An interview with Karen Angle about the 2018 Conch Republic Cup
by David Schmidt 22 Jan 2018 08:00 PST
January 26, 2018
When it comes to offshore racing, islands are an irresistible destination, especially if there’s an opportunity to spend a night or three onshore and make friends with the locals before racing back home. Such is the case with Florida and Cuba, a U.S. state and a sovereign nation that are separated by some 90 nautical miles of brine and bisected by the powerful Gulf Stream, the later of which adds a significant sailing challenge to the racers while also serving as part of the planet’s cardiovascular system. Layer on top the travel restrictions that the U.S. government has long enforced, and a relatively close island develops the sort of (social) gravity that’s usually reserved for entire continents. Best yet, racers who are participating in this year’s Conch Republic Cup (CRC; January 26-February 3, 2018) are welcome to experience this gravity firsthand whilst also experiencing a culture that (relatively) few Americans have seen.
Some backstory. While anyone who has seen The Godfather Part II has seen a glimpse of Hollywood’s rendition of the fall of the Batista Government on December 31, 1958, the sad reality is that two nearby nations shut down relations for decades, including a near dance with nuclear war in 1962.
What far fewer people understand, however, is that while the island nation was subject to U.S.-enforced economic isolation, sailors raced between the two nations with relative freedom, starting in the 1970s and continuing through 2003, when the U.S. Government reached the limit of their tolerance for this cross-cultural activity.
A 13-year hiatus then ensued until U.S. President Barack H. Obama worked to normalize relations with Cuba. By 2015 the restrictions were eased and, in 2016, the CRC (and other Cuban races) resumed operations.
Not surprisingly, given the elements of government forbiddance and the island nation’s natural gravitas, the race proved popular with racers and locals alike.
Then, in 2017 following the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the United States’ 45th president, tighter travel restrictions were once again enforced, adding a layer of complication for race directors while also scattering clouds of uncertainty about the race’s long-term future.
I caught up with Karen Angle, Executive Director of the CRC, via email, to learn more about this enticing event and how it has been impacted by recent hurricanes and politics.
Can you give us a quick recap of last year’s event—how successful was it, from your perspective?
Last year’s events were a success. We had 275 people on 29 boats from three countries. They visited three cities, Key West, Varadero, and Havana. The U.S. Ambassador to Cuba, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, visited our welcome party at Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba.
The racers enjoyed their time but the weather was challenging. We had light winds on the race to Varadero so few boats finished under sail in the time allotted. We had to call the race to Havana from Varadero due to no wind. The buoy race was postponed and incorporated into the start back to KW due to high winds on the day we had it originally scheduled. The race back to KW was good with consistent winds. We had several Cuban sailboats join us for the race around the buoys.
Overall it was a very successful cultural exchange through sport.
I notice in the press release that the event is billing 2018 as the event’s tenth edition, but I’m guessing that this does not mean ten consecutive years—can you give us the history/backstory here?
Yes, this year is the 10th edition. This being the third consecutive year since the last event in 2003.
The back story is that Commodore Escrich from Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba and Peter Goldsmith from the then Key West Sailing Club-now the Key West Community Sailing Center-started the CRC with a race to and from Marina Darsena in Varadero in 1997.
They did this version of the CRC for two years then, in 1999, they added the long shore race to Havana from Varadero. The race ran this way for the next five years. In 2003 they were shut down due to tightening restrictions.
We started the traditional race route again in 2016 going to Marina Gaviota in Varadero as well as Hemingway. This was continued in 2017 and now we are proud to present the tenth edition with a slight change.
In November, the Trump administration revealed new travel restrictions for Americans interested in visiting Cuba—what does this mean for the event?
Now that the new restrictions have been placed on Cuban travel we have modified the race. It will go directly to Hemingway and not stop in Varadero due to Marina Gaviota being on the restricted entities list.
The new restrictions require us to not have financial transactions with any of the restricted entities identified by the US Department of State. www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/cuba/cubarestrictedlist/275331.htm.
Hurricanes were a major player in southern Florida and the Caribbean last season—did these storms create any unforeseen headaches for you and the other event planners? If so, can you explain?
Unfortunately, the storm season was devastating to several areas this year including the Florida Keys and Cuba.
Key West fared well considering the Lower Keys saw the eye of Hurricane Irma. Cuba also had damage along the North coast East of Havana. However the marinas in Key West and Hemingway did not sustain any significant damage. So we do not anticipate any issues related to the storm season.
In terms of on-the-water competition, have you seen an evolution or change in the kinds of boats and the level of preparation of teams that are entering the CRC from the event’s early years?
The competition on the water continues to be varied. We attract all types of boats and participants. We have our first-time racers to the avid racer. We have monohulls, multihulls and even schooners. The participants consistently come away from this event with a fun competitive spirit, as well as a unique cultural experience.
Have you or the other event organizers taken any steps to “green-up” the event? If so, can you describe these efforts?
We are bronze members of the Sailors for the Seas Clean Regattas program. We have a recycling program in place, and [we] provide reusable water bottles among other things for the participants as an effort to go Green.
Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
We wish to renew the peace, love and friendship that exist between Havana and Key West and are promoted through this event. We are also looking forward to this being the first sailing event of the year to Cuba.