spring 2025
MANAGER’S MESSAGE
note: This message is from the newspacket editor as we are currently between Park Managers!
After the departure of Jessica Cabral, Park Service Specialist (PSS) Kevin Floyd has been doing yeoman's duty keeping the Park running while hosting many events and bringing in new volunteers at the same time. Kevin, along with staff and volunteers, has created a new visitor's center in the Park Office, to give a more in-depth historical view of Commodore Ralph M. Munroe's life. It has been one of PSS Floyd's missions to improve the Park's volunteer and Junior Ranger programs, especially the experiences of all volunteers, and his conscientious attention to training and tracking of volunteer hours is credit to the Florida State Park system.
The Park always needs volunteers to help collect entrance fees (having someone at the pay station increases revenues enormously!), learn about the history of the property and give tours, help with landscape and invasive exotic plant removal on the grounds, help with events, repairs, and many other things. Maybe someone you know would make a good volunteer? Please make your friends and relations aware of all these opportunities at The Barnacle Historic State Park.
A STROLL THROUGH THE PARK
It is with both gratitude and a heavy heart that I bid farewell to my term as President of The Barnacle Society. I am deeply appreciative of the time I’ve had to work alongside dedicated board members and inspiring Park staff. Leading the mission and vision of this organization has been an honor, touching my heart in more ways than one and pushing me to grow in ways I never could have imagined.
As I walk through the Park in these final days of my tenure, I reflect on all that it gives to the community. I can only hope that I have given as much to it as it has to me. Home, family, healing, quiet, peace, solitude, spirit—this park is a sanctuary for all who visit. It welcomes everyone, without judgment, regardless of who they are, what they look like, what they wear, or whom they love.
My final message to you is this: We are the Park's stewards. It is up to us to protect and preserve it. Continue your efforts to safeguard this special place, to show your appreciation, and to recognize its value. Only the things we cherish and nurture can truly endure.
So, I encourage you—pause, slow down, be present, and take in the beauty around you. Give your time, your resources, your gratitude. Even saying a simple "thank you" or expressing your gratitude to the Park itself can make a difference.
Thank you for allowing me to serve, and we hope to see you at the Member's Event on March 29th.
Amy Exum, President, The Barnacle Society
786-271-1127
UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE BARNACLE
A special event for all members of The Barnacle Society
See About Us page for details of this exciting event!
Gates open at 6 pm - come early to picnic and enjoy the pre-performance time!
You and your pup(s) are cordially invited!
Meet a Ranger - Shelby Hoogland
by Suzanne Koptur
Shelby has always wanted to have a job in the outdoors – no surprise as she is from Seward, Alaska and grew up in the nature there. She spent a lot of time in Kenai Fjords National Park, observing whales, seabirds, and human-animal interactions. After her time at boarding school in Victoria, B.C., she attended Bryn Mawr College where she majored in Biology. She went on to obtain her master’s degree from the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric Science, and Earth Science (RSMAES) at the University of Miami. She loves marine ecology, especially humpback whales -- solitary animals with social feeding behaviors (where they gather and create a “bubble net” to feed).
Shelby married her husband Kevin in July of 2023, in Chugach State Park, Anchorage, AK. They live with their three dogs: two six-year-old labs, Chuck and Trout, and a much older rescue yorkie, Winston, who loves his BIG little brothers.
Shelby Hoogland holding a ling cod in the Prince William Sound
Shelby likes giving tours at the Barnacle, building on her experience showing people around when she worked as a deckhand in her hometown of Seward. She also spent nine months living in Mystic, CT while working and studying at the Mystic Seaport in a college experiential learning program. An experienced sailor, Shelby looks forward to the return of Egret after its repair vacation in northern Florida.
Shelby works part-time, and you can catch her on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when you visit the park. She enjoys the wildness of TBHSP in middle of Coconut Grove, as there are too few green spaces the public can enjoy in the urban environment of south Florida. We are fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic ranger and recommend you meet her and take a tour with her someday soon.
29th Annual Washington’s Birthday Regatta A Great Success!
by John Palenchar
The breeze was up, and sails were reefed as 21 boats took to the waters of the Bay in the 29th re-enactment of the Washington’s Birthday Regatta, the first Regatta on the Bay organized by Commodore Munroe and neighbor, Kirk Munroe, in the Spring of 1887. As the day wore on, the winds lay down, reefs were “shaken out” and the sails filled for a perfect day of racing. The winners were EFFORTLESS, Captain Alyn Pruett; BUTTERFLY, Captain Richard Crisler; and LARGO, Captain Jennifer Wirth. All hands showed up for the evening’s Chowder Party, hosted this year by the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC).
Winning Captain Jennifer Wirth with Mate Joe Logan on LARGO
Special thanks go out to CGSC for generously donating their space, seating and beverages in making the Chowder Party a smooth-running event. Thanks also to the Coral Reef and Biscayne Bay Yacht Clubs for their wonderful financial support; Bruce Matheson and Chef Andre’ for the delicious Fish Chowder and Janis Pruett and Olivier deLavalette for the Veggie Chowder.
Oscar Kramer and son on ACE OF HEARTS
As in past years, Bob Deresz and Graham Coords kept a watchful eye on our competing sailors and Steve Herman and the CGSC Race Committee Team kept the Regatta Races running smoothly. Special thanks to Harry Horgan at Shake-a-Leg for loaning us PILAR II (sister yacht to Hemingway’s PILAR) and to Joe Kolisch for Captaining her.
Bob Deresz and crew on support boat BLESSINGS
Skip Richheimer on Catboat Zena chases Per Lorenzan on HARE ON FIRE
As always, many Barnacle Society volunteers and Park Staff lent a hand to make the event the success it was. As we look forward to next year’s event, which will be the 30th running of this event, we hope to have even more boats participate in what has become one of the Society’s “Signature Events.”
The wonderful Coconut Grove Race Committee
Committee boat PILAR keeping a watchful eye
THE NATURE OF THINGS AT THE BARNACLE
by Suzanne Koptur
Something fishy about this “dogwood”*
The Jamaica dogwood (Piscidia piscipula) is a distinctive member of the legume family with its dark-colored compound leaves that fall off in winter and its beautiful pinky-purple clusters of flowers preceding the growth of its new leaves. Papery fruits are produced in summer. The trees are common in coastal areas, and some occur in the coastal hammock forest of the Barnacle Historic State Park. It is an ideal medium-sized tree for native plant landscapes as it provides good shade in the hot summer and lets more light through in the cooler winter months here in south Florida.
Close-up of flowers in inflorescence of Jamaica dogwood (Photos from Leon Levy Nature Preserve)
Mature fruits of Jamaica dogwood (Leon Levy Nature Preserve)
Common names of this plant include “fish poison” or “fish fuddle”, as it has been used to stun fish to make them easier to catch (a practice that is illegal today!). Jamaican bush medicine uses this plant for a variety of ailments, and it is one of the few plants in the legume family from which traditional medicine makes tinctures with pain relieving properties. However, all parts of this plant are poisonous if eaten by humans. Its wood is very resistant to decay, and a favorite of wood turners for making bowls, ornaments, and furniture.
Hammock skipper caterpillar late instar with distinctive spots on head (photo by Tim Norriss)
Adult hammock skipper on porter weed (photo by Fessenden)
Jamaica dogwood is a larval hostplant for Cassius blue butterflies (as are many other legumes). It is an important host plant for the hammock skipper butterfly (Polygonus leo), whose caterpillars make shelters by cutting and folding leaflets to feed safely inside. A commonly planted non-native legume, pongam, is an alternative host for the hammock skipper so it is often seen in urban areas of south Florida.
* The dogwoods of the temperate zone southern U.S. (and northern hemisphere temperate regions around the world) are species of Cornus in the family Cornaceae, so to many of us, those are the real dogwoods. But common names are often used for very different plants especially in different places. In fact, the common name for that family, in English, is the Dogwood Family!
MY BARNACLE REGATTA STORY
by Wendy Mahr
It was a cold and windy day.
Well, it was kinda cool in the morning, and it was windy.
Against my better judgment and my “moderate chop rule,” I joined Danny for this year’s regatta as crew, head bartender, and chef of our traditional chicken panini race sandwiches.
Danny Garcia and Poule Mouillée
I should have known we were in for an adventure when we couldn’t get off the Barnacle dock and out to “our ride” without the wind and waves trying to smash us against the remaining bits of the old dock. Luckily, Danny and a fellow sailor were willing to jump in the shallow water and float us out to Bob Deresz’s boat.
As Bob towed our little boat out to sea, it was getting rougher and rougher. I heard Danny mention whitecaps, and I said, "Oh yeah, there’s whitecaps, plus a rolling sea that looks like you could surf out here…” (only slightly dramatic!)
When we reached the race area, Bob let us loose. Danny was reefing the sail, and we were bobbing around. I was asked to point us into the wind while the boat was bobbing like crazy and scaring the heck out of me.
Meanwhile, other beautiful boats were sailing all around us like nothing was happening, and I was saying, “Danny-Danny-Danny-Danny-Danny” about 150 times until I was asked to stop. Then Danny did the sweetest thing… he decided there was not gonna be any racing that day for us because I was scared, and the conditions were just a little too much for our little Poulet Mouillée — a 17-1/2’ long Reuben Trane-designed Beach Hen. So, he said we’d be sailing in as soon as he got the lines reefed. We double reefed, which is more than we’ve ever reefed before, and we started our way in, chopping through the seas. There were some very big waves coming across on the side, but I had promised not to say “Danny-Danny-Danny-Danny” anymore, so I held back and felt a lot more at ease when we got close to the mooring fields and much calmer seas.
Poule Mouillée at Picnic Island
I told Danny, “I made sandwiches and I brought Myers rum and cokes, so why don’t we go over to Picnic Island and have a picnic?” So we sailed up, and there was one person already there with a dog, so we pulled up quietly a small distance down the beach from them, and Danny tied us up to a large fallen tree. We proceeded to have our picnic. Very soon another islander was dropped off with a couple more dogs, near the far end of the island from our “anchorage.” The two guys proceeded to have quite the disagreement—did I say heated? A very heated conversation, with dogs barking and guys screaming and cursing at each other. Suddenly our nice quiet little island wasn’t so peaceful anymore. Luckily we had finished our sandwiches and our “beverages” so we pulled anchor i.e., rope tied to tree, and we headed back to the Seminole boat ramp.
Wendy and Danny heading home and then to the chowder party!
At the ramp, we met two couples from the west coast of Florida, who came to check out the race so they can hopefully participate next year.
We chatted for a bit, then trailered the Poule Mouillée back home and did a quick turnaround to join the great chowder party.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
The News Packet was created to inform members and public about The Barnacle Society, The Barnacle Historic State Park, and events and activities there. Published quarterly by The Barnacle Society, it is part of our continuing program to support and preserve the home of Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe. The News Packet represents the method of mail and news delivery before the turn of the 20th century. A small boat sailed to Fowey Rocks Light and received a “packet” of newspapers and mail from passing coastal ships bound for Key West or Jacksonville.
Suzanne Koptur, Editor
BOARD MEMBERS
Officers
Amy Exum, President
Sweet Pea Ellman, 1st VP
TBD, 2nd VP
Graham Coords, 3rd VP
Olivier deLavalette, Treasurer
TBD, Recording Secretary
John Palenchar, Corresponding Secretary
Directors
Peter Berman, Kevin Black, Ashley Castillo, Rafael Felipe, Mary Scott Russell, Marc Stone, Pam Shlachtman, Walt Walkington, Debra Wellins
MISSION STATEMENT
The Barnacle Society, Inc. is a volunteer non-profit, citizen-supported organization created to generate public awareness, education, and financial support for the preservation and maintenance of The Barnacle Historic State Park.
PARK HOURS
Friday through Wednesday 9 AM to 5 PM Closed Thursdays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.