Florida Couple Wrecked In Cuba

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by cardiacpaul

Exactly how is it the americans fault that Rosa's dad was pulled from his bed, his family tossed into the streets by armed thugs, his business taken over and while I'm at it, nobody but nobody could tell the family if he was alive or dead for the first year of his incarceration.

Wow, substitute "Palestinian" for "Cuban" in the above paragraph, and it sounds like what happened to my high-school girlfriend's dad in 1948.

The current situation in Gaza (another essentially "captive" population), in which the Palestinians make stupid choices in response to Israel's stupid choices, driven themselves in part for the Arab world willingness to use the Palestinians as pawns and proxies.

I think the commonality is that a lot of ordinary people are completely without the control or the choices in their lives that most of us enjoy without a second thought. The American response needs a review. Put thousands of waterproof windup radios and flashlights on rafts and let currents do the rest. Some will get through, and maybe Cubans will start agitating for a Wal Mart...

Also, Cuba's "communism" is a sham. It's a kleptocracy with Fidel at the head, and with most things free except thought. I have no doubt that if America hadn't given Fidel a permanent "enemy" on which to base his looting of his own people, Cuba would have long since experienced "regime change".

It's amazing that some Cubans are well aware of this, and yet prefer permanent rations over the more traditional Batista mob that Fidel replaced, just as there is still a hard core of people in Russia who remember the USSR with fondness and nostalgia.

[hellosailor]

"This is not to say that the embargo makes a lot of sense to me at this point. "
What embargo? There is steady commercial traffic between the US gulf ports and Cuba, sanctioned by the US government. The so-called embargo is mainly on small business and tourism, big business gets around it.

The Cuban people made only one mistake, they believed Castro after his victory when he said "surrender your weapons, you'll never need them again" and he disarmed the entire population. Who had literally just thrown out the trash by the force of their arms.

Cuba: Just one more argument proving how well gun control works. When you are a facist dictator, looking to remain Presidente For Life.

And that is, quite literally, what happened there.

[timebandit]

Excuse me but if you will remember there was this dictator, Batiesta, if I recall.

Cuba at the time was a thriving island and a playground for Americans.

A poor freedom fighter by the name of Castro came to the US and said if you will finance, arm and train my band of merry men we will overturn the dictator and free the people from opression and have free elections.

We did, he did and when he was in power he fliped the US off and said fck you I the president and we are communists.

The people that suffered during the take over and the following years might not be to happy with the US meddling in their afairs.

Just something you might have forgoten.

Originally Posted by Capnblu

The best part of Cuba is the lack of Americans there. Funny how fast the locals can pick out the Americans whom do go there. Wonder how long it will be till the US tries to "free" Cuba? I bet they can hardly wait!

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by Cruisingdad

I referenced the same thing earlier. Have you made that run FSTK? Cam - what do you think... I came up with about 5 hard days to get to Jamaica from Tampa. On a Morgan, probably 6. Am I off? That is just to get there.

- CD

CD...I am with Funsail on this one. Nothing in the article makes sense...the plan, the weather, the reported seas. It might be 6 days to get to Jamaica in no wind and motoring...but they would be hard on the Xmas Trade Winds once they rounded western Cuba and there is no way to make that trip in the time frame given. Either they are totally clueless or something else was afoot.

[Freesail99]

I had asked on this forum, why more cruisers don't go to Jamaica about a year ago. Now I know.

[N0NJY]

A poor freedom fighter by the name of Castro came to the US and said if you will finance, arm and train my band of merry men we will overturn the dictator and free the people from opression and have free elections.

What? Huh?

Castro was neither poor, uneducated nor without means to do what he did by himself. He was from a RICH family and educated and was a LAWYER. He didn't get money from the United States in any of the history I remember reading. In fact, he met and worked with a man named Ernesto Che Guevara in Mexico to plan and execute the attack and coup that eventually led to him being placed in power.

Why was he in Mexico? He was in exile after having been placed in prison in a previous and unsuccessful attack on the Batista government.

Which history books are you reading?

[N0NJY]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

CD...I am with Funsail on this one. Nothing in the article makes sense...the plan, the weather, the reported seas. It might be 6 days to get to Jamaica in no wind and motoring...but they would be hard on the Xmas Trade Winds once they rounded western Cuba and there is no way to make that trip in the time frame given. Either they are totally clueless or something else was afoot.

I'm no where near an expert on this... but I think they were totally clueless.

[hellosailor]

Sounds like the same story you'd hear on any Miami TV station every week. "Illegal aliens found on beach, jailed, deported". So, the Cuban jails ain't as nice as the ones in Miami. So what? Most countries don't have cable TV and 300 thread count sheets in their jails, no big deal. The guy ran into bad weather and a lee shore, if he had fusion power and an Unatainium hull, it still wouldn't help bad timing, bad judgement, or bad seamanship.

We all hope not to be in that position, the rest is a matter of luck and skill.

[Sailormann]

You blame the US for Cubas woes.

Would that the list of America's sins was so brief