looks like a huge beach in the middle of your picture to me.
I am a little concerned about the whole project if they are thinking huge numbers of beach cats -- like 150-200 -- to do this event.
To me it sounds a whole lot more dangerous than the coastal distance races.
The Gulf Stream through that funnel between the Keys and Cuba can be more brutal than beach surf, and no landing place in sight.
You have to be really dedicated to the idea of
cultural exchange,
to commit your life to it.
When you think about how few cat sailors are really qualified experiencewise to do the Tybee 500, you have to really think a lot harder about how many people are qualified to go offshore in a small cat across the Gulf Stream.
For a race like that, you have to be able to choose your weather window and wait for ideal conditions.
Did you watch the video? Serious sea state for a 9-12 hour trip.
http:/
(Why won't it embed? I tried the embed Youtube code...no go.)
I can't see 150 boats participating and when I see numbers like that it makes me question how grounded the organizers are. However, a sail like this is an adventure and the cultural exchange / teaching kids adds just a little more benefit. Of course there are risks but it wouldn't be an adventure if there weren't. The key is boat prep, body prep, planning, and more preparation. The sailors will have to take a little more serious approach to taking care of each other and I would consider setting up a buddy system of sorts so one boat doesn't get left way behind the others. I also wouldn't recommend crossing this bit of ocean without some sort of experience.
It's not just a
bit of ocean.
How many beach cat sailors have
some sort of experience
sailing in the Gulf Stream, out of sight of land?
I just hope the organizers will consult George Bellenger, because he IS the expert on making this particular crossing to Cuba and has done it many times.
I hear the
Bay of Pigs
has plenty of boat parking.. just not good access to overthrow a nation....
why not open it up to other types of boats? model it after the annual
regatta del sol
from Tampa to Isla Muheres, Mexioc?
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)
Used to be a big-boat race (monohulls and multihulls) from Tampa to Cuba for years, and they had to discontinue it because of the new, stricter regulations. I haven't heard whether they are going to be able to start doing that race again. Anybody know?
As I recall, part of the problem with that race was that you are not allowed to spend any U.S. money in Cuba, so they had to have a sponsor to pay for all that in advance somehow. And then there was a dispute about whether that sponsorship was valid.
so, the video makes crossing by H-16 (with powerboat assist) seem almost do-able.
How about spin boats which, by some accounts, are a bit more 'twitchy' in those conditions?
Those waves in the video was not scary. Good preparation, emergency gear and emergency communication should make it safe as long as there are some safety boats around. Having a sensible eye on the weather forcast is the most important.
I can imagine 150 boats participating in this even in a few years. Great adventure.
People cross this patch of ocean in rafts all the time. THey even do it rowing wooden boats and when they make landfall they set everything ablaze.
I dont see how crossing it in a F18, I20 or anything in that size will be so dangerous.
The waves that those H16's were in are nothing that can't be done on a nice, full bow'd N20.
NO NO NO!
this is a big problem... It is simply NOT FAIR to the monohull classes to say... HEY... we beach cats are racing and if we break down... we KNOW you will bail us out and stop your racing to save our butts!.
They have just as much invested in the race as you do... and they have every right to expect the boats racing to be self sufficient!
On the Chesapeake.. the organizer know that the beach cats are self righting... carry tow boat contact info and DO NOT EXPECT a bailout from a racer! They know that if there is an emergency that is life threatening, the cat sailor will hail Pan on the radio on 16 ... otherwise... the mono's should keep on going ..
Sailors who pirate a distance race give the organizer's real heartburn.... both catamaran and monohull OA's.
For this race... I would expect the OA will have the right amount of crash boats and experience requirements for the race. ... so.. work on that resume and save some cash for the safety boat that will be needed! (oh.. and your spanish... !)
If you can't handle your own safety and are not experienced with this type of distance racing, you shouldn't sign up for it.
I used to pirate the Santabarbara to King Harbor Race (130 miles) and would get chastized by the race ORCA organizer often. It was fun to fly past all the F boats with the chute up.
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.
My point was how do you get to it, hence the comment about the concrete sea wall that surrounds it. Could be a long line at a single ramp, sharing what ever beachwheels that are provided. Inquiring minds and all that . . .
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.
Hobie 16 cant enter this race, its for 18 to 22 foot beachcats with spinnakers.
Coral Pink leisure suits, wide lapels and dark glasses. Hmmm.
Cuba rejects OAS invitation.... I guess they are not finished with the Human Righs violations and exploitation of the citizenry.
Have any of you actually contacted the organizers? It looks like they have done a lot of homework and planning.
It seems that rather than guessing about a lot of the parameters, it might be smart for y'all to be talking directly to the guy in charge.
I see much speculation but few facts here.
Just my observations:
That 95 miles can be a piece of cake or a malestrom.
There are plenty of beaches in Cuba.
I can't believe there are cat sailors who can't get their boat in without Cat Tracks. 4 guys can schlep a Tornado, 6 makes it easy. Maybe that's why all my old T buddies have bad backs now.
Anyway, lots of interesting talk here. I hope it happens.
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.
This thing is just cool... Lets not talk it to death before it even gets formed. Those of us interested will figure out a group safety system, likely some chase boats will be needed somehow. A few day shiftable weather window should be considered. Anyone interested should seriously consider sailing the Everglades challenge, Hogsbreath, Tybee, and Steeplechase before then, assuming they haven't before, just to get warmed up. But man, this race looks like it has it all.
Or possibly even faster on a tricky narrow bowed F18 😛
Or possibly even faster on a tricky narrow bowed F18 😛
You even used the quintessential Tad tongue, nice.
But your days are numbered.See ya in a week,you F-18 junkie.
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.
That's sorta true but they can't really do anything about it and thats all the Cubans want.
When we did the KW-Cuba race in 1980 I carried $34,000 over in a canvas sack on my J24 to pay for all they hotels and bus tours that we had arranged. US State Dept. and customs knew what we were doing and just said
have a good time
.
The next year when there was really bad weather, the boat carrying the money almost sank on the way over.
That's correct.
The following is from www.righttotraveltocuba.org
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.
Here is a more specific link: http:/
It's interesting to read all the incidents where people have been fined or threatened with jail.
Also interesting to read all the information that you can find by googling:
Michele Geslin and Peter Goldsmith.
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.