Sailing to Havana

[Bajansailor]

Received an email from a mad Irish pal yesterday, who is setting off from Florida soon, bound for the Eastern Caribbean on a sailing yacht delivery.

Stuart said :
"We've got the boat almost ready to leave the States, but we've left it a bit late to sort out a Cuban visa. Do you know what happens if we just turn up in Havana without a visa?
Will they give us 24/48 hrs, or simply tell us to about face and get to feck outta here?

The weather looks good for leaving here on Monday, the wind will be on the beam, then behind us. So hoping to leave Fort Pierce then"

Will they be allowed to stop in Havana?

Changing tack slightly, I have another pal who is one of 5 crew on a Westerly 33 ketch (fin keel, rather than bilge), setting off from Florida next month bound (eventually) for Antigua by about Christmas, and then places further south (if they are all still on speaking terms with each other by then.....).
Methinks that is going to be one hell of a slog to windward, through the Bahamas and then jumping off from perhaps Turks & Caicos (?) for St Maarten.
All suggestions for pros / cons of a voyage like this (or alternative routes) would be well appreciated.

 

[AndrewB]

EU passport holders don't need a visa for Cuba, or at least they didn't when I went in 2007. You can just show up. Check the latest information on Noonsite.

It doesn't matter if you have come from the US, but in the past the USCG have been known to take quite extreme measures to prevent even foreign yachts for leaving for Cuba. So put Bahamas or Mexico on US departure papers - the Cubans will accept this.

It is essential to call the Havana harbour authorities on VHF when you come within 10 miles. Typically they do not answer at first, but don't think they haven't taken note. Keep calling, and they will reply with instructions within a mile of the entrance. I think it would be most inadvisable to enter without this clearance.

Do not go to the main port - yachts must enter at Hemingway Marina several miles to the east. The entrance to Hemingway Marina is tricky, a narrow gap cut through the reef, and the outer entrance marks are not always there. I would not attempt it at night or in strong northerlies.

Although the welcome is friendly, customs clearance procedures are exhaustive in the extreme.

 

[PhilipH]

We visited Cuba in January and February this year. No visa is required. We arrived at Varadero - easier crossing from Key West than Havana (Hemingway Marina) because of the eastbound current. You have to clear in and clear out at every port you visit. Clearing in at Varadero, and the Marina Darsena Acua was a delight - there is a lovely Canadian woman around a lot of the time, Debbie, and she helps the officials with newly arrived boats. W

We had the officials: Doctor, Veterinary, Agriculture person, Customs, Immigration, Coastguard, and Marina manager. They were all very professional, very polite and given the amount of paperwork, quick. We had been in touch with Jose Escrich, the OCC Port Officer at Marina Hemingway, and he had e-mailed Marina Darsena so they knew we were coming and apparently thought we were very important people … but then we are, aren't we? We moved from the Clearance Dock to a slip (Posn: 23deg07'.85N 81deg17'.96W) and were made very welcome by all the Canadians who were there.

We left Varadero at 0615 for the 70nm to Marina Hemingway. The Coastguard and Marina people were great and had our clearance out papers ready at 0600. We motor-sailed in a light NE wind all the way, passing Havana and arriving at the Clearance Dock at 1630. Then we had the officials: no doctor, vet or agriculture person, but we had a sniffer dog, customs, immigration and coastguard. They inventoried and took away our flares, they wanted to seal up our hand-held VHFs and GPSs and asked for a plastic bag. Then discovering that they had no tape they just tied a knot in the bag. That'll be secure then. Again they were very proper, apart from the Marina guy who gave us a sob-story about his pay and delayed retirement and how some cruisers give him tips - we listened politely and said we would see him in a few days. Nada.

There are guys around the marina with cars who will act as taxi drivers and we took up with Jorge who drove us lots of places, having agreed prices in advance. We loved Cuba - Viva La Revolucion!

 

[jonic]

Havana

Totally bonkers but loved it.

The boat will be very well searched and any interesting meat, fruit and veg etc may be "confiscated" by the ministry of agriculture.

Marina manager/police/navy/customs/emigration will probably want a "souvenir" from the boat. 24 cokes went down well in our case.

Great place to visit by yacht if you want something out of the ordinary.

AFAIK visa not required for EU citizens.

 

[AndrewB]

Changing tack slightly, I have another pal who is one of 5 crew on a Westerly 33 ketch (fin keel, rather than bilge), setting off from Florida next month bound (eventually) for Antigua by about Christmas, and then places further south (if they are all still on speaking terms with each other by then.....).
Methinks that is going to be one hell of a slog to windward, through the Bahamas and then jumping off from perhaps Turks & Caicos (?) for St Maarten.
All suggestions for pros / cons of a voyage like this (or alternative routes) would be well appreciated.

Yes, this is one tough slog, with a lot of motoring. Many yachts planning on reaching the Virgins give up at Georgetown at the south end of the Exumas, known as "Chicken City" for that reason. Thereafter the jump is to Luperon in Dominican Republic, east along the difficult northern coast of DR, down through Mona Channel, and around the south of Puerto Rico, where it gets a lot easier.

In theory the better sailing route is to start off by going north-east until north of the trade wind belt somewhere around 27N, then east in generally light and variable winds until out as far east as the longitude of Bermuda, turn south for Antigua, about 2000 miles in total.

October would be somewhat risky for this passage as it still the hurricane season. Best leave it until mid-November.

 

[TQA]

Changing tack slightly, I have another pal who is one of 5 crew on a Westerly 33 ketch (fin keel, rather than bilge), setting off from Florida next month bound (eventually) for Antigua by about Christmas, and then places further south (if they are all still on speaking terms with each other by then.....).
Methinks that is going to be one hell of a slog to windward, through the Bahamas and then jumping off from perhaps Turks & Caicos (?) for St Maarten.
All suggestions for pros / cons of a voyage like this (or alternative routes) would be well appreciated.

They need " A gentlemans guide to passages south " by Bruce Van Sant.

The bible for this trip.

IMHO I would choose the Bahamas T&C DR PR route in a boat that size.

 

[Bajansailor]

Thank you gentlemen for all the useful info above.
I have sent links to this thread to both pals mentioned, and they are taking note......

Although I received an email from Stuart today saying that the owner of the boat had not send funds to the haul out yard for the boat's stay there - and as they operate on 'no cash, no splash', they wont be hitting the water until the bill is paid. So it might be a wee while before they depart, bound for Havana.
I hope that both vessels will be equipped with Bruce's guide.

TNX Andrew for the info re Chicken City - I hope that if the Westerly folk do visit here, it is just a brief sojourn.....
Any which way, it is going to be a slog east and south for both boats - but they are well aware of this, and looking forward to having a bash (literally! )

The Westerly folk are planning on leaving at the end of October, hence more likely they will be setting off perhaps a week later, which is certainly better re hurrycanes (we had Tomas here on the 31st Oct two years ago).