Yachts to Enter Cuban Waters By the Thousands?

Thousands of American yachts could descend on Cuba if United States President Barack Obama authorizes boat travel to the island, which many say is not ready for the yacht influx.

Pleasure cruises from the U.S. to Cuba have virtually halted since former president George W. Bush cracked down on private boat trips in 2004 with an executive order that expanded the government’s authority to stop unauthorized travel out of U.S. ports.

That “is the only impediment today” stopping a mass arrival of American yachts and pleasure cruisers, said Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich, commodore of the Ernest Hemingway International Nautical Club in Havana. “The first year the executive order restricting boat trips is lifted, tens of thousands of vessels could come,” Escrich commented. “But Cuba is not prepared for the large influx and will have to take action to develop its port infrastructure. There are no marinas prepared, there are no shipyards or nautical supply stores.”

He said a mass arrival of US yachts could force the communist island to develop the sector, however. Jose also predicted record-breaking attendance at the next Ernest Hemingway Tournament to be held this May. Named for the Nobel Prize-winning author, who lived in Cuba for two decades, the tournament has been held since 1950.

Since the U.S. and Cuba announced a historic rapprochement last December after more than 50 years of enmity rooted in the Cold War, the White House has eased travel restrictions on 12 categories of visits, including trips for journalism, education, the arts and sports, but not tourism.

Currently, American travelers to Cuba must take chartered “humanitarian” flights, since Washington has barred commercial flights to the island since 1962.

Diaz Escrich said local officials in Key West, Florida, have expressed interest in reestablishing ferry service. The ferry across the Florida Straits was popular with US tourists until it was scrapped in the wake of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

Article By: AFP