A complete collection of Cuba stories by David Allester and his cruising mate, Eileen Quinn, traveling minstrel of the Caribbean.

Updated Dec. 26, 2011

Welcome to the Cuba Cruising Net, an online magazine. Your host, Rio Communications, is an association of marine journalists dedicated to informing cruisers about the coast of Cuba and examining issues affecting mariners in Cuban waters.  It is a big subject, made bigger by the island nation’s enforced isolation from its closest neighbor. Read the rest.

When those barriers will fall is as uncertain as the ebb and flow of American politics, but fall they must. For now, we aim to establish a baseline against which to measure the rapid development that will follow reproachment betwen the two nations.

To begin with, we plan to report on destinations in Cuba, beyond the amenities of Marina Hemingway so thoroughly described in many boating magazines. We hope to accomplish this through original reporting and by providing a forum to air the experiences of fellow adventurers in the land of “rum, rhumba and revolution.”

Join us as we navigate the political waters as well. Our first challenge was to travel to Cuba regularly to obtain the detailed intelligence you would expect from a first-class cruising guide. As journalists we can go with Cuba, though current rules forbid going by boat. So we rely on reports from adventurous Canadian and European mariners.

We will also post as many photographs as we can get our hands on. We will show what the entrances to Cuba’s harbors and pocket bays look like on approach, and we will photograph Cuba’s people and places. Ultimately we must accomplish two things: We will provide insight to help safely navigate Cuban waters and discuss why you might choose a particular Cuban destination in the first place.

With more than 2,000 miles of coastline, more than 1,400 cays and dozens of bays and inlets, there is much to chose from. Right now, outside the major ports, there are many places to find seclusion and quite a few that are forbidden by the Cuban government. Hopefully the restrictions will be relaxed as time goes by and we will report that to you.

If you are wondering why we at Rio Communications have undertaken this mission, the answer is simple. Like any self-sustaining journalistic enterprise, this is a business, albeit a modest one. We see great things over the horizon, and we are willing to invest time and effort in hope of future earnings. Until then: baby steps.

Come cruise with us, one chunk of Cuba at a time