Re: So You Want to go to Cuba, Part 2,
Just sneaking to Cuba....
:-0
It was a dark and stormy night,
out of the shadows a sinister figure whispers
"just sneak across and sneak back--- nobody'll know ----how would they keep track?? they don't have the resources to track US citzens going to havana to have a beer"
I do not think you should listen to the sinister figure;
Eyes on cuba watching recreational yachts visiting? well, no, (maybe), not _specifically_ to watch yachts(maybe)---->
but you might want to consider your crossing a war zone !!!
War zone???
its called a war on drugs....
the tethered areostats based on Cudjoe Key have a 200 mile range radar, tracking low flying aircraft and vessels is their forte !
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/aird ef/seek-00000039.jpg
Key West is homeport to 8 Cutters: 8 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
http://www.uscg.mil/d7/units/grukeywest/units.h tm
and a strong military presence:
http://www.keysdigital.com/~cwcom/cwckw/li nks-mil.html
Eyes on cuba to watch recreational yachts visiting? no, not _specifically_ to watch yachts but to interdict smugglers from Cuba? YOU BET !
( I believe they are mostly concerned with human cargo...)
they don't call it a security zone for nothing!
The USCG does not have the resources to run around harassing every recreational vessel they find on the high seas, but as a recreational boateryou should realize, if you travel through one of those hot spots (crossing a war zone-- the war on drugs) you are more likely to be checked than in a less hot zone, no need to feel picked on unjustly,
Just because you do not get stopped does not mean you have not been tracked:
Vessels are routinely tracked and identified. Remember that plane that flew over in the night? It may remember you !
Sailboats ARE rountinly stopped, now and then random boardings get results--
Read about the S/V Felicity 5 germans and an Indian, claiming vessel to be German registered, (lot of good that did !--- but had FL #'s on hull that were assigned to a different vessel ?? ) --srcoll down to sail boat photos-- Group Key West News