Beach cat race to Cuba in 2010

Any support craft?

Depart KW at 10:00 and be ready in Cuba for the drinks by 21:00? You'll have to average almost 9 knots, do-able under good weather conditions...

Any support craft? I'd hate to rip a sail or break a rudder about 1/2 way across...

From the "Scuttlebutt" e-newsletter:
* The Cuba Run will be the first open ocean beach catamaran sail to Cuba and back.

The Cubans welcomed us and our US dollars, although we were greated at the finish line by gunboats with manned machine guns! They escorted us directly into the harbor.

I've been following this also. If it does happen, I'll be there...

Robi:

Wouldn't they have a problem with a Coast Guard (technically military) over there?

I remember when I was cruising the Dry Tortugas during spring break with my buddy who was in the Navy. He said that if, for some strange reason, we ended up in Cuba, that he would have to dump all his ID overboard.

He could have been blowing smoke up my butt tho.

I'm in as well! Too bad its a year and a half away!

Robi:

Wouldn't they have a problem with a Coast Guard (technically military) over there?

I remember when I was cruising the Dry Tortugas during spring break with my buddy who was in the Navy. He said that if, for some strange reason, we ended up in Cuba, that he would have to dump all his ID overboard.

He could have been blowing smoke up my butt tho.

Count me in on some boat!

OAS votes to readmit Cuba after 47 years

Todd, I would race with you, but Im afraid you would throw me under the boat!

WILL WE NEED TO CARRY PASSPORTS?

I was watching a fishing tournament that was in Cuba the other day, and I didnt realize what a beautiful place that it is. Incredible would be an understatement at best.
Count me in on some boat!

Do you think they will let a Stiletto do it? Its just a beach cat on Steroids! You can cary plenty of beer!... uh, I mean water!

Clayton

It used to be the Monte Carlo of this hemisphere. Tons of casinos and high end hotels. Fantastic sport fishing. Tourism out the whazoo.

Only if you want to return to America!

It also was a haven for prostitution, crime and other "social evils". This is way before my time, but i did see a documentary on it recently.

The fleet will sail into the Hemingway Marina and clear Cuban Customs and Immigration prior to pulling the boats out of the water.
.

I'll be in. I wonder if Stank can get a kitchen pass for a quick trip to Cuba?

Would it be safe to assume that the weather/sea conditions vary as much as they do crossing the stream to Bahamas?

I also wouldn't recommend crossing this bit of ocean without some sort of experience.

Interesting, seems to be no suitable landing in that general area.

That way if the smaller boat(s) break down, there may be a good chance other boats are in the area (or the monos would eventually catch up)

looks like a huge beach in the middle of your picture to me.

How much ocean sailing is proof that you are qualified to do this kind of race?

I know of lots of beach sailors who sail their hobie 16 off the beach... yet they are dog slow in a buoys regatta..

They have miles of ocean sailing and years of experience... does that count?

If they feel they can do the race on their 10 year old 16.. ... are they good to go?

Who in the OA makes the call... Yeah or Nea?

It's an issue.

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.

No... they are not invited....

Years ago, Tim Rynolds (Team Key West Worrell 1000 sailor) and I talked about organizing this race after Clinton allowed sports and cultural exchange exemptions in the Cuba visa restrictions. The great thing about the Tybee500 and W1000 is that they had a nice sandy beach nearby that would allow anyone to sort themselves out and be relatively self sufficient. No beaches between Key West and Cuba. We thought it might be a good idea to put two motor boats out in the middle somewhere and make it a safety gate.

Americans today have the right to travel to any country in the world except Cuba.