A Key West working-waterfront story

History of the Row

Charter Boat Row is more than a collection of slips. It is part of the working history of Key West—a place where sportfishing, tourism, boatbuilding, commercial fishing and local families have overlapped for generations.

1930s–40s

Sportfishing takes hold

Key West’s current Historic Charter Boat Row history traces local sportfishing charters to the 1930s. Florida Memory also preserves photographs of charter fleets along North Roosevelt Boulevard from the early era of Key West sportfishing.

1949

Charter Boat Row at Garrison Bight

A City of Key West annual report states that City Marina at Garrison Bight Charter Boat Row began in 1949 with 36 boats. The marina later expanded to hundreds of slips on both sides of the Palm Avenue causeway.

1950s–70s

Fishing becomes part of the Key West visitor experience

As Key West tourism grew, charter captains developed reputations around offshore and reef fishing. Boats, crews and customers became a familiar part of the North Roosevelt Boulevard waterfront.

1980

A waterfront documented in photographs—and tested by history

Florida Memory preserves circa-1980 photographs of Charter Boat Row at Garrison Bight. The current Historic Charter Boat Row history also recounts how local charter boats and captains participated in the Mariel Boatlift.

1990s

New techniques, familiar dock

Light tackle, modern electronics and changing fishing techniques expanded the ways visitors could fish Key West. Florida Memory images from 1991 and 1992 document boats and the marina during this period.

Today

The tradition keeps moving

Modern boats now carry GPS, advanced sonar and contemporary tackle, but the Row still works on a very old idea: local captains meeting anglers at the dock and taking them fishing.

Names that connect eras

Boats become part of the story.

Long-running boats and captains help connect one generation of Charter Boat Row to another. Florida Memory documents the Can't Miss at the Row in 1992, then owned and operated by Captain Johnny Blackwell. Captain Richard Houde has written that he first worked on the Row aboard the Can't Miss before buying the boat then known as Carol and renaming it Southbound.

Captain Joe Mercurio’s long Key West career is another bridge across generations. A Keys Weekly profile recounts his move into charter fishing in the 1960s and later ownership of boats including the Gulfstream III and Jolly Roger.

Research notes

Historical sources used for this website

City of Key West: 2007 Annual Report — records City Marina at Garrison Bight Charter Boat Row beginning in 1949 with 36 boats.

Florida Memory / State Archives of Florida: archival photographs of Charter Boat Row and Garrison Bight from circa 1980, 1991 and 1992.

Historic Charter Boat Row: current history describing early sportfishing, the Mariel Boatlift era and the evolution of the fleet.

Southbound Sportfishing and Keys Weekly: first-person and reported accounts that help connect historic boats and captains across decades.

About the old charterboatrow.com archive

During development of this version of charterboatrow.com, direct Wayback Machine snapshots of the former site were not available through the research connection being used. Rather than reproduce unverified “old site” wording, this page relies on historical records that could be independently checked. If archived pages, screenshots or files from the former charterboatrow.com become available, they can be incorporated into this history section later.