Bobthebuilder's next adventure - Key West to Havana, Cuba

[Ms PatriYacht]

Glad you are back safe and sound, I will be looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. CNN spent a lot of time talking about the "Freedom Concert" they said the estimated attendance was a million people. One of the first performers name's they mentioned was Olga's. I was at the gym and cracking up telling people that I knew someone there that went there by boat from FL and met one of the concert headliners. LOL Bob, not sure if you know this but a lot of us live vicariously though you I was thinking that concert might have made your leaving easier since so much of the security was probably focused on that. As much as I don't care for Cuba's politics, I guess concerts and exposure to other cultures is a good idea for the younger people, they might finally realize what they are missing.

That just irks me about the US Coast Guard, typical you go to the trouble of finding out before you leave if it was OK and then when you come back they tell you something different. I am assuming you had nothing in writhing or the name of who told you it was OK. BTW is the only way they knew where you were coming from is because you told them or because they have a lot of that area under parole.

[Megabyte*3]

Not sure they have met many speedboats from Cuba that actually check in at their office!......

Quote of the week !!!

[jayboat]

This is for you, Jay. Your next camera. LOL

Big Daddy getting the big squeeze, right in front of a church no less. LOL

Ooooh, ooooh!!! I gots to have one!

Thanks, Big Daddy! Love this thread- can't tell you how much I wish I coulda come along.

[03darkshadow]

Glad you and your crew made it back safely. the pictures and stories are amazing, keep 'em both coming.

[Bobthebuilder]

Glad you are back safe and sound, I will be looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. CNN spent a lot of time talking about the "Freedom Concert" they said the estimated attendance was a million people. One of the first performers name's they mentioned was Olga's. I was at the gym and cracking up telling people that I knew someone there that went there by boat from FL and met one of the concert headliners. LOL Bob, not sure if you know this but a lot of us live vicariously though you I was thinking that concert might have made your leaving easier since so much of the security was probably focused on that. As much as I don't care for Cuba's politics, I guess concerts and exposure to other cultures is a good idea for the younger people, they might finally realize what they are missing.

That just irks me about the US Coast Guard, typical you go to the trouble of finding out before you leave if it was OK and then when you come back they tell you something different. I am assuming you had nothing in writhing or the name of who told you it was OK. BTW is the only way they knew where you were coming from is because you told them or because they have a lot of that area under parole.

Hi Donna. It was actually US Customs that had concerns not the Coast Guard. I should clarify a couple of things. The officers I dealt with were professional, friendly and courteous. They listened to all of the due diligence that I did prior to the trip. I was open and honest with them and they respected that. My sense is US law is written in such a complex manner individual officers sometimes have to try and interpret what it all means and it is not unusual to have different officers have a different interpretation. I had a long conversation this afternoon with a Net Jet pilot as he has experience the exact same thing I went thru. It has happened to me before and will again I'm sure. The main thing is do not let them get to you, be cool and hide nothing er well, not much. LOL You can't get them to give it to you in writing.
They had no idea I was coming until I called them from the Galleon Marina after arrival. I could not believe that. It was the same when we came back from Cancun. The boat could have just about anything or anybody on it.
The Cuban people want change but I will talk about that when I have more time.
Thanks for following along.
" Big Daddy" LOL

[RichL]

Great story. Great photos. Glad you're all back safe and sound.

[damdonzi]

Look what you've started...


Overturning Cuba Travel Ban May Pass House This Year, Farr Says

By Fabiola Moura

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Legislation to end a ban on Americans traveling to Cuba has enough support in the U.S. House of Representatives to win approval by year-end, said Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat.

The bill to let U.S. citizens resume travel to the Caribbean island except in times of war or cases in which they face imminent danger has 181 votes in the House and needs 218 to pass, said Farr, a co-sponsor of the legislation. The plan is backed by travel groups such as the United States Tour Operators Association and the National Tour Association and human rights groups such as the Washington Office on Latin America and has been helped by President Barack Obama’s election, he said.

“It is believed we can get to this before the end of the year,” Farr, 68, said in an interview in New York. “We haven’t had a policy about Cuba. We’ve had policies about getting votes in Florida and Obama changed that by getting those votes.”

The U.S. ended restrictions on Sept. 3 on Cuban-Americans travel and money transfers to relatives in Cuba. The new rules also allow U.S. telecommunications companies to provide service in Cuba for mobile telephone, satellite radio and television. Exceptions to the 1962 trade embargo on communist Cuba include $500 million per year in agricultural exports, Farr said.

“If you are a potato, you can get to Cuba very easily,” he said. “But if you are a person, you can’t, and that is our problem.”

Pressure

Obama is under pressure from Latin American leaders to end the trade embargo to help improve relations in the region. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will ask Obama to end the embargo during the United Nations General Assembly this week, spokesman Marcelo Baumbach said Sept. 17.

Obama announced in April he would lift travel limits for Cuban-Americans visiting family in Cuba. At the same time, Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, both Florida Republicans, issued a statement that the president had made “unilateral concessions to the dictatorship” that would “embolden it to further isolate, imprison and brutalize pro- democracy activists.”

Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro, who handed power to his brother Raul Castro last year, called on Obama to completely lift the trade embargo.

White House officials have said there are no plans to lift the embargo. At the same time, the administration is undertaking a full review of policy toward Cuba with the goal of advancing “the cause of freedom” in the country less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the coast of Florida, Daniel Restrepo, a special assistant to Obama, said in April.

March Proposal

A group of House and Senate lawmakers proposed in March ending restrictions to allow all U.S. citizens and residents to travel to Cuba. Farr said the legislation, known as the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” also has enough votes to clear the Senate, where Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Republican Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming introduced the legislation.

“There’s a lot more openness in the Congress,” Geoff Thale, program director in the Washington Office on Latin America, said in an interview in New York. “Support is building. The travel industry and business community are not just formally in support but actively engaged. That’s why I think we’re going to see a difference.”

Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who is of Cuban descent and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, has vowed to fight the easing of travel restrictions.

Philip Peters, a vice president and Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute, a public policy research group in Arlington, Virginia, said proponents of the bill may succeed in winning congressional approval as public opinion grows among Americans that U.S. rules on Cuba aren’t in line with much of the country’s foreign policy.

‘Good Shot’

“They’ve got a good shot,” Peters said in an interview. “Certainly right now they’re in striking distance and they’ve got plenty of time left in the session.”

Ending the travel ban may lead as many as 1 million Americans to visit the island every year, Lisa Simon, president of the National Tour Association, known as NTA, said in an interview. It would also help push forward talks on human rights issues, Thale said.

“We’ve had a policy for 50 years of isolating Cuba and it hasn’t done anything about the human rights situation,” Thale said. “I don’t think there is some magic solution. I don’t think ending the travel ban will cause Fidel to say let’s have elections, let’s release all the political prisoners tomorrow. What it will do is open the process of dialogue.”

Obama’s administration has been showing a “gradual relaxation and diplomatic opening” toward Cuba, Thale said. He cited the government’s decision to reinitiate talks on migration and direct mail, and also to put down the billboard operated by the U.S. government outside its special interests section in Havana, which he said often displayed anti-Cuba messages.

[Bobthebuilder]

It was raining and thunder storming quite hard in Key West this morning and my departure was delayed till about 10 AM. I set a straight coarse 009 degrees for Marco Island. The winds were still out of the NE so kinda going into it but nothing over 4 ft. It got better as I neared the west coast. I made a decision rather than go into Marco to keep right on going up to Cape Coral and meet Nor Tech to put the boat on the trailer. Along the coast it was flat and I ran almost 70 MPH to the Cape. It was only 2 1/2 hrs from KW to Cape Coral. So now Team PREDATOR is on the trailer and the trip is officially over. At the ramp Gerry Monroe pulled up and we had a nice chit chat. Many of you will know Gerry as Geralyn's dad from NJ. He took the attached pic.
I am traveling tomorrow and my day looks like this: Miami, Toronto, Waterloo, ON ( home I think ) and finally end up in Cleveland. I have some checkups scheduled at CC throughout the day Wednesday.
While the trip may be done, there are many more pics I would like to post and stories to tell. It may be Thursday before I can get back into it, but I will.
Thanks for following along.
Bob

[Bobthebuilder]

Thank you for sharing this adventure. One question keeps coming to mind. If overnight US tourism was allowed, how long do you think it would take for the infrastructure there to be built up to accomodate it?

They get a lot of people from Latin America and Europe so there is a lot in place now. ( Canadians mostly go to the beach resorts at Veradero etc.) Many of the old hotels from the 50's are just the way they were. We went thru the Riviera Hotel including the Copa Room that was owned by Myer Lansky. It was like stepping back in time. The pic of the 1937 Harley I posted was parked out front. There would need to be a lot of refurbishment done but the worst thing that could happen is to bring in the bulldozers and knock things down. It would be so neat to see it all refurbished. This is coming from someone who made his living building new !!
Bob

[Buoy]

Thanks for taking the time to post all this, and to give us the updates on the trip.
As many have said, we live vicariously through you.
It's very much appreciated that you share the tales both in word and in photos.

[Bobthebuilder]

Thanks for taking the time to post all this, and to give us the updates on the trip.
As many have said, we live vicariously through you.
It's very much appreciated that you share the tales both in word and in photos.

Thanks, Bouy and others. Glad you all are enjoying it and happy to share. It is a lot of work especially being on two forums and Facebook as well but feel it is worth it. More to come when I get a bit of time. Lots of traveling today...and not by water ! LOL
Bob

[JupiterSunsation]

Thanks, Bouy and others. Glad you all are enjoying it and happy to share. It is a lot of work especially being on two forums and Facebook as well but feel it is worth it. More to come when I get a bit of time. Lots of traveling today...and not by water ! LOL
Bob

Bob dump your photos/story on a site like flicker and post a link here/elsewhere.

So being it was a once in a lifetime would you do it again if you had the chance?

[Frequency]

...It is a lot of work especially being on two forums...

It would save US a lot of effort if you would keep your posts consistent so we did not have to check both sites!

Seriously Bob, thanks for sharing! It was great to be able to monitor your progress as you crossed over to Cuba. Looking forward to more details/pics.

[Bobthebuilder]

Bob dump your photos/story on a site like flicker and post a link here/elsewhere.

So being it was a once in a lifetime would you do it again if you had the chance?

Thanks, JS. I intend to post about 15 to 20 more pics on this thread which I consider to be the best of the best in the next couple of days. I have some topics in mind and will group them by topic. In all I probably took 350 pics and edited that down to the best 200 while on the plane today. I do have a Flickr account which I have not used in a couple of years and will put them all up there in a few days. I have some catching up to do and a few things to deal with since coming back north today but it will get done.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. This was so interesting I would never pass it up. It was a very rewarding experience.

Bob

[25 hors la loi]

Glad to ear every thing going fine ....i am proud of you Bob ...hope to see you in KW

[boatme]

Thanks again Bob for taking us with you on the trip

[sledge]

Hmmmm....could a US citizen make this trip with the proper "humanitarian" approval?....
Have to read the rules on method of travel...

[Ms PatriYacht]

QUOTE=25 hors la loi;323491]Glad to ear every thing going fine ....i am proud of you Bob ...hope to see you in KW [/QUOTE]
Christian are you going to Key West, it would be good to meet you, if you haven't checked out the SOS party thread you should.


Bob glad all went well, and what's this I hear you have other things to tend to beside your boating activities, good luck at the clinic. I wonder what the docs think when they hear of all your adventures. I also think you should be listed as an SOS Icon, you may not have raced a long time ago but you sure have made a name for yourself with this generation of offshore enthusiasts. Oh and keep this between us, Ian's not home tonight so he can't see me type this, here's a welcome home

[kr1276]

As a U.S. citizen, we applied to take a group of boats over to study migratory birds and were put off for two years and then finally denied. We did quite a bit of research to do it legally and basically just got snubbed by the government. Many sailboats go from the U.S. every year and without issues. Operating "go fasts and sport cruisers" we would create a greater level of interest and felt we should not do it without permission. Glad you got the opportunity to make the trip and am still hoping we will get to do the same in the next few years.

[25 hors la loi]

Christian are you going to Key West, it would be good to meet you, if you haven't checked out the SOS party thread you should.

Its not 100% confirmed ...are you ready to practice your french ? , since then , take care of you
Christian