April 2016

It’s Wednesday morning here at Marina Hemingway and Brenda and I expect to leave for Florida on Thursday morning.  We were going to clear in in Ft Lauderdale but I learned today that the anchorages in Ft. Lauderdale that we have been using for years have now been cut off due to heavy lobbying by some local residents.  That’s very unfortunate as there aren’t any realistic alternatives there for cruisers unwilling or unable to pay high marina prices.  Anyway, there is a reasonably priced city mooring field in Miami that we’ll use as an alternative to Ft Lauderdale.

Today we’ll focus on getting Pandora ready for the run north and doing a bit of “hanging out” with some friends before we leave.  Tonight we will be getting together for drinks and dinner to say “adios”.  Several of them hope to make it to CT this summer to see us there.  That would be fun.

Yesterday morning I changed the oil in the engine, the second time since leaving Florida back in January and today perhaps I’ll also spend some time polishing the stainless.  And, let me tell you, there is a LOT of stainless on Pandora.   It’s not too hard to get it shiny again but the sheer volume keeps me busy for hours.  And, to keep her looking her best I have to polish everything about once a month.  However, I don’t seem to get to it that often so now she’s really in need of attention.  I spent several hours polishing the other day and only got the radar arch and stainless in the cockpit done.  There’s still plenty to do.  Of course, I’ll have to make time to visit the pool to cool off, perhaps more than one.

I had mentioned that there are some parts of the marina here that are better than others and I received a comment on that post looking for clarification.  The marina is a series of “canals” that parallel each other with concrete bulkheads on either side to tie up to in a “parallel parking” sort of way.  There are four canals with #1 being very close to the the ocean.  There is a hotel between canals #2 and #3 and that area also has some places to eat.  That’s the best part of the marina, with the nicest boats.  Yes, being close to the pool is noisy but it’s definitely the best part of the marina and also has access to WIFI, such as it is.    However, we have been having trouble with the electrical service which has very high voltage of nearly 140v AC.  That’s too high for the tolerances on my system so we have had to go without AC.  As it’s not been too hot it’s not been much of a problem.  However, that limits our ability to cut out the music from the pool and hotel that keeps pounding pretty loud until 10:00 each night.   However, being able to leave Pandora and jump easily into the pool has been fun and worth the noise.

Anyway, we also have to be sure that we have enough CUC to pay our bill.  We did get some more money exchanged yesterday but may not have quite enough and may have to find a way to change a bit more. We had expected to head back to downtown Havana today but as we now plan to leave Thursday, instead of Friday, we have decided to hang around here for the day.  We may be able to change a bit at the hotel or perhaps approach another cruiser who’s not yet planning to leave and do it that way.

One thing for sure, I don’t want to leave Cuba with any extra CUC as there is no way to change it to U.S. once we leave here.

Yesterday we headed downtown to Havana again and did some last minute touring of the city. It was fun and we still enjoyed the sights.

I have mentioned the large amount of construction/building repairs that’s going on and everywhere you turn there is evidence of investment going on.  Rumor has it that the Chinese are behind some of this and that doesn’t surprise me, if that’s the case.

You can see the stunning “after” along with some nearby “before”.And, speaking of “before”, it’s doesn’t seem that long ago when the Soviet Union was such a big deal in Cuba.  This was their embassy, or at least the most visible part of the huge compound.  Of course, what’s a post about Cuba without a few more cars.  This is a really lovely convertible.There are plenty of these funny little taxis.  I don’t think that I’d like to be on a busy roadway in one of these.  The “pilot” wears a helmet but not the passengers.  I wonder if they know something that their customers don’t know?  You think?  Not the safest vehicles on the road.It was fun to see these women dressed in traditional holiday garb.  They pose for tourists in the most popular places.  It looks like they were taking a rest and talking to a window washer.  Or was he a mountain climber?  We have enjoyed visiting various bars in Havana.  Here are a few “shots”, pun intended.  No, we haven’t had drinks in ALL of them.  Can you say “dos Mojitos”?One cannot live on rum alone so we visited a pastry shop.  It was jammed.  Bread here is about $.40CUC per loaf.  Very cheap.  The sweets look better than they taste but are pretty good, never the less.Brenda enjoyed buying some perfume in this place.  The shop was in an old building with some lovely stained glass and an impressive courtyard.We also happened on a funny little gun museum.  It was a single room and featured mostly shotguns from around the world.  A very eclectic mix.  They also had a rifle purportedly owned by Che, the revolutionary and one of Castro’s buds.  There are more photos of him around than of Fidel.We never tired of the views down old streets.Along the way we spied a local “artist” making things out of palm fronds.  We were very impressed with his work.  We have seen plenty of baskets in the Bahamas made from Palm fronds but nothing like this. Amazing work.It’s remarkable what he was able to do with just a few fronds.  This was his “display”.  Amazing.We loved it so much we got another after we had eaten dinner, just so we could watch him make it.Then he made  a grasshopper.  The finished piece.  He won’t get rich on this at $3.00 CUC. Dinner was not as memorable as the location.  It was in an old printing factory or at least decorated to look the part. All and all, a wonderful few days in Havana but we are ready to “get out of Dodge” and back to the good old U.S. of A.

So, one more night in Havana and we are Out’a here!

Flash alert:  I found out that “the place” to change money here in Havana happens to be in the beauty parlor at the marina.   The exchange rate is actually better than at the “official” places.  And the “exchange lady” was a lot better looking. And, I also got my hair cut.  Such is life in Cuba.  A remarkable place.  A remarkable place indeed.

Next post?  If it’s from Cuba, instead of Florida, there will surely be a good story to tell.  Let’s hope not…

It’s Monday morning and I just spoke with Chris Parker on the SSB about the weather for making our way to FL later this week.  Chris told me that we should be fine for a departure most any day this week,  The “flexible schedule” he described didn’t surprise me as the weather in Cuba has been pretty consistent while we have been here.  If I recall, and I’ll admit that it does blend together, we have only had one meaningful cold front to contend with in the nearly two months that we have been cruising here.

That is a tremendous contrast to the weather we have experienced in FL and the Bahamas over the last few years, where cold fronts and contrary winds come through as often as twice a week.   When we were planning our trip to Cuba, Frank Virgintino, who has written quite a few Caribbean cruising guides, had told us that we wouldn’t have to worry much about the weather here as compared to the Bahamas, and he was right.

So, getting back to what Chris told me.  In addition to the question of when to leave (most any time this week) he recommended  two possible strategies.  One option, the fastest, is to head out of Havana and stay in the middle of the Gulf Stream to take full advantage of the favorable current of 2-3kts for nearly the entire run.  And given the fact that we will be underway for nearly 250 miles the current in the stream will give us a significant boost that would put us in Ft Lauderdale perhaps as much as ten hours sooner than if we do not take advantage of the current in the GS.

There is also a meaningful diurnal wind pattern, meaning, in this case, that there is more wind in the late afternoon  when a sea breeze combined with the actual gradient winds kicks in.  And as those winds are from an easterly direction, it could make for some pretty snotty conditions in the stream.

The other option is to head directly for Key West when we leave Hemingway and let the current in the Gulf Stream carry us east.  That option would have us head on a more northerly course and we would exit the Gulf Stream east of Key West and then skirt along between the GS and the reefs off of the Keys.  That approach would make for a more comfortable trip but it would take considerably longer as we would not have the benefit of the Gulf Stream current.  It would also likely involve a lot more motoring and motor-sailing into the wind once we reached the Keys.

Brenda and I have talked about the two options and we are inclined to go for the Gulf Stream assisted option, even if it’s a more uncomfortable, given the faster passage time.  Of course, we can always adjust our run to leave the GS, once we are underway, if we decide it’s just too uncomfortable.

Anyway, it looks like we will be heading north on Wednesday for an arrival in Ft Lauderdale on Thursday or Friday.   Oh yeah, and I did I mention that we are excited about being back in the U.S. of A., the land of UNLIMITED INTERNET?   Here in Cuba, you purchase a “card” with codes, for $2CUC that allow for one hour of internet.  And that connection can either be very SLOW or SORT OF SLOW, depending on where you are.  And, that connectivity is always in the lobby of a government hotel.

Yes, we are pretty excited to be back in the “land of easy” but visiting Cuba and now Havana has been pretty amazing.

I am also looking forward to sailing north to CT with my friends Chris and Dave who will be flying to FL to join me.  Chris and I have sailed together for many years and he’s actually the guy that introduced me and Brenda to sailing way back in Highschool.    That was a LONG time ago.  And, I expect that Brenda will curse his name at some point when we are in the Gulf Stream for “giving me the bug” so many years ago when he took us for a day-sail in his Dad’s 19’ Alberg Typhoon.     When I say “thanks for that, Chris” it means something different than when Brenda utters those same words.   Hmm…

I believe I mentioned yesterday that I had accidentally deleted a number of photos of our visit to the wonderful restaurant that we ate at a few nights ago in Old Havana.  Well, we decided to walk there again yesterday and “retake” the shots.

Here’s a shot of the entrance to Paladar Los Mercaderes complete with one of the guys to “guide you in” and announce your presence to the staff upstairs with the ringing of a bell.  That’s a very nice touch and makes you feel that you have indeed “arrived”. The foyer leads to a lovely rose petal strewn staircase with candles as you make your way upstairs. The dining room is very intimate and appointed with some lovely antiques. This is an amusing sign at the top of the stairs.  The ballerina sort of reinforces the point, I guess. Brenda recounted the experience, and menu, in a recent post.  And, as she is much more of a “foodie” than I am, I’ll leave the description of the “experience” to her.

I have mentioned the wonderful work that has been done to restore many buildings in Cuba and this photo perhaps shows it best with a “before and after”.  Amazing work.Without this sort of attention to detail, lovely work like this would be lost. And, wonderful views wherever you turn.Months ago, when we were planning our trip to Cuba, Brenda happened upon a blog post from an artist that had visited Havana a few years ago about a women who teaches bobbin lace here.  Brenda’s hope/goal was to find this one woman in all of Havana when we got here and amazingly, she did.   I enjoyed the interaction between the “ladies”.  Even though there was a significant language barrier, they clearly shared the language of “fiber”.   Brenda has written about this and it’s worth reading.  BTW, it´s the same post that talked about dinner.

There is a lot of art in Cuba and yesterday we happened upon a lovely little workshop selling woodcut prints. The printing press, in the back of the shop was donated by Unicef, we learned.  We loved this little piece and will hang it aboard Pandora as a reminder of our visit. The crescent shapes represent Cuba and the “people” figures, well they represent the people of Cuba.  Having it aboard Pandora will be a tangible reminder of our wonderful time here in Cuba and the friendly people we have met along the way.So, today we will book a flight for Brenda to get home from Ft Lauderdale next week and then head into Havana to visit the forts that line the harbor.  I look forward to reporting on what will surely be a wonderful day.

I should note that if there are any glaring mistakes, this post was excruciating to get up due to the terrible internet here.    Did I mention that I can´t wait for better connectivity.   I can not even put a question mark at the end of that sentence.  How frustrating….

That´s all for now or I´ll throw the computer.   Argggg….

We are all settled in Marina Hemingway here in Havana for a few days prior to heading back to the States and what a great spot it is. Pandora is tied up adjacent to the hotel and pool, a great place to just hang out and enjoy the moment. However, we really don’t have time to sit around as there is just so much to do in Havana.  And yesterday, we “did” plenty.

Here’s Pandora, tied up right across the street from the pool.She has a nice looking neighbor, a lovely trawler.  I don’t think that the owners are nearby right now as she looks vacant.  Actually, there are plenty of yachts in the marina that appear to be in storage waiting for their owners to return.   Perhaps that’s because staying here is a lot less expensive at about $1/ft than the Keys or southern FL , only 100 miles away where the rates are 3-4x that.  Like so much of Cuba, the marina is “mixed” with some parts very nice and others, well not so nice.  Happily, Pandora is in a very nice section and she should be as I specifically asked to move here yesterday after scoping out the area to find the best spot,  being the “shy guy” that I am.

Yesterday we took a cab the 20 minutes from Marina Hemmingway into old Havana, the home of a remarkable number of beautifully restored buildings.  According to the guidebook, there are more than 1,000 historic buildings that have been meticulously restored to their former glory and how glorious they are.   We had been told that the buildings in Cuba were crumbling and certainly many are but an amazing number have been kept up and are as beautiful as those that you will see in any European city.   Havana, and “old Havana” in particular, has something beautiful to see on every street corner.  And, unlike so many so called “historic districts” people still live and work in these areas and I don’t just mean in T-shirt shops selling stuff to tourists.  These magnificent buildings are still occupied by families, as they have been for hundreds of years, as witnessed by the laundry hanging on many balconies.   And, of course, the constant parade of beautiful old “Detroit iron”. There are lovely public squares, green spaces, surrounded by magnificent buildings, some dating back to the 1500s. I particularly loved this coffee shop doorway.Of course, there are the cars, many in amazingly great condition.  We happened upon several areas that have been claimed by a group of convertibles.  This lineup looks like a car show but they are actually working taxies ready to hire.Everywhere you look, beautiful cars.
How about this beautiful T-bird on its’ way for a tour of the city?They come in every color of the rainbow.  I doubt that any of these left Detroit in the colors that they sport these days. You don’t see many Sunbeams these days either.  Not sure the interior is original.   NOT, for sure but a show stopper. In addition to the cars, everywhere you turn there is something colorful to see and hear.  A group of minstrels paraded through one of the squares, complete with two on stilts.  No missing them, that’s for sure.We went to dinner in a beautiful paladar, a private, family run restaurant.  Unfortunately, I mistakenly deleted those photos.   We’ll have to go back to day to take them again.  Such is the power of computers and clumsy operators, moi, made more so by a bit too much vino.

On the way home to the marina and Pandora we chose a 1952 Chevy convertible with a white interior that blasted it’s way through Havana.  In the balmy “summer” evening air, it was a wonderful  trip.  The driver said that he had never delivered anyone to a “yacht” before and was quite interested in having his car parked near Pandora.  Sorry, but even an i-Phone won’t take good photos in the dark.  I guess you had to be there to appreciate the moment.Earlier in the day we walked through this lovely square where they were setting up for some sort of tour dinner.  The tables looked beautiful in the afternoon light. The entertainment was “angelic” as witnessed by this group of entertainers and like everyone else we have encountered in Cuba, they were very friendly and were happy to pose for a “Kodak moment”.   After dark, the square really came alive.  What a beautiful sight. I asked one of the “party goers” who was attending the dinner and learned that it was a group of architects, members of the American Institute of Architects.   Of all the groups that I might have encountered in Havana, I couldn’t believe it was a group of architects as my Dad was publisher of a magazine in that field for many years.  He passed away two years ago and hardly a day goes by, especially during our tour of Cuba, that I haven’t thought about how much he would have loved to “follow along” with us.

It was a very emotional moment when I thought about how much he would have enjoyed hearing about this serendipitous moment of rubbing elbows with the AIA in Havana, of all places.   For over 7 years I kept this blog for him and my mother, who would read my posts together in the evenings over a glass of wine.

I wrote about this in “why I write this blog” shortly after his passing and I still think about him every time I write a post.   Running into the AIA last night brought back such a flood of memories.

It’s been nearly two months since we cleared into Cuba, after our run from the Bahamas and what a trip it has been.  And now, here in Havana, our last stop in Cuba, we have indeed saved the “best for last”.

Yes, I am looking forward to being home again in CT but as I sit here aboard Pandora in the “historic” marina Hemingway,  I have to say that it’s going to be hard to pry ourselves away from this beautiful city.

In a way, perhaps we’ll never really leave Cuba with so many amazing memories from our visit.

Dad, if you are reading along, and I hope you are, you would have loved this place and this post is for you, as they all are.

Enough nostalgia for now.  Time to get going as there’s just so much to see and Havana beckons.

Just a note to say that we should be in Havana on Friday night and will be able to update with several posts that we have written, both here and on Brenda´s site www.argoknot.com.

We have been here at Cayo Levisa for almost a week waiting for the strong easterlies to abate which should happen tonight.

Lot´s of interesting stuff to update on.  Stay tuned for several much delayed posts.

Don´t forget to check out ¨where in the world is Pandora¨ on the home page for a map with our actual location.

We should be heading north to Ft Lauderdale around mid week after a few days in Havana.

 

It’s the second half of April and after nearly two months in Cuba, I have to admit that my thoughts are beginning to be focused on CT and home.

Getting back to our “land home” for the summer, after months aboard down south is always a nice change of pace and something we look forward to with anticipation.    The idea of UNLIMITED INTERNET is particularly alluring and to be able to take a long shower and not worry about how much water we are using, is seductive in a big way.  And while Pandora’s custom mattress in our cabin is really very comfortable, Brenda and I are definitely looking forward to our “cloud bed”, as Brenda calls it, at home.  Oh yeah, and it will be just wonderful to be able to plan a menu based on what you want to eat verses what’s on board or available locally (not a lot).   As someone from the U.S. once said, “I want what I want, when I want it.”  Yes, sounds like a plan, indeed!

However, getting north and making our way the 1,300 or so miles that separate us from CT is no simple feat and to cover that distance in a reasonable amount of time is yet another kettle of fish.   And finding a weather window that will last a week to head north is not common but it is certainly easier than coming south in the fall with all of the cold fronts pounding the coast.  And, to add additional complications for a long run, I always worry about the wear and tear on the boat and the need to find crew that have the time as well.  As most of my friends are still working, it’s tough for them to take what can sometimes stretch to two weeks to make the trip.  In the last three years, I have found that it goes pretty well and usually takes about a week or so.

As far as crew is concerned, I have been lucky and generally can find a few friends who are willing to make the trip with me.  Perhaps it’s my good nature. “Don’t get to full of yourself Bob, it’s your biscuits”.

As far as getting back to the U.S. , Brenda and I will spend a few days in Havana and then head out for FL.  For sure, Brenda doesn’t “love” overnight sailing but after our nearly three day run from the Bahamas to Cuba and a few overnights here, Brenda seems willing, or at least “resigned” to doing overnights occasionally.  In reality I believe that it’s the “allure” of getting back to her “cloud bed” that makes her willing to “brave the darkness”.  Yes, that’s probably it.

From either Ft Lauderdale or Miami, it’s an easy flight back to CT for Brenda and a convenient (read: cheap airfare) place for my crew to join me.  One way or the other, I will likely be home with Pandora by mid-May or so.   And getting a weather window from Havana and then from FL shouldn’t be too hard as the prevailing winds are from an easterly direction in the south and then from the southwest as we get farther north.  And, as the trip from FL to CT, winds should be generally in our favor.   Well, that’s the theory anyway.   And, from FL to Cape Hatteras, there will be the Gulf Stream giving us a boost so we should be able to make good time for much of the run.

Of course, all of this depends on the almighty weather so only time will tell.   Fortunately, my crew can book their flights at more or less the last minute to meet me in FL so they should be able to avoid a long wait in FL for a window to begin heading north.

So, for now, we are still here in Cayo Levisa, anchored in sheltered waters and waiting for the winds to settle down from the cold front that came through a few days ago.  Even though it’s only about 60 miles from here to Marina Hemingway and Havana, our last stop in Cuba, it might as well be a thousand miles from here with the strong winds that would be on the nose if we were to venture out now.   However, all has not been lost as we have been enjoying the resort, eating in the restaurant and walking on the beaches.

The view from Pandora to the south is magnificent.  If you were to draw mountains that looked like these everyone would think they were fake.  I’ll bet that mountain climbing here will become very popular down the road.They have a very nice restaurant and bar on the beach.   Brenda and I had lunch and read a while yesterday.   It was very tough going, as you can see.Finding some great shells yesterday was good too.   Oh yeah, and an “occasional” mojito didn’t make it any worse.   Such is the life of the weather bound cruiser, tough as it is. “Yeah Bob, sounds horrible.  Just shut up already!”

Ok, ok.  Anyway, the good news is that I spoke with Chris Parker this morning and his report suggests that we can run to Havana on Friday where we will spend a few days prior to heading north to Miami and the good old U.S-of-A.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been great being here in Cuba but the simplicity of “home” and all that it represents is beckoning.  Did I hear someone say “Amazon Prime”?   Yes indeed, it will be great to be home again.  And, when I get there, perhaps I’ll run to the store for “whatever”.