Good luck, I think.
Cubans Trying to Reach Florida in Floating Car
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
MIAMI — Two Cubans who tried to sail to Florida in a truck converted to a pontoon boat last year are making another attempt, this time piloting a seagoing 1950s-era Buick with four other adults and five children, relatives said.
Marciel Basanta Lopez (search) and Luis Grass Rodriguez (search), who were sent back to Cuba in July after they failed to reach Florida in a converted 1951 Chevrolet pickup, were at the helm of the newest vehicle-boat conversion, and had set out to sea on Monday, relatives said.
"My uncle is very brave; he is not irresponsible," Eduardo Perez Grass, a nephew of Luis Grass, said in Havana. "There is no danger to the children. The car is very safe."
The Coast Guard (search) refused on Wednesday to confirm the status of the tailfinned car or the origin of photos of it in the water that were broadcast on television Tuesday. U.S. policy prevents the disclosure of information on such cases until they are resolved, such as by sending the participants back to their home countries, Petty Officer Sandra Bartlett said.
Under U.S. immigration (search) policy, Cubans who reach U.S. shores are allowed to stay while those caught at sea are usually returned.
The Miami Herald said the 1959 Buick was nearly halfway to Key West by Tuesday evening. Key West is 90 miles from Havana, but it was not immediately clear where on Cuba the group had set out to sea.
The Buick's doors had been sealed to keep water out and it was powered by its original V-8 motor, said Eduardo Perez Grass, who was among those on the earlier attempt to reach the United States on the floating truck.
He said the others on board were Luis Grass' wife, Isora Hernandez, and their son Angel; Marciel Basanta and his wife, Mirlena, along with their two children; and a family he identified only as Rafael and Nidia and their two children.
Relatives in Cuba told Basanta's cousin, Kiriat Lopez, who lives in Lake Worth, that they knew the men were planning a second escape attempt.
"My cousin isn't crazy. He wants to be free," Lopez told the newspaper. "That's how crazy he is."
In the Havana neighborhood of San Miguel de Padron, Grass' sister said she was awaiting news.
"They are very brave," Valentina Grass told the Herald. "When you are so sure of what you have to do you cannot be afraid."
Last summer, the two men were joined by seven other men, two women and one small child.
The Chevy pickup they used then was kept afloat by empty 55-gallon drums attached to the bottom as pontoons. A propeller attached to the drive shaft pushed it along at about 8 mph.
After the Coast Guard intercepted them about 40 miles off Key West, the pickup was sunk to keep it from becoming a hazard to other vessels.
Everyone returned to Cuba after the modified truck voyage had since applied for permission to immigrate legally to the United States. But Luis Grass and Ariel Diego were the only two people whose requests were being considered by American consular officials here.
Luis Grass couldn't wait, his nephew said.
Although he had that alternative, Luis was desperate," Eduardo Perez Grass said. "They could still tell him 'no' and he didn't want to live in this country. Or perhaps he wouldn't be able to take his wife."
Um...
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