Crew Available: Desperate to get to Cuba!

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by billpeerson

stu m,

Do you not think that I expected this thread to come up? Can you read? I was on the receiving end. Now you must believe my story, as I am trying to return for my boat. Did you notice that I do not use a pseudonym as you do to hide my identity as you do?

Do you think a copy of my TWIC card would help?

You chose to include the language ('commandeered') and in doing so, have now inadvertently re-opened the discussion from previous threads. You really have nobody but yourself to blame for that.

I can read and I'm familiar with both versions of the backstory. You could have done yourself a favor and simply stuck to the facts. "I had to leave my boat in Cuba and I'm now trying to get back".

You ask Stu if he can read, but that insinuates that there is only one side to the story. (Hint: There are THREE sides to every story; Yours, Theirs, and the Truth, which frequently lands somewhere in between).

[surf_km55]

Originally Posted by Shrew

.....(Hint: There are THREE sides to every story; Yours, Theirs, and the Truth, which frequently lands somewhere in between).

The Bill/Cuban Pirate saga makes the tale of the sloop John B sound like a pleasure cruise.

Many years ago before I got my own boat, I crewed an ~880 mile passage from San Diego to Cabo. Along the way, we had to trade away our wine/beer for fuel since the owner was too lazy (afraid?) to sail at night. We ran out of water because two of the crew showered up to 2x daily. Then the fridge went down days out from Cabo, ruining all of our remaining beef/chicken/et al...and the owner even laughingly admitted that he'd been having fridge problems even before the passage. I even remember spending nearly a whole day in Bahia Tortugas freediving to clean the hull, so I wouldn't have to be onboard with the others and so that we would enjoy max hull speed for the final leg of the passage. Upon arrival, I couldn't get away from the owner & other crew fast enough.

I am grateful that the trip didn't go full-Dark Side like the Bill/Cuban Pirate saga, while affording me several take-aways for my own future passage-making. #1 take away: Be wary of those with whom you choose to sail and whatever vessel they bring...the longer the passage, the more important the vetting.

[Montanan]

FYI: Breaking News.

The Trump administration on Monday January 11th, 2021, re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” in a move that hits the country with new sanctions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the step, citing in particular Cuba’s continued harboring of U.S. fugitives as well as its support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. the Trump administration has also suggested that Cuba may have been behind or allowed alleged sonic attacks that left dozens of U.S. diplomats in Havana with brain injuries starting in late 2016.


The latest sanctions reinstated by the Trump administration include major restrictions that will bar almost all travel from the U.S. to Cuba, and prohibits travel to Cuba by American citizens or resident nationals, and prohibit the transfer of any money between the two countries, a significant source of income for Cubans who have relatives in the United States.

The U.S. export regulations restrict imports and exports to certain destinations without a U.S. Government authorization (called "license").
Embargoes sanctions (CRIMEA - REGION OF UKRAINE, CUBA, IRAN, NORTH KOREA, SUDAN, and SYRIA) prohibit ALL transactions (including imports and exports) without a license authorization.

[ben2go]

Bill, I think it's time to shake it off and find another boat close to home.

[Nomad57]

Reminds me of a crewing trip I made back in '02, on a 40 ft bendy. I got the crew position from a crew bank, and didn't vet the owner. (I mistakenly assumed that with a forty footer, he knew something about sailing...)


At some point during the trip, I discovered in the aft cabin a certificate tucked into a book on basic sailing to the effect that "Joe Sailor has completed the basic sailing course..." or words to that effect.


Full disclaimer: I was a power boater at that time, with about 27 years of surviving Georgian Bay, with little sailing experience. But this man's seamanship was sorely lacking. He seemed to resent the fact that as a power boater, I knew more about sailing and navigation than he did. (I'm a commercial pilot). While watching him work, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.



We didn't get along. (Mea culpa, in my ignorance, I made an unfortunate comment better left unsaid). When he started exhibiting signs of mental instability, I had to leave the boat. No harm done.


Nomad