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Update #16 – July, 2005 Hello everybody, Hope this finds you all well and enjoying the summer, whether you are boating or spending your summer on terra firma. In our last update, we said we would try to send in our updates more regularly, to avoid lengthy stories. However, not much has happened in the last seven months, so we don't have a lot of news to share. On December 20th, we got news our good friends Bill and Barb would be arriving the morning of the 24th. We were very excited, went out to greet them at the airport, and spent two wonderful weeks with them. We had lots of laughs and good times, and were very sorry when they had to leave. They were on their way to South Africa to oversee the launching of their brand new catamaran “Babsea”, which finally happened after many delays. We hope to see them arrive here at Marina Darsena sometime later this year.
The marina was very quiet this year, due to travel restrictions the U.S. has imposed on boats leaving Florida for Cuba. However, as we explained in our last update, this applies only to U.S. registered boats. All foreign flagged vessels are free to enter Cuban waters without U.S. imposed restrictions (see end of this update for more information). Although quiet, we did get to meet some new friends, and revisit old friends. We missed having Al and Sharon from Fort McMurray join us this year, as they opted to have a look at Mexico instead. Mike and Shelley from Kenora were here again this year, and we did have quite a few friends flying down for winter holidays, so we had many visitors to the marina and our dock. Marianna Brochu and Gary Fuhr arrived from Fort McMurray – they both worked at Suncor when we were there. They were staying at the Villa Cuba, met Carlos, and starting talking about Fort McMurray. Carlos mentioned us, and they were stunned we were here, as they hadn’t heard anything about us since we left Fort McMurray in November, 1993. They sent a letter to us, with Carlos, we called them, and we were able to spend quite a bit of time with them, including a big birthday bash Carlos had early in December for Debbie and his youngest son, Daniel. Other friends who “popped in” over the winter were Lori and Jerry from Calgary, Mike and Chris from the Red Deer area, Wayne and Ilona from Stony Plain, and Gus and Joan from Fort McMurray. So we had lots of visitors to help keep us sane (at least we think we are still sane). When Mike and Shelley arrived, they had a very special treat. They had picked up a portable clothes wringer. Just like an old wringer washer, it was two rollers mounted on a board, with a handle. On laundry day, we would clamp it to our bicycle rack and be able to wring out our clothes. Fantastic! On one blusteryday, Debbie washed our sheets from the v-berth (king sized heavy percale material), we wrung them out and they dried in 43 minutes. Yes, 43 minutes. Incredible! March was a busy month. First, Debbie’s passport expired. She got an application from the embassy office in Varadero, filled it out, then we had to go to Havana. We rented a car for 3 days – went to the embassy in Havana the first day, dropped off the application, then the second day we decided to go to Matanzas. There is a warehouse there that sells marine supplies, alcohol, cigarettes, food, etc., to the merchant ships, at reduced costs. Apparently with boat ownership papers and a marina contract, us “little guys” can shop there as well. The theory is great, however the outlet in Matanzas was very poorly stocked, and because we are in the province of Matanzas, cannot shop at the better one in Havana. Before coming home, we decided to check out a park we saw on the map of Matanzas. Ended up lost, and out near the dump. There were three guys standing on a corner, and after we passed them for the third time, one of them pointed us in the right direction. What a hoot! Never did find the park. The third day we returned to Havana to pick up the passport – that is right – just two days to process. But expensive – between the car rental and the cost of the passport ($125.00 U.S.), plus fuel, meals, etc., it turned into a $400 deal. It was nice to get out of the marina, but we were sure exhausted at the end of the three days. Then Debbie’s visa was due to expire in mid-March (Danny’s was still good, as he had returned from Canada in early December, so still had three months on his visa). The agency that gave us the permit for the hard top construction stated if the work was not started before the end of April (6 months after receiving the permit), we would have to pay $50.00 for an extension. So, we thought we would head out for a week in Florida, stock up, then get back so the carpenter would have time to begin the job. One day, Danny went to start the engine, and it wouldn’t turn over. This old boat was not goin’ anywhere. It was decided Debbie would fly to Mexico, in order to renew her visa. We got a good deal from Havantur. She left one morning, in a Havantur van, got to Mexico, transferred to a neat hotel, spent the night, transferred back to the airport, flew to Havana and her ride was waiting to bring her home – all for $320. The morning she was in Cancun, went walking, and found a Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Blockbuster Video and Office Max all within 15 minutes from the hotel – so she shopped! Do you have any idea how much 10 cans of dog food and six boxes of dog treats weigh? Lots! Did get some kleenex, paper towels, a couple of DVD’s we had wanted, the Monopoly games (in Spanish) Luisa and her sister-in-law, Yulisa, wanted, and an optical computer mouse for Danny (Carlos’ older son). Thankfully, there were two men from Havana doing the same visa “run” so she had help lugging her duffel bag around the Cancun airport. In the meantime, Danny had been investigating the engine problem. Wayne from Stony Plain was a heavy duty mechanic supervisor in his working days, so spent three afternoons of his 2 week vacation here helping Danny troubleshoot. The transmission was taken off, Danny slowly eliminated possibilities and it had finally come to the point where he thought he would have to pull the motor. He was in contact American Diesel in Virginia, a company that was the original suppliers of our engine in our boat, and knows these engines inside out, so Danny has someone he could bounce theories off. Because we had difficulty finding a crane to come in and lift the motor, Danny decided to remove the head to see if he could detect the problem. Eureka!! The problem was right there – water in one of the six cylinders. A gasket between the exhaust and the exhaust manifold (which costs $1.37) failed, and fresh water entered the cylinder. So, for the last couple of months, we have been ordering parts, having them sent to friends in Alberta, and then being delivered to us here when our friends were coming for vacation or to work for Sherritt International. A very slow process, but the only courier service here accepts documents only – not packages. We now have all the parts we need, and the engine parts are currently in the re-install “mode”. Jorge (or El Gato which means The Cat), and his partner, Pedrito, have been here a couple of times to lend a hand, and the repair is progressing.
At the beginning of June, Danny’s visa expired, and he took the same excursion to Cancun as Debbie took. However, he went for two nights, as he is not as conditioned as a shopper as Debbie is, and needed an extra day to bring back “stuff”. Debbie was able to draw maps of the area and point out where to find certain stores, saving him time and a lot of walking. In the meantime, Robertico wrote a contract with the marina so he would be allowed to work on our boat, and started the construction of our hardtop. We are very excited about it, although it seems to be taking a very long time. He has a regular job in Cardenas, at the ship repair yard, so he can come only on weekends. Now, during rainy season, many weekends are wet and soggy, so work is not possible. However, he is taking vacation for the month of August, and has assured us it will be finished before the end of next month. In the middle of June, Nut’n’Honey arrived with Jerry and Heather aboard. They left Sarnia Bay Marina in southern Ontario in 2001, and have been travelling the Caribbean since. They have visited about 95% of the islands in the Caribbean, from the Bahamas to Venezuela in their 35 foot Sea Ray. A very nice couple, we have become good friends, and we enjoy spending time with them. They have many stories of their travels and we enjoy hearing about all the “characters” they have met along the way. A bonus for us – they have a motor scooter rental, and Jerry is very accommodating when a quick trip to the bank or market is in order. We are not getting our regular “bicycle exercise”, but in the hot days of summer – who cares! They have also introduced us to the game of dominoes as it is played in South America – very different from the Cuban version, but just as enjoyable.
Many people ask us about missing our families back in Canada. Of course we do, however knowing they have their own lives to live, we do what we can to stay in touch and continue on with what we want to do. Jerry and Heather confirmed this when, one day, they received an e-mail from their son in Sarnia. All it said was “We’re moving, what should we do with your stuff?” He made it short and sweet, and it gave us some encouragement that we are all doing okay. Then there was Hurricane Dennis. Since November, Debbie has been playing “weather girl” and predicting there would be no hurricanes this year. The winter was warmer than normal, (not a good sign in the hurricane belt), but it was so abnormally windy, she felt comfortable with her prediction. Wrong! As of mid-July, we have had five named tropical storms form, a record for this early in the year. When Hurricane Dennis, the fourth storm, set his sights on Cuba, we began to prepare. (Debbie has already eaten crow.) Because of the lack of an engine, taking the boat to a more protected area was not an option. Because Robertico had started the framework on the hardtop, our enclosure no longer enclosed us. Our cockpit was covered with plastic, then a heavy tarp to keep the plastic in place. Unlike most sailboats, when water enters our cockpit, we do not have scuppers to guide the water outside the boat. Instead, it settles under the engine. Not a good prospect when 10” – 12” of rain was forecast. Heavy lines were pulled out of storage, the dock was cleared of anything that could turn into a “missile”, and the marina provided us a room to stash all our stuff. Anyone who has visited can testify we have a lot of stuff on the dock. The idea was to pull the boat between two docks so Danny could adjust lines according to the storm surge. Because it would be impossible to get off and on the boat, and because Lobita is a very proud lady who would not think of doing her “business” on the boat, it was decided Debbie and Lobita would vacate the boat, if necessary. We called our good friend Brett, who works for Sherritt International, and made arrangements to stay with him if need be. A real bonus, as if there was a loss of power and/or water, the Canadian company had back-up plans. The hurricane was forecasted to hit on the evening of July 08th. That morning, we did final preparations, ensuring we had plenty of water stored, everything battened down, then Debbie called Brett to arrange an evacuation. No luck – the Sherritt employees were being evacuated out of their bungalows into hotels. Brett apologized, but Debbie said “No problem Brett – I’ll call Carlos and Luisa and we’ll head over there”. Brett explained this was not a good idea. In the morning he had a meeting with the “powers to be” and was informed if the Bay of Cardenas rose, the military “may” go door to door in Varadero and remove all occupants. Not feeling too excited about moving into a home which may be flooded out, we went to Plan “C”. This involved calling the company Robertico works for, talking to his father, and asking him to pass a message on to Robertico saying Lobita and I wanted to move in with him and his wife. He arrived in early afternoon, picked up Debbie and Lobita, leaving Danny to monitor conditions throughout the storm. It was not pretty. As the wind picked up steadily throughout the afternoon, the noise of the plastic flapping around was enough to drive one to drink. One cannot ever relate to the force of a hurricane until it is experienced first hand. When the storm passed by at about 10:00 p.m., it was a Category 3 storm, and winds on the dock were approximately 185 kilometres an hour (115 mph) – you cannot stand, walk, or even breathe. Before the winds were at their highest, Danny was out adjusting lines, when Jorge appeared. He was here to monitor two other boats he was “babysitting”, while their owners were back in Canada and England. He got on La Vida Dulce, and spent the duration of the storm helping out. It was great to have someone on board who loved every minute – he has been through many hurricanes – it helped to settle nerves. In the meantime, Debbie and Lobita were high and dry in Cardenas, but very worried. Robertico’s sister, two nieces and father had also evacuated to his house, so his wife was very busy with a full house. They spent most of the time outside the back door, in a well protected yard, watching the storm pass. When the first of two huge avocado trees came crashing down, they headed indoors for some rounds of dominoes. As expected, Debbie was very concerned about Danny and the boat, and managed to conjure up all kinds of horror thoughts. They knew when the storm had passed because of the change in wind, so went to bed – but not to sleep. When the second avocado tree crashed down in the middle of the night, everyone was up – except Robertico and his wife – they didn’t hear a thing. It is incredible to think such a major occurrence for us is a run-of the-mill thing for the people who live with this year in and year out. Robertico traveled to the marina early in the morning, and reported back - Danny and the boat were safe and sound. After tears of relief, packing up and giving many thanks, Debbie headed back to the marina. It was incredible to see huge trees uprooted and laying on the ground, but other than that, very little destruction had occurred – the force of the storm devastated more of the inland areas. Another incredible sight was all the people out cleaning up debris, although the wind and rain were still quite evident. It was like the attitude of the people was “just do the job and continue on with life”. Both of us were “shell-shocked” by our experience. Once was enough, and we hope to never experience it again. The boat got very wet. The wind had shifted the plastic, and there was no protection on the port side, so the rain poured it. The bilge pump was on steady for 24 hours, and with Danny’s assistance in bailing the bilge, the water was finally under control. Down below, the force of the wind and humidity caused immense condensation and the whole boat was somewhere between damp and wet. One window had leaked, allowing water to enter the locker for Danny’s clothes – everything was soaked. But, we were alive, well, very tired, and we still had our home. We spent the following week hauling everything off the boat, drying out, and returning to “normal”. Jorge and Pedrito spent a day helping to get the transmission back in place, and the motor back on her mounts. Robertico has been here a couple of times to deliver materials, and will return soon to make progress on finishing the hard top. Belarmino, the painter for the project, has been helping him deliver materials for the project. Because Robertico’s car is a small Lada, when he needs to bring large items, or long pieces for the top, he calls on Belarmino to assist.
So, that’s it for now. It is a very hot summer, and every day we are thankful we invested in air conditioning last year, and Lobita is as well. Because we both have bicycles now, we hope to spend more time together at the beach this year, but have to ensure our priorities stay in place – getting the engine back and running, and finishing the hard top. We have basically run out of dog food, so Debbie cooks rice and stew for Lobita (the stew consisting of ground turkey, potatoes, squash, onion, green pepper and garlic). Danny often claims she eats better than any one else, but we have found a supplier for beef tenderloin, so life is pretty good for the humans as well. A quick word about the garden we started late last year. After enjoying the winter bounty of lettuce, beets, radishes and carrots, the heat has changed our selection of produce. We now have corn, watermelon and squash (the oregano and basil are thriving). There is definitely different growing seasons, and we eagerly await the cooler months when we will be able to have more fresh vegetables and salad stuff. Once again, enjoy your summer, and hopefully we’ll see some of you here this winter. If any one wants information on the U.S. travel restrictions, go to http://dms.dot.gov and search for the Coast Guard “Final Rule” on “Unauthorized Entry Into Cuban Territorial Waters”. In the article from the Federal Register/Vol. 69, No. 130/Thursday, July 08, 2004/Rules and Regulations you will read several times “This rule does not apply to foreign flag vessels”. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of our projects. Although we can think of worst places to be “stuck in”, it will be nice once we are mobile and can get out to enjoy the many anchorages and beautiful waters of our island paradise. Que tengan un buen dia (have a nice day)! Danny,
Debbie y Lobita sailing on La Vida Dulce |
