Too Big to Sail
NOT ONCE in the Book of Samuel did David stand on the bow of a Chittum Skiff with a megaphone, screaming at Goliath as he traveled on a cruise ship filled with 3,000 people. But when Captain Will Benson, along with many other Florida Keys guides and anglers, protested the arrival of the megaship Celebrity Constellation in Key West back on Feb. 3, they were fighting boats—and a political battle—of biblical proportions.
Many of the protesters became loudest as the 965-foot boat (20 feet shy of the Eiffel Tower) churned-up a silt trail in the port of Key West, exemplifying the damage, both environmental and financial, that the cruise-ship industry has left on the fish, anglers, fragile reefs, and economy of Key West. Much maneuvering has occurred throughout various levels of Florida’s government to hide what exactly happens in, on, and around the highly profitable and destructive business of cruises, but locals are making a stand.
The February event was the second post-Covid rally of about 200 protesters each (the first group greeted the 958-foot back on December 9). Both were organized by the Key West Committee for Safer, Cleaner Ships (SCS), a group that petitioned to get three referendums on a Nov. 3, 2020 ballot, all of which were convincingly approved by Key West voters. The new amendments limited the size of cruise ships to those holding no more than 1,300 passengers (passed by 61%); lowered the number of passengers to 1,500 that could deboard in Key West on any given day (passed by 63%); and gave docking priority to ships with the best health and environmental records (passed by 81%). The Feb. 2022 protest was not just aimed at the but at two more Celebrity-owned ships also scheduled to arrive that first weekend of February. All three far exceeded the limits set by the 2020 vote.
