10/27/2022
Excitement on Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas yesterday morning. At about sunrise, we heard some hooping and hollering as we enjoyed our morning coffee in the cockpit. We turned toward the fort from our anchored spot and saw a tugboat FULL of people speaking Spanish. Me being the adventurous extrovert in our Take Me There team said, Let's go ashore and meet the Cuban refugees!! Our clients, being like-minded, highly adventurous people beat us to the dinghy.
We made fast friends with one of the National Park Police and he confirmed that 32 people had made the 68 mile journey from Cuba and for 25 hours bailed water from their chugboat in their dream of reaching US soil. We watched (somewhat conspicuously) as National Park Service interviewed them, gave them basic food and hydration, searched them for contraband, processed them, and put them back on a boat headed to Key West where they would continue to be "processed". We learned that in the last 4 weeks since Hurricane Ian devastated our hometown of Punta Gorda, Fl and dessimated much of nearby Pine Island, Sanibel and Captiva, Cubans were also dealing with the aftermath of the storm; causing a dramatic uptick in the number of refugees making this same treacherous journey. We witnessed firsthand the coming ashore of these 28 or so men and 4 women as they touched US soil for the first time. We also experienced both the compassion for human life as well as the sense of duty and obligation to our national security displayed by our Nation Park Service. I am still in the throws of self examination and introspection about this experience. *Special Note: Take Me There Sailing welcomes and invites any and all comments and discussions on this post, but please do not turn this lived experience into a political tirade. We LOVE sharing our experiences.
