http://www.bwsailing.com^23and I found ourselves in the Florida
Keys enjoying the company of several
fellow cruisers. One couple close to
our age, Asheton and Nina, quickly
became our close friends. The topic of
Cuba had been buzzing in the Ameri-
can sailing community since the U.S.
Treasury’s Officer of Foreign Asset
Control (OFAC) started loosening the
requirements for a Cuba travel license.
Asheton and Nina were already plan-
ning to make the trip themselves and
invited us to join them. Just like that,
Cuba became our next destination.
How could we say no?
A month later, we were onboard
Asheton’s 44-foot Reliance, Soulmate,
departing Stock Island to cross the 90
miles that separate the Florida Keys
from Cuba. We had a lively crew of six,
and besides a few strangely lit cargo
ships and the spontaneous excitement
of reeling in a tuna; our passage was
uneventful. By daybreak, the following
morning, the haze of Cuba stretched
across our horizon.
We were greeted at the Cuban
customs dock by a cocker spaniel
puppy, an energetic and less than
intimidating search dog. This was the
first of many signs that Cuba was not
going to be as we had expected. After
being cleared for entry, we motored
through the narrow canals of Marina
Hemingway to our designated spot
along the crumbling seawall (plans are
being implemented to upgrade Marina
Hemingway). As we stepped onto
shore to greet the dock master, it was
obvious that the once thriving marina
had suffered from neglect over the
years. Later, we would discover that
Cuba, as a whole, seemed to exemplify
the same inconsistency—gorgeous,
yet crumbling.
Our 10-day visas would enable us
to explore a good deal of Cuba so, after
settling in, we got to work planning.