Henley.

A two-week teenage holiday turned into a life change for the Londoner when he met a third-generation Key West native, fell in love, got married and moved to the Keys.

Tony began living in the Keys in 1986 and took his first job on a boat in 1988 as the first mate on the Lucky II. Later, with two days’ instruction, he learned commercial fishing and spent four years pursuing the profession.

Angling has been Tony's passion since the Londoner captured his first fish at age 4.

“Down here when you actually show up for work, word gets around,” Tony advised. “You get a lot of opportunities, and sometimes lucky things just happen to you.”

Even as a young man in his 20s, however, Tony found that commercial fishing took a toll on his body — so he transitioned into guiding. In an era when Key West boasted some of the pioneers of angling, his youth and attitude enabled him to reel with the best of them.

“What was a little different for me, early on, was that the guides who were around at that time were a little bit older and a lot grumpier,” Tony said. “I really like to make people laugh, feel comfortable and relax.”

The limey’s lively persona and guiding expertise earned him the limelight on many television shows over the years.

He was one of the expert anglers who worked with ESPN to put together the Madfin Shark Series Tournament, also a top-rated television series, and participated in and won the event for three consecutive years. In addition, he was the guide of three television shows based on shark fishing for the famed Bill Dance of “Bill Dance Outdoors.”

Tony's engaging personality and extensive angling experience made him a natural choice for more than one of television's notable outdoors shows.

Tony’s most challenging catch came in 2008, when a client offered him the opportunity to purchase a premier Key West angling outfitter called the Saltwater Angler.

Today he guides a few days a week, primarily for repeat clients, but spends most of his time running the Saltwater Angler. There he oversees 24 employees and refers business to 32 flats guides, 15 light-tackle guides and eight offshore boats. He hopes to make the Saltwater Angler an iconic shop that’s a must-see for all visitors to Key West.

“In the Florida Keys, we have so much going for us,” he said. “By the time we get people down here, it’s our job as guides to make sure they have a ‘Florida Keys experience,’ and I love being a part of their experience.”

These days Captain Tony Murphy is remarried, raising two sons and devotes his free time to his family. Happily settled in the subtropical Keys, he never wants to live in the cold hustle and bustle of London again — but, like a true limey, will forever have a passion for soccer, rugby and cricket.

Topics: Key West, Local Color, On the Water, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

When she paddled ashore on a Key West beach not long ago, she was sunburned and exhausted — and as joyfully triumphant as a 27-year-old woman could ever be.

Cynthia Aguilar cried with joy as she ended her incredible 103.2-mile prone paddleboard marathon on a Key West beach. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

That’s because, when she reached that beach, South Florida lifeguard Cynthia Aguilar became the first solo prone paddleboarder ever to cross the Florida Straits — paddling an astonishing 103.2 miles in just 29 hours and 12 minutes.

Making her feat even more remarkable is the fact that prone paddleboarding doesn’t involve actual paddles.

Instead, participants in the sport propel themselves through the water using their hands and arms.

When she landed, Cynthia dragged her paddleboard onto the beach as crowds of supporters erupted in wild cheers, then hugged her parents while tears streamed down her face.

When a friend uncorked a bottle of champagne and moved to pour it over her head in celebration, Cynthia grabbed it and doused her bright yellow paddleboard instead — sharing her victory with the board that was her “partner” in the historic journey.

Cynthia became the first prone paddleboarder to complete a voyage across the Florida Straits -- and did it in just 29 hours and 12 minutes. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“Everybody here kept me going to prove that anything is possible no matter what,” she said breathlessly as members of her support crew took turns enveloping her in jubilant embraces. “You’re knocked down, you get up, you keep fighting — you keep paddling no matter what.”

Strong and wiry, yet surprisingly small, Cynthia believes the phrase “keep paddling” also describes the best way to conquer life’s struggles — like the daily struggles of the Make-A-Wish Foundation kids she designed her crossing to benefit. It also inspired the name of the nonprofit she started.

And it certainly describes her unswerving determination to complete the Florida Straits crossing even after an initial attempt failed.

Cynthia first tried to paddle across the straits in September 2010. However, she encountered such strong currents and suffered so many Portuguese Man o’ War stings that she and her crew were forced to end the effort after 17 hours.

Cynthia's strength and determination kept her going even after a previous attempt to make the crossing was unsuccessful. (Photo by Presley Adamson, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“The greatest challenge for this attempt is letting go of the past, moving on and doing what I need to do at this moment, which is cross this body of water,” she said as she left Key West just before the 2011 crossing.

A seasoned endurance paddleboarder, she completed a 58-mile solo paddle in 2007 from Bimini to Dania Beach, Fla., in approximately 19.5 hours. And even after 2010’s unsuccessful Florida Straits attempt, she wasn’t about to give up on her dream.

“I know what went wrong last time, and not finishing last time made me even more determined. I’m meant to do it,” Cynthia said as she boarded the catamaran that carried her to a spot just outside Cuban waters, where she began the 2011 paddle. “That was a trial run the first time; this is the real run now.”

Cynthia's supporters welcomed her with joy and open arms when she completed the crossing -- which benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

During the 2011 run, as she stroked her way across the straits on her board, she was trailed by the catamaran and a yacht carrying a support crew, supplies and a documentary film crew chronicling her incredible journey. Like her crossing, the documentary will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida.

And when Cynthia finally completed her marathon paddle, landing on that Key West beach, her success sparked such shared joy that it practically shimmered visibly in the air.

With true grace of spirit, she credited her victory to her team, her well-wishers, and even the elements.

“This year the gods, the ocean {and} mother nature were on our side,” said Cynthia Aguilar — whose athletic feat, determination and generous heart make her one of the most inspiring visitors ever to arrive on Key West’s shores.

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

(Editor’s Note: This week’s Keys Voices, honoring the late Clarence Clemons, was written by Larry Kahn, editor of the “Florida Keys Keynoter.”)

"Big Man" Clarence Clemons, shown here onstage in the Florida Keys, was an unparalleled musician who loved the island chain. (Photo courtesy of Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series)

Saxophone player extraordinaire Clarence Clemons, 69, for nearly 40 years Bruce Springsteen’s No. 2 man in the E Street Band, was well known in the Keys for playing gigs at various bars, sitting in with whatever bands were playing.

They include the Schooner Wharf in Key West; the Brass Monkey Lounge, Castaway, Dockside Lounge and the Hurricane Grille in Marathon; and Woody’s, the Lorelei and Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada.

Clemons, who died June 18, was also a staple fixture at a group of Florida Keys fishing tournaments that raise money for cystic fibrosis treatment and research.

“He always showed up with his sax and played, even though I never was presumptuous that he would play,” said Gary Ellis, founder of the Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series.

Ellis said that even though it wasn’t widely known, Clemons had an affinity for sportfishing.

“He was totally taken by fishing,” Ellis said. “He was all about Keys fishing … for tarpon and bonefish.”

Shown here releasing a bonefish, Clemons found great enjoyment in fishing Keys waters. (Photo courtesy of Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series)

In the Keys, Clemons’ special place was in Marathon. His Stirrup Key home overlooks Florida Bay.

Clemons’ 2009 autobiography, “Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales,” has a chapter called “Marathon Key.” In it, he writes following back surgery:

Most of my time lately has been spent in Florida healing. It’s a slow process but I’m doing well. I feel strong every day and look forward to dancing across the stage again on the next tour. As I write this, I’m sitting on my porch looking out at the bay toward the horizon where the ocean meets the sky.

The book also has a chapter called “Looking Back from Islamorada.” That recounts his chance meeting with singer Jimmy Buffett, who was signing books at an Islamorada bookstore, likely Hooked on Books.

Clemons went into the bookstore and saw a bunch of Parrot Heads {as Buffett fans are called}.

Clarence plays the Brass Monkey in Marathon in May 2010 at the Save the Monkey party. (Photo by Ryan McCarthy, "Florida Keys Keynoter")

I walked up to the head of the line and waited for Jimmy to notice me. It’s very hard not to notice me. Especially in a tiny Florida bookstore a few feet off the highway.

“You’ll have to get in line with everybody else, sir,” said Jimmy when he finally looked up.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“I don’t think so either,” said Jimmy, smiling. “Big Man! Look everybody, it’s Clarence Clemons.”

The folks in line smiled. Two big stars for the price of one in a very unlikely setting. Well, one big star and me. They applauded.

(Editor’s Note: Andy Newman contributed to this piece. An earlier version of it appeared in the Wednesday, June 22, edition of the “Florida Keys Keynoter.”)

Topics: Arts, Highlights, Islamorada, Marathon, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

In the late 1960s, Sally and Joe Bauer made a road-trip pit stop that changed their lives forever. Driving back from diving in the Florida Keys, they stopped at a store near the Miami airport called Stone Age Antiques.

Sally Bauer stands beside a diving bell after a dive in Norway in 2005. (Photos courtesy of the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum)

There they found an old diving helmet selling for $500, and bought it because they thought it was attractive. That simple act set them on a path that, years later, led to their founding the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum in Islamorada.

“When we purchased that helmet, we caught the collecting bug,” Sally admitted. “Like any incurable disease, it can’t be treated. You can suppress the strength of it a little bit — in this case by adding to the collection — but you never quite get over it.”

Under the influence of the “disease,” the Bauers eventually assembled the world’s largest collection of diving artifacts, antiques, books and prints related to the history of diving.

Sally wasn’t always interested in the underwater world. She grew up in a rural area near Youngstown, Ohio, and later studied medicine. She first met her husband of 42 years, the late Joe Bauer, when she showed up at his office seeking a summer job while in college.

“I started working for him, and then I worked for and with him all of the rest of his life,” she said. “We did everything together — that was my joy through life and my great tragedy when he died.”

Sally displays a wooden Griswood helmet underwater.

Sally and Joe began diving as a hobby that helped them disconnect from the world and escape the stresses of the medical profession. They kept diving because of their fascination with the marine biology of aquarium fish.

The Bauers took dive trips to the Keys to study the spawning behaviors of fish and bring them back to their Cleveland home for further research. As well as making important scientific discoveries, they also were the first to raise clownfish and peppermint shrimp successfully in captivity.

By the 1980s, their collection of artifacts was so vast that they helped found the Historical Diving Society of the United States and the United Kingdom. Concerned that the collection, and the history it represented, would be scattered and lost after their deaths, they approached the Smithsonian Institute, Disney’s Epcot Center and others — but got little response.

“When we moved to the Keys full-time in 1997, we realized that the Keys are the only place that you can drive and dive on a coral reef,” Sally said. “It just seemed natural that this is where we should have the museum.”

That realization sparked their creation of the world-class Florida Keys History of Diving Museum, located at mile marker 83 — which contains artifacts and other items covering an incredible 4,000 years of diving history.

The museum's highlights include an exhibit dedicated to Upper Keys treasure hunter Art "Silver Bar" McKee.

Highlights include an exhibit of dive helmets from around the world, and one dedicated to legendary Upper Keys treasure hunter Art “Silver Bar” McKee.

“The museum is not just for divers — it’s for anyone who wants to know more about man’s quest to explore under the sea,” explained Sally, who was inducted into the prestigious Women Divers Hall of Fame in March 2011. “Joe used to say, ‘It’s a little jewel that has not quite been discovered,’ and when people come in they’re astonished.”

Joe Bauer died suddenly in April 2007, but his legacy and knowledge of diving history live on through Sally.

“My challenge for the rest of my life is to put this history down so it’s not lost,” Sally said. “There are many more stories we want to tell about diving history.”

Topics: Highlights, History, Islamorada, Profiles, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Rob O’Neal wasn’t born with a camera in his hand (at least, his mother is reasonably sure he wasn’t). But somewhere along his journey from childhood to adulthood, from his former homes to Key West, the camera became an extension of Rob’s eyes and heart and brain.

Rob O'Neal's eye for a great photo leads him to shoot images like the "southernmost legs" in front of the Southernmost House in the continental United States. (All photos by Rob O'Neal)

He doesn’t regard that as remarkable; it’s simply the way things are. Just as Dylan and Springsteen translate their experiences into chords and lyrics, Rob translates his into photographs. His “Key West Photo Safari” book, a compilation of those experiences, is a quirkily vivid record of the world he inhabits — and a must-have volume for everybody who loves the island city.

Though Rob has shot thousands of photos of Key West and the Keys, until 1996 he was a land-locked guy who worked in the restaurant business in Dayton, Ohio. But serendipity intervened, and he wound up in Key West with a camera and a simple philosophy.

“The battle cry has always been, if it moves, shoot it,” says Rob, ”and if it doesn’t, shoot it again.”

From a helicopter, Rob captured the action of a world-class sailing regatta held each year in Key West waters.

Since his immersion in the world of Keys photography, Rob has found himself in some pretty unusual situations. For example, flying over Key West Harbor in a helicopter at 100 miles per hour to shoot world championship powerboat races. Diving on the shipwreck site of the fabled “Nuestra Señora de Atocha” Spanish galleon that sank off Key West in 1622. Dodging huge, lavish floats full of semi-naked revelers during the elaborate (and wonderfully bizarre) annual Fantasy Fest Parade.

Rob’s camera has captured some of the wackiest events in the Keys. Like the Minimal Regatta, where rules mandate that “vessels” must be constructed of two sheets of flimsy plywood and a roll of duct tape. The annual Parrot Head gathering of some 3,000 Jimmy Buffett fans, who typically wear eccentric headgear that inspired their name. The late lamented Chickenfest, a celebration of Key West’s free-range fowl that included a “Poultry in Motion” parade.

When former President Bill Clinton strolled down Duval Street past Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Rob was there with his camera.

And while some photographers shoot only pretty stuff, or only things they’re assigned and paid to shoot, that’s not the case with Rob O’Neal. For him, chronicling his world on film is as natural — and as necessary — as breathing.

His wonderful “Photo Safari” is a testament to his passion. Not only are the shots intriguing and appealing, but many portray things that only someone with a highly developed “eye” (and an equally well-developed appreciation of the absurd) would recognize and shoot.

For example, there’s a car shaped like a giant red chile pepper rolling down legendary Duval Street. A trio of tiny dogs wearing t-shirts riding in a cushioned bicycle basket. A garbage truck with a supersized pink plush bunny stuck to its grill. A shrimpboat with its outriggers arched like the legs of a giant grasshopper.

And of course Rob’s book showcases the glorious mix of characters that give Key West its character — from drag queen Sushi to weatherbeaten former mayor and saloonkeeper Captain Tony.

So who is Rob O'Neal? Here's a rare portrait of the guy behind the camera.

You’ll even find a shot of former president (and repeat Key West visitor) Bill Clinton, dressed in a bright red polo shirt, standing under the sign that marks Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Café.

“Ask any Key Wester and they’ll tell you that the people are what it’s all about,” says Rob, adding that his book includes “entrepreneurs, doctors, musicians, cab drivers, city commissioners, policemen, firefighters, artists, writers, bartenders, and a healthy dose of full-fledged nut cases.”

Get the book, spend some time wandering through its pages, and you might be able to figure out which are which. Or, of course, you might not. But either way (and this is virtually guaranteed), you’ll have a terrific time trying.

Topics: Arts, Highlights, Key West, Local Color, Profiles, Voices Main Archive