For over a week now as we sit in the cockpit looking west (toward Key West) we have seen a "spot" in the sky. At first we thought it was a plane or helicopter but it did not change it's position. sometimes it looks black and in the mornings it looks bright. So Jane looked in her cruising guide again to find out what it is...
Further west, about halfway to Key West, is a little island, Cudjoe Key. At the very northern end is another somewhat secret government facility which does not admit unauthorized people. It has 2 blimps that fly as high as 10.000 tethered to the ground. Sometimes they both fly but we have only seen 1 at a time. They have been named by the locals as "Fat Alberts" but the US Air Force calls them a "Tethered Aerostat Radar System". One blimp has beamed TV Marti signals to Cuba since 1990, which the Cuban government routinely jams. The other blimp sends signals across the horizon to detect planes and ships out to 150 miles. This is for drug intervention and monitoring Cuban refugee boats. Unfortunately we cannot take a picture of the blimp, but use your imagination........sitting on the boat watching a little black speck in the sky. Have we been on the boat too long?? Beam me up, Scottie!
Further west, about halfway to Key West, is a little island, Cudjoe Key. At the very northern end is another somewhat secret government facility which does not admit unauthorized people. It has 2 blimps that fly as high as 10.000 tethered to the ground. Sometimes they both fly but we have only seen 1 at a time. They have been named by the locals as "Fat Alberts" but the US Air Force calls them a "Tethered Aerostat Radar System". One blimp has beamed TV Marti signals to Cuba since 1990, which the Cuban government routinely jams. The other blimp sends signals across the horizon to detect planes and ships out to 150 miles. This is for drug intervention and monitoring Cuban refugee boats. Unfortunately we cannot take a picture of the blimp, but use your imagination........sitting on the boat watching a little black speck in the sky. Have we been on the boat too long?? Beam me up, Scottie!
The other day we walked to the Keys Fisheries for a drink and dinner. The pictures show how cool this place is. Even though it is up on "stilts" we still wonder how these buildings survive hurricanes!!
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| The Gulf of Mexico behind Peter |
1 comment:
Ha! that is hilarious!!! All these secret government things....wish I knew all the secrets!!! So jealous of you in the warm weather!! Wish I could come and visit!!
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