The world came to a screeching halt during Nelson Mandela's memorial service at Soccer City in Johannesburg, and it had little to do with an incompetent sign language interpreter. Instead, it occurred when President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro stopped and actually shook hands. Whether they were politically acknowledging to the world or simply just being polite (you know Michele is a stickler for being the bigger person), to many it signaled the potential end of aggression between the two powers.
Mariners, take note. It might be a good time to start thinking of a Cuban cruise. In another related story, Sail World reports that Cuban marinas are working with legislators to make bringing your boat down for an indefinite amount of time less of a hassle, both regulatory and financially. From Sail World:
The most recent Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba, Decree No. 314, article 47 , provides that foreign pleasure vessels will be able to remain in the Cuban territory up to five years, a period that will be able to be prorogued by the marina in which the yacht is docked. Sail-World takes this to mean that, if you sail for six months and go home for six months each year, your yacht could, without extension, stay in Cuba for ten years. Individual marinas can also extend this period.
Under this regulation, if a yacht's owner is absent for an extended period, he or she must sign a contract with the marina to ensure the safekeeping of the boat and the services required.
It is important also to note that this new regulation also eliminates the 5% of the value of the boat that previously the owner had to pay for staying in Cuba more than one year.
We take this as awesome news (and the handshake was pretty cool, too). For years, we've been following along with Wally Moran's cruising to Cuba stories (and his great blog). But we always figured that you'd have to be a Canadian to do it. Now, despite the political situation in the U.S. and the free healthcare they have there, it's just too much to ask to become a Canadian just so you can get a travel hook up. We just...can't.
Let's keep pushing the bill, shaking hands, talkin' about reconciliation, and get our butts to Havana.
