Tourists out enjoying a sunset cruise:
Commercial fishermen homeward ploughing their weary way:
Landlubbers absorbing the astonishing view:
Some standing some sitting and some sprawling:
Others with their backs to the view get on with the all important business of getting spliced. For in the nautical world splicing is the art of joining two ropes indissolubly and almost invisibly. I used to be able to do a simple splice, once.
I've been married 18 years so that sort of splice I can still manage. I liked watching these two happy visitors adventuring far from Mallory Square on scooters no less, to enjoy their own tropical sunset.
To me, the cool part is they would never in life contemplate riding a scooter at home whereas in Key West such madness comes naturally. As naturally as the sun setting in a blaze of glory.
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Things went downhill for the boat after being discharged by the Western Union company but Historic Tours owned the boat for a decade until a major refit was called for and the crew was summarily dismissed.
I have never actually sailed on the Western Union though I have been out on other schooners and I figure I will have to give it a shot because I enjoy the view from the dock.
When I sued to work on the waterfront I knew youngsters who crewed on the Western Union and I remember envying them their youth. They didn't get paid much but they lived on board many of them and enjoyed being in the heart of the action on the waterfront in Key West. Theirs was as close to a piratical existence as one could imagine in the 20th century.
And the work consisted of going sailing. A head for heights helps in these circumstances.
And there it was tied up snug next to the Western Union schooner, that small, mastless sailboat has fallen into the second life of boats around here, serving as accommodations. 
No one was on board this visit, perhaps I'll have better luck next time though I am usually in town in the afternoon and he is likely out on the water then...
The waterfront is a busy place in winter with flocks of people wandering back and forth, but in late July its too hot to attract drifting crowds. I heard a few Europeans talking, a common feature of summers in Key West, poor things they know no better than to come to the Keys in baking season:
Sailing is tricky this time of year as winds are down and thunderstorms are up, so going on the water means less sailing and more other stuff (motoring):
I've seen this trimaran around for some time and I rather like the elaborate cabin arrangement, its probably too heavy to sail well with a floating bar in the cabin but that isn't a consideration for most passengers in my experience as a charter captain:
Schooner Wharf uses their boat as an advertising prop pure and simple, and quite the eye catcher it is too:
On the subject of eye catching I wouldn't have the nerve to wander around in public looking like this but I guess they were sea scouts or some other worthy thing and it must make it easy for the scoutmaster to keep an eye on his flock. You can just see the heat pressing down on that splendid hat :
The short stretch of waterfront near Schooner Wharf is home to the key West symbol of seafaring which is the Western Union and a group of enthusiasts have taken on the task of refurbishing the boat as a floating museum ever since Historic Tours unceremoniously dumped it one day without notice.
Within living memory Western Union used this sailboat to lay telegraph cable to Havana, and if that sounds old fashioned bear in mind today there are something absurd like half a dozen phone lines to Cuba and good luck making a call. 
Its that time of year, even in a good year, when business slows down to a crawl in the Southernmost City, including in the cute little booths along Lazy Way Lane:
At least they are open for business again after a period when it seemed everything was going to stay shuttered on the lane over a rental dispute. It's said around town that Harbor House, the new development behind Schooner Wharf has gone bankrupt and construction has stopped for now on the old Jabour's Trailer Park property.
Fire the proverbial cannon down Greene Street and all you'd end up doing at the end of July is knocking a couple of mad dog visitors off their Honda Metropolitans:
Swivel the cannon ninety degrees to the left and if you missed the scooter riders before you'd get a second chance as they cruise the urban desert of downtown Key West:
I didn't find the Prodigal Son this time around but I had a nice excuse to check out the boardwalk one more time. This blog is a great excuse to just go for a ramble.