Today is the end of a chapter of our sailing adventure. It has been exactly 3 months. It would be a lot harder to say good bye to Tom if it wouldn’t be for the full day we have ahead of us. We have been working up to this for several days. I know it is emotional for Tom and Marg and me. The trip has been a dream for Tom and a dream for us….it was great to share it on Sabbatical.
We have been looking forward to the drive to Key West. We haven’t been in a car in more than 3 weeks. We don’t know if we will be sailing tonight or not so there is a lot to do to prepare for leaving for Cuba. Everything went perfectly. The drive was awesome! We stopped in Marathon at our favourite restaurant (Lazy Days) and got into K.W. by 2pm…..by 5 we had cleared the harbour for Cuba.
We sailed overnight the 90 miles to La Habana. It is critical to arrive at a new harbour during daylight. It was a full moon and a beautiful night out on the sea. We were a little tired doing our watch (12-4am) but the adrenalin and excitement kept us awake. We arrived at Hemmingway Marina about 15 miles from Havana (downtown area) around 1 pm and then went through the 2.5 hour check in….. We are really excited to finally be in Cuba. We have talked about coming here for a few years and now that time has come – YEAH!!!!.
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- Key West anchorage
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- Me vegging before we take off for Cuba
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- Pulling anchor in Key West
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- Leaving Key West harbour – Captain Steve at the helm
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- The marker buoy for Key West – the sea is like glass
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- The Sun sets as we leave for Havana
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- Margie practicing her spanish
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- A little rain about 10 miles out (from Cuba)
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- La Habana
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- Steve raises the Cuban flag
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- Happy to be in Cuba
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- Medical, Agriculture, Immigration, harbour master, and a few others come aboard and interview us (very friendly)
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- A little club near the marina – Sunday night live music
