The waves that those H16's were in are nothing that can't be done on a nice, full bow'd N20.

Or possibly even faster on a tricky narrow bowed F18 :P

And....yes you can spend greenback dollars. They love'em. They didn't used to take credit cards...probably do now. Again...check with the organizers.

I thought it was our govt. that wouldn't let you spend greenbacks over there.

I thought it was our govt. that wouldn't let you spend greenbacks over there.

The Bush Administration has increased restrictions on our right to travel, systematically denying both individuals and groups with legal ways of going to Cuba. U.S. travelers are subject to serious charges and fines, yet to date no one who has stood up for their rights has gone to jail or had to pay the full penalties. Crjminal charges have been dropped, and in most cases, settlements have been negotiated or are awaiting appeal. By demanding our basic Constitutional Right to travel, we can make a difference!

In one of the U.S. government's most extreme cases to date, two Key West sailing enthusiasts faced up to 15 years in prison for organizing a sailboat race to Cuba's Hemingway Marina. Michele Geslin, 56, and Peter Goldsmith, 55, were indicted on charges of acting as unauthorized "travel service providers" for organizing a 2003 regatta for about 15 sailboats. The event was reportedly the ninth annual such regatta to Cuba, and in no way represented a threat to our 'national security' as alleged by the Department of Justice. All charges were dropped against the couple.

Federal rules quash boating trips to Cuba

By Jennifer Babson. jbabson@herald.com. Posted on Sun, Jun. 20, 2004.

KEY WEST - Almost everybody who has lived for any length of time at this end of an island chain knows somebody who has crossed the Florida Straits -- if they haven't made the trip already themselves.

Among those boaters is the city's colorful former mayor, Charles ''Sonny'' McCoy, now a county commissioner, who famously water-skiied to Cuba in 1978, and has returned by boat several times since.

Whether many of the Keys-to-Cuba trips taken by others were ''legal,'' well, that's another matter entirely.

For years, it was rarely an issue, because federal officials charged with regulating and enforcing the 42-year-old embargo against Cuba didn't vigorously examine pleasure boaters unless they were suspected of hauling contraband or cocaine.

At the dock, officials 'would say, 'Do you have any Cohibas?' and we'd say, 'We smoked them all on the way back!' '' McCoy said. ''Then they'd say, 'Next time, save us some.'' It was very light-hearted.''

But that jovial era may be over.

A series of new federal rules, regulations, and procedures have already begun to quash ''regular'' recreational traffic between Key West and Cuba, according to local boaters.

And the potential stakes for violating the embargo have risen sharply in the past two weeks.

On June 9, two Key West sailors, Peter Goldsmith, 55, and Michele Geslin, 56, were indicted on criminal charges that could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and up to 15 years in jail.

Their offense: allegedly violating the Trading With The Enemy Act by organizing and promoting a series of sailboat races between Key West and Cuba. Prosecutors say the pair were acting as unauthorized travel agents without a Treasury Department license.

Last week, the federal government released details of new Cuba embargo rules slated to go into effect at the end of the month. The changes would eliminate a controversial provision that has allowed boaters to visit Cuba as ''fully hosted'' guests of a nautical club operated by the Cuban government-owned Marina Hemingway, just outside of Havana.

MORE REQUIREMENTS

Within the next month, the Coast Guard is expected to release the details of more new requirements that would expressly bar from Cuban waters U.S. boaters who don't have an export license from the Commerce Department and a license from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, no matter where the trip to Cuba originated.

''We are not going to issue a permit until they can present the licenses from OFAC and Commerce,'' Tony Russell, a Miami-based Coast Guard spokesman, said. In the past, the Coast Guard routinely issued the permits regardless of whether vessels or the people on them were authorized by other federal agencies to visit Cuba.

Many local boaters feel an aspect of their way of life is under siege: after all, they say, Key West's geographical and cultural proximity to Cuba are a matter of history and tradition. But critics say the lax attitude toward boaters visiting Cuba has gone on too long.

Statistics and anecdotal evidence indicate that Bush administration promises to examine boat trips to Cuba more closely may have already had an impact.

The Coast Guard received 263 written requests for vessels to leave the Security Zone off Florida's Coast and enter Cuban waters between October 2002 and Sept. 30, 2003, according to Russell. Since Oct. 1 of last year, only 88 requests have been made. A tiny fraction of the requests was denied both years, he said, mostly because the applicants filled out paperwork incorrectly or inadequately.

American boats have all but dried up at Marina Hemingway, according to its commodore, Jose M. Diaz Escrich, who called the new rules "an artificial wall.''

''There has been a very substantial decrease -- practically we don't have the arrival of any American boats,'' he said, through a translator.

Though some of the new rules have yet to go into effect, they've already made some who would otherwise be inclined to go think twice or abandon their Cuba plans.

''I've been going for the past 10 or 12 years, but I didn't go this year,'' said Joe Mercurio, 61, captain of the charter boat Triple Time.

Mercurio said every time boaters figure out a way to comply with regulations, the feds throw them a curveball.

"First you couldn't spend no money, then they said you have to get an export permit license for the groceries you are taking over and eating yourself.''

Still, some wonder if the tough talk is a product of election-year politics they hope will fade in a matter of months.

''I know hundreds of people who have traveled to Cuba, almost thousands. I don't even know a single person who has ever been fined,'' said Craig Eubank, a Key West charter boat captain who has been to Cuba 37 times in the past 11 years, about 1/3 of them by boat.

While some boaters have sought U.S. government permission to make the trip, others have opted to make the trip without Coast Guard permission, though that's a risky approach.

''People in the Keys tend to do their own thing, like Hemingway did. He would just take his boat and go over there,'' said Eubank, who has a fiancée and 7-month old son in Cuba. Eubank, captain of the Mr. Z. sportfishing boat, said he has always gone to Cuba legally.

AN ISLAND'S APPEAL

Like many locals who've made the trip - which can take 20 hours by sailboat or five hours by powerboat - Eubank said the island holds a special appeal.

A number of boaters who've made the trip 'fully-hosted' admit they have spent money in Cuba but were careful to destroy the receipts. For many, though, the allure of sailing or cruising to Cuba has more to do with a desire to get to know an island that used to be a quick ferry hop away.

''It was our sister country for a long time, remember that,'' said one sailor, who did not want his name used. "It's probably hard for people in the rest of the country to understand that we are so close to Cuba.''

Just an observation but that article was written 5 years ago.

Just an observation but that article was written 5 years ago.

Yes, but, as far as I know, the same regulations are still in effect unless and until they are changed under the Obama regime.

Maybe I should make it clear that I do not think the United States government has any right to tell me where I can or cannot go when I leave U.S. waters on a boat.

Yes, but, as far as I know, the same regulations are still in effect unless and until they are changed under the Obama regime.

Maybe I should make it clear that I do not think the United States government has any right to tell me where I can or cannot go when I leave U.S. waters on a boat.

Obama Eases Travel Restrictions to Cuba (April 13, 2009)

under the Obama regime.

He's got firsthand knowledge, and probably some anecdotal figures on those that DON'T make it all the way.

I have very serious thoughts on this entire Cuban embargo and how we handle it, but they are very personal and will not talk openly about it. I just do my job and save lives before the sea gets a hold of them.

Maybe I should make it clear that I do not think the United States government has any right to tell me where I can or cannot go when I leave U.S. waters on a boat.

I need to brush up on my spanish/cuban.