Cayman may join regional marine trade group
(CNS): According to All at Sea Magazine, a regional maritime publication the Cayman Islands could be joining forces with Cuba and Jamaica to form Caribbean Marine Trades Association that would serve as an umbrella organization to promote yachting tourism to the Central and Western Caribbean. Neville Scott from Scotts Marine and the man behind the new Barcadere marina in George Town reportedly met with Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich from Cuba’s and Dale Westin from the Port Authority of Jamaica during the recent Miami International Boat Show to draft a strategy to handle a predicted influx of boats heading south.
With the anticipated lifting of the US.travel ban on Cuba and evidence from the US Coast Guard and Florida vessel registration that there are more than 600,000 boats in Florida alone that are capable of making the 90 mile sea voyage from South Florida to Cuba. The lifting of the restriction would open a floodgate of vessels that would inundate Cuba’s marinas.
The representatives reportedly agree that this would create a new Central Caribbean cruising ground consisting primarily of Cuba, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. The formation of a marine association to promote the area as a new cruising ground. Currently the Eastern Caribbean is the significant yachting destination from the US and British Virgin Islands south to Trinidad and Tobago, plus Puerto Rico, the Bahamas along with Turks and Caicos.
Category: Business
Same reason there are relatively few boats doing the Keys/Marquesas/Tortugas. It beats you to death trying to get back. It’s 90 miles from Brac to Cuba. Not that many people want to do two hard days and an overnight in open water with little or no rescue service available. Some will but it will never be like the Windwards or the Virgins where just about anyone can hop in a boat with a half day of instruction and go cruising.
Chavez oil in Cuba, Jamaica…..ooooh, right- perfect for an oil refinery here- let’s just call it boat tourism!
http://www.cfr.org/economics/venezuelas-oil-based-economy/p12089c
600,000 enslaved yachts (no 60K- typo)….well, THAT makes sense. Of course the boarders of Florida would not be at risk if those boats ere allow to TRAFFIC to Cuba.
Mr. Neville Scott has done a wonderful job on his new Marina and should be congratulated on his attempt to expand the marine cruising market to include Cayman.
Oh YES please. Obama, let our 60,000 yachts go free!
We PROMISE not to fuel up using Chavez’s oil in Havana, no illegal immigrants will come into Florida on the way home….we won’t do any banking in Cayman, only fishing- you have our word….any don’t worry about anything happening in Jamaica like running drugs or rum.
Really, President Obama: open up Miami to your favorite neighbors. We KNOW how much you adore Cuba, Cayman, and Jamaica.
We promise this will be good for the Florida economy and not open the floodgates to Caribbean criminals.
Ha, Ha, Hee, Hee, ho, ho.
I have met Commodore Escrich, he is a nice man and of course he wants this alliance. His office is located at the VERY EMPTY "Hemingway Marina" in Havana and he awaits a thaw with US officials…that is coming soon eh? He has been waiting since his appointment in 1992.
There are 400 slips for boats in that Cuba marina, only 100 are usable and the remainder need repair. There are only (6) mega yacht slips….so please tell me HOW many mega yachts really want to come to Cayman?
This is a wonderful pipe dream and we can see that Scott’s Marine Barcadere has already planned for the mega yachts as the 100ft canal at the GT Barcadere is already finished….that’s right folks. It is a done deal, go look for yourself and tell me we can stop Big Mac’s dredging of the North Sound.
As an avid sailor I’d love to see boats like "The Moorings" and "Sunsail" here….but for twenty years no one has been able to justify the boat traffic. Due to the easy short hops in a day, the Eastern Caribbean has this traffic.
The FACT is that it takes two days fromKey West to Havana, three MORE days to Cayman, and Jamaica is upwind and FOUR rough days from here. (unless you are a drug canoe- they go pretty darn fast)
Miami to Bahamas = HOURS, Puerto Rico to BVI = HOURS to well established easy yachting havens, not miles of open treacherous seas.
http://havanajournal.com/travel/entry/current-status-and-future-of-cuban-marinas/