Havana Cup debrief:
‘Overwhelmingly positive’ event says organizer Joe Weatherby
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
As seasoned Key West seafarers, Joe Weatherby and George Bellenger are no strangers to the friendly faces, fine rums, and vintage American automobiles which comprise the cityscape of Havana.
But the pair, who were among the more prominent participants in the recent Havana Cup regatta, have never had a more meaningful visit to the Southernmost City’s island neighbor.
“It just got better and better every day we were there,” said Weatherby, who organized the event with Bellenger, and the latter’s wife, Carla. “The Cubans were past cooperative, and glad to see us. We had dances, music, roasted pigs. But most importantly, we had a boat parade from Marina Hemingway to Havana Harbor, where they said we were the first U.S.-flagged vessels in the water for 50 years.”
Boat captain George Bellenger, who won the initial race to Havana from Key West in his 16-foot Hobie Cat, concurred with his longtime pal.
“I’ve been to Cuba about six times, but this time was by far the best,” Belleger said. “I’ve never seen the kind of person-to-person contact that we had on this trip. The parade was the absolute highlight, but it was all positive, right up to the end.”
The “end” being referenced was the awards ceremony, which took place May 22 at the Turtle Kraals, overlooking the Key West Bight.
Bellenger’s win was recognized, but props were also given to the captains and crews of the four other competitors, who battled strong winds and surf in their history-making quest to take part in the first Havana Challenge race in two decades.
“I felt like a winner twice”, Bellenger said. “Once, when we got to Havana, and then again at the awards, because we all got home safe and sound.
The initial race through the Straits of Florida started with a spirit of friendly competition, but quickly became a battle for survival, both men said. Of the five Hobies that set out from Key West, only three made it the distance.
“We had one boat totaled, and one that was damaged, but picked up by the Salvage Star”, Bellenger said. “And we had one that finished on three pylons.”
The full nautical entourage included spectator and assistance craft, as well as a paraglider with a Cuban and U.S. flag adorned parachute, and stretched 40 to 45 miles over the ocean, Weatherby said.
Another highlight for Bellenger was, surprisingly enough, having his arse handed to him in one of the subsequent Copa De Amistad (Friendship Cup) offshore races, by Cuban boating star De Nino LaGuardia, after being similarly defeated by the man’s father, Vincenta LaGuardia, 15 years ago.
The regatta took place against the backdrop of slowly thawing diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, the latter of which issued the necessary permit for the race. Both Bellenger and Weatherby hope the current trend towards friendship and contact between the two nations, continues.
“We’re not planning the next race just yet,” Weatherby said. “We need to decompress for a while. But we’ll be talking about doing it again for sure. It was such a rich experience for everybody involved that it seems to have picked up a momentum of its own.”
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