Unique Homes On Location: Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo, FL
Last week, Unique Homes traveled to Los Cabos, Mexico, to tour the Del Mar Developments. For the next few days, Unique Homes is experiencing Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., and getting a better feel for the community’s “unique way of living.” Join me as I indulge in the good life.
Excitement has been building for the past two days at Ocean Reef Club as the 26th annual Reef Cup gets underway. Opening day in 2010 set a record high for the most productive first day of fishing in the tournament. This year, the anglers saw quite the opposite as Wednesday’s weather was overcast with off-and-on rain. As the four-day sailfish tournament’s rules state, boats and anglers only need to compete in three out of the four days so, most teams decided to stay on shore.
Though the start of the 2011 tournament was quite drastic from 2010, one goal of the Cup is still the same and as important—the release of healthy sailfish back into the ocean, because, after all, the tournament is sport.
I’m not registered to be on any of the boats during the tournament—though, I have caught a fish or two in my lifetime—so I headed down to Ocean Reef Club’s Fishing Village for the afternoon. The Village is a quaint community of shops and restaurants along the water. The bright storefronts are very welcoming, and the smell of the day’s freshest catch is always in the air.
From the Village, I boarded Reef Explorer, owned by Realtor Mary Lee of Russell Post Sotheby’s International Realty. Lee uses the vessel to give prospective buyers the best look of any waterfront property—a view from the water. We spent the next few hours traveling around the Club to see original homes that dated back to the 1970s, newly updated mansions with 60-foot-plus boats docked directly behind the homes, as well as condominiums with breathtaking balconies and terraces looking out to the ocean and cannels. The variety of residential offerings is quite expansive and Friday, I will get to know more about Ocean Reef’s current portfolio.
Ocean Reef Club is connected by a road way system and yes, I had my golf cart available to explore the residential neighborhoods of the community, but any Realtor will tell you, when you are on the water, you show it off. In fact, I’m not quite sure I could match the front of an Ocean Reef residence with its rear exterior.
On the second day of The Cup, I made sure to be at The Point for the fleets’ return to shore. Not knowing all the crew members on each vessel, I decided I would look out for Double Take, the boat that took second in last year’s cup. As Double Take came up the waterway, the crowd began to cheer and as the boat was in sight I counted the flags (representing the number of sailfish they caught and released): 10 flags! Way to go gentlemen!
My golf cart didn’t get too much action these last two days, so I think I’ll take him out on the town tonight. Perhaps a trip to the Fishing Village for a fresh catch is in order.
—Lauren Varga King
Assistant Editor
