The Florida Keys are full of little mysteries. There are plenty of urban legends to explain them, and if I had a dime for each one that was true, I’d be broke. Us Keys folks like our stories, and our stories get better and better with each trip to the bar.
But sometimes there’s one that makes you go, and I quote, “Huh.” Such is the case with Destroyer Key, two rocky little islands just offshore of Key West. Here’s the story and everything we know about these little islands. Make of it what you will take it with a grain of salt, or just say, “Huh.”
Where Is Destroyer Key or Split Rock Key?
Sometimes called Split Rock Key, Destroyer is just about three and a half miles due west of Mallory Square and Key West Harbor. It’s on the edge of the flats where you find some of the other great Key West sandbars, like Boca Grande, Woman Key, and Ballast Key.
Unlike many of the best Key West beaches, Destroyer Key has no big sandbar or anything that would draw hundreds of visitors. It’s just one of those really unique spots in the backcountry that only folks with little boats know much about.
The two islands sit on each side of a narrow dredged channel. They’ve got some trees growing on them but are mainly home to a bunch of crabs and birds. The islands are rocky, not sandy. Someone has set up a little campsite with a simple grill and picnic table.
The islands are surrounded by shallow water, but if you come in from the Atlantic side, you can follow the channel between the islands. It’s shallow at first, only about two or three feet deep, but it gets to be six or ten feet deep between the islands. The current rips through the cut between the islands when the tide changes.
What Kind of Wildlife Hangs Out at Destroyer Key
Destroyer Key is a great place to go wildlife spotting. There’s always osprey nesting in the trees and countless other birds in the area. You’ll always see many cormorants swimming, gulls squawking, pelicans diving for fish, and frigatebirds soaring overhead.
The islands are small but teeming with life, especially hermit and land crabs. They’re everywhere out there. It’s also the perfect sort of place for a crocodile to hang out, but I don’t know if there is one. I’m just saying if I were a saltwater croc, I’d really dig it.
There’s, of course, also lots of fish and marine life around, along with all the great creepy sandbar critters we love to find. There are lots of rays, and it’s a good place to spot dolphins. The flats around are perfect for flats fishing, and the channel provides opportunities for snappers and the like. It’s an ideal natural spot ripe for exploring by paddleboard, snorkelling, fishing, or just hanging out awhile.
The Legend of Destroyer Key, Key West
Ok, so by now, you probably want to hear the story.
Apparently, years ago — maybe in the 1960s or thereabouts — a Navy destroyer crashed aground here at high speed. Such a high speed, in fact, that it wound up three-quarters of a mile up on the flats.
When the Navy couldn’t get it off, the only thing they could do was start digging. So they dredged out a channel, and that’s how the two islands formed. They’re spoil islands created from piling up what was on the bottom as they made the water deep enough to float the ship out.
It’s long enough ago now that all the gritty details are lost to history. At least they’re lost on the internet because I can’t find them. But the straight-as-an-arrow dredged channel is evident in a satellite picture, and the two islands on either side were definitely made from dredged bottom material. As the rain has eroded them and plant life has grown, they look more and more natural each year.
Is any of the story true? We may never know for sure, but someone wanted a channel dredged out there and got it. And it’s named Destroyer Key, so it had to get the name somehow, right? But at this time, there’s nothing conclusive available online to say whether the story is true or not.
Ready to Check out Destroyer Key and the Key West Sandbars?
If a story like that doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
So grab your phone and give Capt. Zak a call, and we’ll buzz out to Destroyer Key in the Casual on Monday and check it out. And we’ll check out some of those other incredible Key West sandbars, too.
