Polite Compromise

Vessel Name: Compromise
Vessel Make/Model: Beneteau/Oceanis 41
Hailing Port: Houston Texas
Crew: Karen and Ron Anderson
About: Married for 44 years. Kids grown and gone. Decided we wanted another adventure (like raising kids wasn't enough) and brag about it. The commodore and I are off on another one of our adventures.
Extra: I was once told that the secret to a successful marriage is polite compromise. I'm still not sure what is so polite about it.
Home Page: Facebook
05 April 2019 | Shelter Bay Marina, Panama
26 January 2019 | Providencia, Colombia
17 October 2018 | Rio Dulce, MAR Marina
29 August 2018 | MAR Marina, Izabel, Guatemala
22 March 2018 | Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL
13 December 2017 | Titusville, FL
28 November 2017 | Anchored just south of Brunswick, GA
08 August 2017 | Portsmouth, VA
19 July 2017 | Oriental, NC
20 April 2017 | Marathon City Marina - Boot Key Harbor
03 March 2017
09 June 2016 | Galveston, TX
01 June 2016 | Pensacola, FL
23 May 2016 | Moving from Key West to Dry Tortugas
16 May 2016 | Marathon City Marina, Boot Key - Marathon, FL
06 May 2016 | Hope Town Harbour, Elbow Cay, Bahamas
16 April 2016 | Hope Town, Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
09 April 2016 | Cherokee Point, Abacos, Bahamas
Recent Blog Posts
05 April 2019 | Shelter Bay Marina, Panama

Hello Panama

26 January 2019 | Providencia, Colombia

Another new stamp in my passport

It's time to move!! We left the Rio in late October, traveling for a while with Kemah friends, Tracie and Steve on "Saga Sea". Once we reached open water, they turned north to Belize and we went south to Honduras. The main areas of the Bay Islands of Honduras are Utilla, Roatan, Guanaja, and Cayos [...]

17 October 2018 | Rio Dulce, MAR Marina

Stuff Happens

There is really only one word to describe the Rio Dulce in August/September… HOT! It is the rainy season so you get wet at least once a day, but overall it is just miserably hot! No breeze to cool off with but you open the hatches anyway. Bugs are out and mosquitos are everywhere.

29 August 2018 | MAR Marina, Izabel, Guatemala

View from the Bow

Summer is racing past! It’s the end of August already and we are starting to make tentative plans for whatever comes next.

12 May 2018

Bienvenido a Rio Dulce Guatemala

We left Key West and motor sailed for three days, arriving in Isla Mujeres Mexico on April 14th. Trying to stay out of the Gulf Stream, we went south to get close to Cuba (about 10-20 miles offshore) and take advantage of a small counter-current. Once we passed Cuba and entered the Yucatan Straits, [...]

22 March 2018 | Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL

Good bye Bahamas

It has been a busy past few months! We left Titusville in early January and moved south, arriving in Fort Lauderdale on the 14th. We stayed just long enough to pick up mail, resupply the galley, take Ron to the dentist, and wait for that all important Weather Window. We pared up with another boat, [...]

I have a Cuba stamp in my passport

05 May 2017
Hola! I now have a Cuban stamp in my passport!

We had a beautiful sail from Key West to Cuba. We moved the boat from Marathon to Key West, left Key West on Monday afternoon, sailed all night, and arrived in Marina Hemingway in Havana, Cuba at about 11:00 am on April 24th. It was an all night sail and it couldn't have gone better. The winds were from the NW 10-20 kts, and seas were 3 to 4 feet. We had our fishing line out and Ron even caught a nice sized 15 lb. black fin tuna.

Within the past year, the government approved tourist travel to resume between Cuba and US. Despite this, travel is not automatic and a little prep work is required for potential visitors. The US Coast Guard has to grant a sailing permit, but only for those that qualify under one of the 12 established reasons to travel (ex. sporting event, family visits, education, etc.). Ron and I asked for a permit under the reason labeled as "people to people" saying that we would write about and share our experiences from the trip. We were given a permit for two weeks with specific dates of travel and instructed that we had to return directly to the US after the trip.

In preparation of the trip, we discovered a few notable pieces of information. First, no US credit cards are currently accepted in Cuba. All transactions have to be done in cash. US dollars can be exchanged at the marina for Cuban "Convertible Units of Currency" i.e. CUCs. The exchange rate for US dollars is 1 to 1, but there is a 3 pct exchange fee and 10 pct exchange tax, making $1.00 USD = $0.87 CUC. So plan ahead!! On the island, Wifi is very limited. Our phones were pretty much useless. Our solution was to buy wifi cards at the hotel on the marina property, $1.50 CUC per hour and we could log onto our laptops at any hotel or shop that offered wifi.

When approaching Havana, we raised our yellow "quarantine" flag and advised the harbor master of our arrival. The channel into Marina Hemingway was well marked so we had no problem finding the customs dock. The medical doctor, immigration officers, and health inspector were waiting for us. Most of them spoke English very well and the process went smoothly. Once we were cleared, we lowered our Q flag and raised a Cuban flag on the starboard halyard. Of course my Texas flag was on the port halyard (only slightly lower!). There were lots of boats from other countries, and even some from the US. HOWEVER, Compromise was the only boat we saw from Texas. Yee Haw!

The harbor master led us to our boat slip. The slip was right next to the shoreline break water so we had terrific sunset views! The cost to dock our boat was $0.70 CUCs per foot, with extra charges for water and electricity. The marina is old but seemed to be well maintained. It was built in 1957 and has room for about 400 boats.

From the marina, it is approximately 9 to 10 miles to Havana. To get around there are buses, government taxis, and Maquinas (antique US automobiles). I loved those old cars and took waaaay to many photos of them! They are a little more expensive than the government taxis, but much more fun! Ron was obsessed with them and would miss out on seeing the sights because he was too busy looking at the cars! The drivers are all proud of their cars, even though most do not have their original engines!

For our trip to Cuba we arranged to buddy sail with another boat "Island Time" with Mike Wirsing and Ann Kirkmyer. This turned out to be a great idea and we had the best time together - sharing taxis and planning outings. Our first day was spent getting settled in, exploring the marina, and enjoying a celebratory adult beverage. By the way, Cuban beer is pretty good! Favorites were Cristal and Bucanero.

We spoke to other sailors who had already made this trip. One of the things they advised us was to bring along little "gifts" for locals. The Cuban people make very little money. The government provides for their food, education, and medical needs. Basic needs are met, but no "luxury items or extras" are provided. One man (elementary school teacher) I spoke to said he only brings home $250 pesos a month - and he has two little girls! It was not unusual to be approached by someone with a smile and asked, "do you have something for me?" I took small boxes of crayons, bars of soap, tooth brushes, little toys - and I gave them away whenever I saw the opportunity.

Day two - Walking tour of Old Havana. We hired a Maquina and took off for Old Havana (cost $20.00 CUCs one way). The government has been working to restore the lovely old buildings in this area - and it shows! There is still a lot of work to do, but you can see the progress being made. We stopped at the Capitolo (the capital building) and walked to the Revolucion Museo (Revolution Museum). We did the tour and then migrated to the original Sloppy Joe's restaurant afterwards for Mojitos and Cuban Sandwiches - gotta love this cultural exchange! Spent the rest of the day just wandering the streets of old Havana and taking photos. I especially enjoyed strolling the Malecon, which is the seawall boulevard that has views of the Castillo Morro, a famous fort that guards the entry to Havana harbor.

Day three - All things Ernest Hemingway!!! We started off by hiring another Maquina to take us to Finca Vigia, Hemingway's home in Cuba, where he wrote "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "The Old Man and The Sea". Beautiful place and well worth the visit. His fishing boat, Pilar, is also on display there. Afterwards we visited Cojimar, a nearby fishing village Hemingway liked to use for fishing tournaments. We had lunch at El Terrazo, his favorite restaurant in the area. In a fishing village you must order seafood! Ron ordered octopus and I had the grouper and they were both delicious! Just so you know - almost every dish offered in any restaurant is served with black beans and rice. Vegetables are limited - and you don't readily see beef on any menu. It's mostly seafood, pork, and poultry.

Did I not say this day was all about Hemingway? From Cojimar we went to the Bodeguita del Medio for mojitos! Did you know that Hemingway is also credited for creating the Daquiri? We were headed for the El Floridita, another of his favorite watering holes (and our last planned stop for the day) when we were side tracked by people we met along the way. We ended up at the Buena Vista Social Club and were entertained by the original band who wrote the song "Guantanamera". It was the maestros's 90th birthday. Well, one thing led to another and we bought the band a round of drinks and a good time was had by all!

Day four - Hershey Train Adventure. Hershey Chocolate company built an electric train in Cuba in the early 1900's to ferry workers and supplies from the city out to their sugar cane fields and mills in the country - and it still kinda sorta works! We hired another classic car for the trip to the ferry and crossed over to the train station at Casa Blanca (no joke) only to find out that the train doesn't run on an exact schedule (approximo) and that we had missed it. Not wanting to waste the day, we decided to hike up the hill to see the statue of el Cristo de la Havana (Christ the Redeemer) to get a better view of the harbor, and Castillo Morro.

Day five - Hershey Train Adventure Reboot. This time we were able to catch the train. It's supposed to be a 3.5 hr train ride into the country from Casa Blanca to Matanzas. It was a rickety old train with hard seats and no bathroom facilities. The windows don't all work and every seat was full (there was even a guy who brought cages of small birds along with him). After about an hour and a half we arrived in Hershey, now renamed Camilo Cienfuegos - and were told by the engineer to get off. There was something wrong with the electric lines further down the track - and that the train would not continue. The next train going in either direction would leave the next day! We were able to arrange for a taxi to come and pick us up - and while we waited, we visited with people in the station. One man was asking where we were from. Cuba gets lots of tourists, but only recently has there been a large number of Americans. When we said we were from Texas, he got all excited and did his imitation of a wild west gun slinger! It was pretty funny with our travel partner squaring off with his imaginary guns and the two of them dueling in the rail station. Another man sat next to me and told me he was a teacher and asked if it would be okay for him to practice his English with me. He also wanted to ask me a few questions regarding America, specifically the television and movie business. Seems Cuba was able to pick up television broadcasting over the airwaves from Florida in the 80's and 90's so they could see CBS broadcasts. His question: Was the show "Dallas" based on a true story? Were any of the characters real? And on the movies that are about college or university life, it seems that all the students do is drink and party. Is that typical of American schools? (did he see "Animal House"??) For the life of me, I could not convince him that this was considered entertainment and that these shows were fiction. Dear Lord, I wonder what he thought about "The Dukes of Hazard"?!

Our taxi finally arrived at the Hershey station and took us on to Veradero, a seaside town in the Matanzas province, about 60 miles away. With no hotel reservations, we started trying to find a room at a casa particular. Casa particulars are like a bed and breakfast. They will have a little sign on the gate or doorway with a blue anchor and the house name on it. It was a busy weekend so we had to ask at a dozen different places before we finally found vacancies. Ours, Villa Buganvilia, charged us $40 CUCs for one night, with an extra $5 CUCs each for breakfast. Nothing fancy, but the room was clean, had cold air conditioning, and a good shower! And OMG the coffee was wonderful!

Day six - Veradero. After breakfast, we met up with Mike and Ann and found an "on-off" sightseeing bus to take us around town. We got off at Marina Gaviota to have a look around. It's in a huge 5-star resort area. The marina has over 1,000 slips (which looked mostly empty) and is the largest in Cuba. All very beautiful, but it was not what I was expecting to see when we planned this trip. We finished our sightseeing in time to get to the bus station to catch a bus that would take us back to Havana. Or so we thought...

After about the first 10 miles or so, the bus started over heating. The driver kept pulling over and putting water into the engine, but he was unable to keep the bus moving. We were able to flag down a government taxi - negotiated a fare of $66 CUCs to get us back to Havana, and to Hemingway Marina. It was late in the afternoon when we got back to the boat - and we didn't want to go far for dinner, so we all decided to ride in the dinghy over to a local restaurant, Paladar Laurel, for a meal and an early evening.

Day seven - Getting ready to leave. The whole time we were in Cuba we watched the weather, knowing that we had to plan our return trip to Florida. Our son, Brian, had been sending daily weather updates to our Delorme satellite tracker. Between his updates, and what we could find using wifi at the local hotel, we decided that there would be a good crossing window in 48 hours, Tuesday - May 2nd. So we had one more day of sightseeing left.

I talked Ron into riding our bicycles to Fusterlandia, a nearby area where a Cuban artist, Jose Fuster, covered his house, and the surrounding village with bright ceramic tiles. It looks like a combination of Picaso and Disney and must have taken him years to complete. My poor photos don't do it justice.

Our last item was to stock up on souvenirs (cigars, rum, coffee) and pack up the boat. We gave the required 24 hour notice of departure to the marina authorities. Our sailing buddies met us for one last meal and we planned our return trip. We wanted to cross the straits in daylight hours this time, so that meant leaving before dawn. We pulled out of our slips at 4 am, checked out at the customs dock and headed north to Florida. Another wonderful sail, and we arrived back in Marathon at around 10 pm.

A Coast Guard aircraft started circling our boat when we were only about 30 miles out of Havana. He saw our boat on AIS and began hailing us by name. They asked for the skipper so I was happy to hand the radio off to Ron. They wanted to know if we had been in Cuba, what our planned port of US entry was, and asked for our documentation numbers. This just shows that the USCG is not taking this lightly. We called the Customs Border Patrol number once we anchored in FL, and were advised that Marathon does not allow for check in. We had to take the bus to Key West to get our passports stamped.

We are back in Marathon Harbor - resting a bit, resupplying the pantry, getting some work done on our water maker, and making plans to leave again. In two weeks we will head east to the Bahamas. This retirement living is hard work and not for the timid!!!
Comments
Compromise's Photos - Main
7 Photos
Created 4 March 2016
Deadline run from Sanibel to Marathon via the Florida Bay. Crab pots and all.
11 Photos
Created 21 December 2015
some pic of offshore sunsets and sunrises.
5 Photos
Created 3 December 2015
Sights as we travel along the ditch (GIWW)
19 Photos
Created 17 November 2015
8 Photos
Created 17 November 2015
Photos, Nov 8-11.
11 Photos
Created 11 November 2015
TRip from Galveston to Marathon
5 Photos
Created 9 November 2015
Pictures of sailing in and around the Texas Coast and ICW. Just havin' fun.
14 Photos
Created 6 October 2015

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