Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 24

Florida Keys Opens 2-Day Spiny Lobster Mini Season With 6-Lobster Monroe County Limit

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 24

Florida Keys Opens 2-Day Spiny Lobster Mini Season With 6-Lobster Monroe County Limit

Q: Will this local beekeeper's unusual pie-flipping tactic finally allow him to shatter the untouchable 2017 speed-eating record next year?

It is possible, but the record still looks difficult to beat. Kevin Renly, a Summerland Key beekeeper who co-owns Southernmost Bees, won the 2026 World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship in 59.60 seconds using a distinctive tactic: stripping away the whipped cream by diving face-first into the pie, then flipping the pie over to handle the dry crust and mixing the crumbs into the filling. That approach clearly improved his results after back-to-back second-place finishes in 2024 and 2025. But the benchmark remains formidable. The widely cited all-time record is Trey Bergman’s 51.92 seconds from 2017, meaning Renly would need to cut about 7.7 seconds from his winning 2026 time. Some promotional material also references a 2018 Bergman mark of 40.57 seconds, which, if accurate, would make the task even steeper. Either way, Renly is still well behind the fastest time associated with the event. What works in Renly’s favor is that he has been getting better and has already shown he can finish under a minute in a hands-free contest with a 9-inch pie. He has also said he is preparing to defend his title and wants to become the first repeat champion. Still, based on the available times, his unusual pie-flipping method helped him win the title, but there is not yet strong evidence that it will “shatter” the long-standing speed record next year.

Q: What bizarre, face-first strategy helped a two-time runner-up finally conquer the Key Lime Pie Eating Championship on his anniversary?

He won by using a messy, face-first two-step: he plunged into the pie to strip off the whipped cream with his chest, then flipped the pie upside down and “sipped up” the filling and crust. Renly said the key was getting rid of the whipped cream immediately because contestants did not actually have to eat it. Competing hands-free on July 4 in Key West, he took off his shirt, dove face-first into the 9-inch pie, and pulled back up with much of the topping smeared onto his chest instead of in his way. After that, he turned the pie over to handle what he called the hardest part — the dry graham-cracker crust. By flipping it upside down, he could mix the crust crumbs into the filling and work through it faster. He summed up the tactic as: “Eliminate the whipped cream. Mix up the crumb with the pie and start sipping it up.” That strategy helped the two-time runner-up finish in 59.60 seconds and finally win the World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship on the same day as his 37th wedding anniversary.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 24

Florida’s annual spiny lobster mini season began Wednesday, opening a two-day recreational harvest window in the Keys before commercial fishers can resume catching.
Monroe County divers can keep 6 lobsters per person per day, while the statewide limit is 12; each lobster must have a carapace longer than 3 inches.
Protected areas, including national and state parks, remain no-take zones, and participants must carry a lobster permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The late-July event typically draws a rush of locals and visitors to the Florida Keys, where many shallow Gulf spots can be reached with basic snorkeling gear rather than full scuba equipment.