Cuban Suprise
03 November 2008 | Somewhere
Scott Trefethen
Well we sailors have all heard of or read about the boat that is making a passage close to Cuba in order to avoid weather on its way to the Virgin Islands or Miami having a close encounters of the Cuban kind. While we never expected to be making this passage we found ourselves motoring up the old Bahama Channel yesterday on our way back to the States. Suddenly a large power vessel came out of the darkness and flooded us with its spotlight. For nearly 15 minutes they paced behind the Omarsea ignoring hails made on channel 16. It reminded me of the scene in Close Encounters where Dryfus is in the truck and everything is lit up and shaking. We managed to keep a cool head and maintain our course and speed while playing wait & see with the vessel. At one point there was a hail in Spanish over channel 16 ,but when we replied in English there was no response. At last I called for a radio check and immediately the spot light went out and the vessel turned and motored away. It is not uncommon to have Cuban patrols this far out harassing boats. We were 24 miles from the Cuban mainland headed NW toward Cay Sal bank when it happened. Needles to say thoughts of Piracy were going through our heads and it was pretty obvious that had it been pirates the spotlight made an effective tool for concealing any activities they might have carried out. Fortunately these waters have not seen pirates in a couple hundred years and all is well that ends well. Fidel I have to hand it to you. If you want foreign sources of income to stay away from Cuba this is a great first step. Someday I hope our two countries can get over our differences and we Gringos can come and have a more pleasant Cuban experience.