A midnight private dinner with Fidel Castro by Denis Dextraze
Samuel de Champlain, 52 tons steel trawler
Captain Denis on Samuel de Champlain
Susie Maroney 3 long distance swims to and from Cuba
A midnight private dinner with Fidel Castro
No! Although many video cameras were running, the scene was not footage of a movie like “10” where gorgeous Bo Derek slowly walks out of the ocean after a pleasant and refreshing swim. The woman who painstakingly emerged from the dark sea was not wearing a bright, fancy bikini and layers of Hollywood’s makeup. Her eyes sunken inside her swollen face looked haggard. Her exhausted body was covered with black jellyfish bite marks.
Her name was world renown for winning many Olympic swimming medals and holding numerous records for long distance swimming in various parts of the world like Australia, New Zealand and England. Susie (Susan Jane) Maroney, a marathon swimmer, had just completed on June 1st 1998, a double world record for swimming for the first time without flippers from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to Cabo San Antonio, Cuba and for the longest run in the women category.
She had done the non-stop crossing, a record distance of 122 miles, in 38 hours and 33 minutes. To be protected from the sharks infesting this area, she swam inside a steel cage attached to a powerful 52 tons all steel trawler, Samuel de Champlain, run by my good Canadian friends, Captain Germain Cinq-Mars.
Her name was world renown for winning many Olympic swimming medals and holding numerous records for long distance swimming in various parts of the world like Australia, New Zealand and England. Susie (Susan Jane) Maroney, a marathon swimmer, had just completed on June 1st 1998, a double world record for swimming for the first time without flippers from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to Cabo San Antonio, Cuba and for the longest run in the women category.
She had done the non-stop crossing, a record distance of 122 miles, in 38 hours and 33 minutes. To be protected from the sharks infesting this area, she swam inside a steel cage attached to a powerful 52 tons all steel trawler, Samuel de Champlain, run by my good Canadian friends, Captain Germain Cinq-Mars.
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Susie with a swollen face painstakingly coming ashore
In order to satisfy the rules, the swimmer had to walk in and out of the ocean on her own since the accompanying boat was there just for support and safety.
In the middle of the night, at 05:03 a.m., she slowly staggered from the sea on the beach of Las Tumbas exhausted to the point of delirium. The indignity of her Cuban unwelcome amazed the many reporters and representatives from The Guinness Book of World Records witnessing this historical event. Indeed as reported by CNN: “Maroney reached Las Tumbas after being obliged to swim several extra miles along the coast when Cuban authorities refused to allow her to come ashore at a lighthouse at Cabo de San Antonio and recommended she continue to the beach.”
The witnesses recorded for the world to see the Cuban Coast Guards level of arrogance, stupidity and aggressively towards foreign boaters. That was no surprise to me since I had personally suffered their wrath so many times while in Cuba on my 45 feet ketch, Yacht Aventura. The Coast Guard officer in charge, not knowing what to do with an invader who did not come in the island by regular plane or boat transport, informed Susie that she had illegally set foot in the country. Indeed, she did not have a passport with her. Regardless, according to his strict and inflexible rule, the boat’s captain had to submit the passport of everyone on board the vessel before anybody could disembark. In reaction to the outrage coming from every foreigners present, the ignorant Coast Guard officer made a concession (and I guess did not arrest Susie on the spot) and allowed Sean, Susie’s twin brother, who had accompanied her on her last leg, to swim back to the boat and bring the passports in a sealed pouch. Welcome to Cuba!
I guess that Fidel Castro got wind of this snafu and tried to personally amend for this international incident as you will read later in this chapter.
This exploit superseded a previous record breaking attempt by Susie related to the crocodile shaped island. On May 12, 1997 she had swum the 110 miles distance from Havana to Key West accompanied by an American boat called Reel Lady.
Encouraged by her success from her last long distance swim to Cuba, on September 15, 1999, she made history again by being the first to swim the distance of 98 miles between Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Marea del Portillo, Cuba. Again, Canadian Captain Germain Cinq-Mars and his sponsor, Andre Baillargeon, accompanied her on Samuel de Champlain.
In the middle of the night, at 05:03 a.m., she slowly staggered from the sea on the beach of Las Tumbas exhausted to the point of delirium. The indignity of her Cuban unwelcome amazed the many reporters and representatives from The Guinness Book of World Records witnessing this historical event. Indeed as reported by CNN: “Maroney reached Las Tumbas after being obliged to swim several extra miles along the coast when Cuban authorities refused to allow her to come ashore at a lighthouse at Cabo de San Antonio and recommended she continue to the beach.”
The witnesses recorded for the world to see the Cuban Coast Guards level of arrogance, stupidity and aggressively towards foreign boaters. That was no surprise to me since I had personally suffered their wrath so many times while in Cuba on my 45 feet ketch, Yacht Aventura. The Coast Guard officer in charge, not knowing what to do with an invader who did not come in the island by regular plane or boat transport, informed Susie that she had illegally set foot in the country. Indeed, she did not have a passport with her. Regardless, according to his strict and inflexible rule, the boat’s captain had to submit the passport of everyone on board the vessel before anybody could disembark. In reaction to the outrage coming from every foreigners present, the ignorant Coast Guard officer made a concession (and I guess did not arrest Susie on the spot) and allowed Sean, Susie’s twin brother, who had accompanied her on her last leg, to swim back to the boat and bring the passports in a sealed pouch. Welcome to Cuba!
I guess that Fidel Castro got wind of this snafu and tried to personally amend for this international incident as you will read later in this chapter.
This exploit superseded a previous record breaking attempt by Susie related to the crocodile shaped island. On May 12, 1997 she had swum the 110 miles distance from Havana to Key West accompanied by an American boat called Reel Lady.
Encouraged by her success from her last long distance swim to Cuba, on September 15, 1999, she made history again by being the first to swim the distance of 98 miles between Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Marea del Portillo, Cuba. Again, Canadian Captain Germain Cinq-Mars and his sponsor, Andre Baillargeon, accompanied her on Samuel de Champlain.
Susie staggering out of the sea with help from her twin brother Sean
This time, her exploit was highly publicized nationally by the Cuban authorities. Indeed, the welcoming party was not from an ignorant and obscure Coast Guard officer but from Cuban officials well aware of the mission. After the usual formalities, they drove them to Santiago where an official reception was organized along with a city tour and a visit of a cigar factory. An exception to the rule permitted Susie to take of few forbidden pictures of the cigar rollers at work.
After a night’s rest at the hotel offered by the State, the group was ushered to the airport and boarded a Cubana flight bound for Havana where they were registered at one of the best modern hotel in Havana, the Melia Havana in Miramar. After a day’s rest in this luxury hotel and a tour of Havana where Susie was recognized for having been seen on national television, a call came in advising the group that two limousines would come and pick them up for a destination unknown so far. To the guests’ great surprise, they were driven to Plaza del la Revolucion where a large crowd of Cuban athletes and many dignitaries including Fidel Castro were awaiting them to present Susie with three trophies, one for each swimming event that she had participated in Cuba.. In his speech, Fidel Castro labelled Susie with the title of “Heroin of the world of sport”. This special reception had been organized in honor of Susie’s exploits in Cuba. Time went by really quickly since Susie and her group had the opportunity to embrace and shake hands with the “crème de la crème” of many sporting discipline in Cuba.
After a night’s rest at the hotel offered by the State, the group was ushered to the airport and boarded a Cubana flight bound for Havana where they were registered at one of the best modern hotel in Havana, the Melia Havana in Miramar. After a day’s rest in this luxury hotel and a tour of Havana where Susie was recognized for having been seen on national television, a call came in advising the group that two limousines would come and pick them up for a destination unknown so far. To the guests’ great surprise, they were driven to Plaza del la Revolucion where a large crowd of Cuban athletes and many dignitaries including Fidel Castro were awaiting them to present Susie with three trophies, one for each swimming event that she had participated in Cuba.. In his speech, Fidel Castro labelled Susie with the title of “Heroin of the world of sport”. This special reception had been organized in honor of Susie’s exploits in Cuba. Time went by really quickly since Susie and her group had the opportunity to embrace and shake hands with the “crème de la crème” of many sporting discipline in Cuba.
Susie Maroney being honored by Fidel Castro at Plaza de la Revolucion
Around nine o’clock in the evening, a military officer invited them to follow him. He went to the elevator room and pressed the number 14 which was the top floor of the building. When the door finally opened, to everybody’s surprise and amazement, Fidel Castro was standing just outside welcoming them. They had just stepped into the “sacro saint des saints”, Fidel’s office and private reception room.
It was interesting that none of the guests were searched but the cameras had to be left behind. I am sure that the elevator cage is just a big scanner.
After the usual introduction where Fidel never extended a hand, a precaution which was probably the result surviving more than seventy failed assassination attempts, a military attaché directed every guest to his or hers prearranged seating. On one side of the table Susie and her boyfriend were facing her mother, Pauline, and Susie’s twin brother, Sean, on the other side. Fidel sat at the far end facing Andre Baillargeon at the other end.
On Fidel’s order, a cook dressed in an all white uniform and a chef’s hat came out of nowhere and formally announced in a high pitch voice an elaborate menu fit for a king. During the whole five hour session, Fidel did most of the talking. He talked so much that the time between each course had to be stretched. He seemed to be particularly fond of grapefruits served as appetizers. It was noticed that the big fruits had been chopped at the top. It might have been a precaution taken by the taster. Fidel was talking so much between each bite that it took him forever to finish his fruit. Once he finished the first one, he politely asked permission to order another one which, of course, was granted to everyone’s dismay.
The conversation covered many subjects of interest. It was sometimes hard to follow him because, while he spoke in a fast pace Spanish, the English translator with an accent was trying to keep pace. Therefore, this cacophony made the interpretation difficult at time. He was particularly avid of detailed information about the cost of living outside of Cuba. For example, he asked Pauline, who was the official speaker for the group, what did rent, electricity, milk and butter cost in Australia? His thank you remark surprised everybody for its candidness. He said that he appreciated getting the answer from the source because if he asked his people, he would never get a straight answer!
Naturally, the conversation eventually evolved around sporting events and swimming in general. Andre Baillargeon ventured telling the Generalismo that it was possible to swim from Venezuela to Cuba by island hopping relatively short swimming distances through the Caribbean chain of islands. That comment got Fidel’s huge black eyebrows way up his forehead in disbelief. He raised his middle finger up in the air as if he is calling for a waiter and asked for a chart of the Caribbean. Within a few minutes, someone came out of the mysterious walls delivering the chart. He put the chart on his knees and started studying it. When he challenged Andre for a distance between two major islands being too long to swim, Andre named a very small uninhabited rock which could be a stop in between and he got up to get close to him and show him on the map. While he was crouching with his head down to point the spot on the map resting on Fidel’s knees, he soon noticed four spit polished black boots had appeared on the floor just beside him. To Andre’s relief, Fidel waved away the two body guards that had suddenly emerged out of nowhere. Like ghosts living in the walls, they vanished as silently as they had appeared.
From instinct, Pauline, who was the organizer and the business person behind this team, had prepared a gift of typical Australian origin to be given under certain circumstances. Therefore, she presented Fidel with a beautiful aborigine sculpture which he meticulously examined and cautiously carried to a mandrel where other precious gifts were exhibited. In return, Fidel asked what they would like. Andre could answer that question. Puros (Cuban cigars). Again, Fidel raised his big finger and two boxes of Cohiba Esplendidos appeared from the mysterious walls. Fidel had already signed both of them and gave them to Susie and Pauline. Andre would have loved to get one too but he was too reserved and well educated to ask.
It was interesting that none of the guests were searched but the cameras had to be left behind. I am sure that the elevator cage is just a big scanner.
After the usual introduction where Fidel never extended a hand, a precaution which was probably the result surviving more than seventy failed assassination attempts, a military attaché directed every guest to his or hers prearranged seating. On one side of the table Susie and her boyfriend were facing her mother, Pauline, and Susie’s twin brother, Sean, on the other side. Fidel sat at the far end facing Andre Baillargeon at the other end.
On Fidel’s order, a cook dressed in an all white uniform and a chef’s hat came out of nowhere and formally announced in a high pitch voice an elaborate menu fit for a king. During the whole five hour session, Fidel did most of the talking. He talked so much that the time between each course had to be stretched. He seemed to be particularly fond of grapefruits served as appetizers. It was noticed that the big fruits had been chopped at the top. It might have been a precaution taken by the taster. Fidel was talking so much between each bite that it took him forever to finish his fruit. Once he finished the first one, he politely asked permission to order another one which, of course, was granted to everyone’s dismay.
The conversation covered many subjects of interest. It was sometimes hard to follow him because, while he spoke in a fast pace Spanish, the English translator with an accent was trying to keep pace. Therefore, this cacophony made the interpretation difficult at time. He was particularly avid of detailed information about the cost of living outside of Cuba. For example, he asked Pauline, who was the official speaker for the group, what did rent, electricity, milk and butter cost in Australia? His thank you remark surprised everybody for its candidness. He said that he appreciated getting the answer from the source because if he asked his people, he would never get a straight answer!
Naturally, the conversation eventually evolved around sporting events and swimming in general. Andre Baillargeon ventured telling the Generalismo that it was possible to swim from Venezuela to Cuba by island hopping relatively short swimming distances through the Caribbean chain of islands. That comment got Fidel’s huge black eyebrows way up his forehead in disbelief. He raised his middle finger up in the air as if he is calling for a waiter and asked for a chart of the Caribbean. Within a few minutes, someone came out of the mysterious walls delivering the chart. He put the chart on his knees and started studying it. When he challenged Andre for a distance between two major islands being too long to swim, Andre named a very small uninhabited rock which could be a stop in between and he got up to get close to him and show him on the map. While he was crouching with his head down to point the spot on the map resting on Fidel’s knees, he soon noticed four spit polished black boots had appeared on the floor just beside him. To Andre’s relief, Fidel waved away the two body guards that had suddenly emerged out of nowhere. Like ghosts living in the walls, they vanished as silently as they had appeared.
From instinct, Pauline, who was the organizer and the business person behind this team, had prepared a gift of typical Australian origin to be given under certain circumstances. Therefore, she presented Fidel with a beautiful aborigine sculpture which he meticulously examined and cautiously carried to a mandrel where other precious gifts were exhibited. In return, Fidel asked what they would like. Andre could answer that question. Puros (Cuban cigars). Again, Fidel raised his big finger and two boxes of Cohiba Esplendidos appeared from the mysterious walls. Fidel had already signed both of them and gave them to Susie and Pauline. Andre would have loved to get one too but he was too reserved and well educated to ask.
Autographed box of Cohiba Esplendido cigars given to Susie Maroney
by Fidel Castro and exhibited at the Australian Natural Maritime Museum
by Fidel Castro and exhibited at the Australian Natural Maritime Museum
Around two o’clock in the morning, Fidel excused himself for being rude at releasing his guest so early… explaining that he had a meeting planned with a Spanish Minister. Before they parted company, an official photographer recorded this special meeting on film.
Faith had it that Samuel de Champlain became a boat which stuck to me like an old flame. Indeed, as many other neighbors in Marina Hemingway, Captain Cinq-Mars used to give me the keys to the boat to do a daily check on the bilge for water infiltration and occasionally start the huge diesel engine. His main concern though was not that Samuel de Champlain would sink at the pier from lack of maintenance but that she would be burglarized by Cubans who knew that she had been left without a caretaker. The main culprits for these robberies were the guards themselves who were not patrolling the piers to protect your property or for your safety but were there only to spy for the Cuban ludicrous system. To compensate for their spying activities, the Cuban system kept a blind eye for the break-ins. This was part of the compensation package which made-up for the ridiculous salary that the Cuban State gave to all their slave workers. The workers even had a special Spanish word for robbing: “Inventing”. It was an expression which very well described their desperate condition where they had to “invent” ways to survive outside the boundary of the controlled and cheap estate machine. To them, “Inventing” did not mean stealing, it meant surviving the system.
As a result of my knowledge of this complicated boat which had, for example, 5 different electrical systems, i.e. 220 and 110 A.C,. 12 and 24 volts D.C. and a separate generator, I ended up being involved in selling it to another Canadian. Much later on, the new owner contacted me in Montreal to deliver her to Miami where he thought she had been sold. When I got to Marina Hemingway where old Samuel was moored, I found a totally different boat. She had been “cubanised”. She had been run as a gold seeking dive boat by a Cuban crew. When they left, they took everything that they could carry. There was nothing left inside anymore. The huge red Mastercraft tool box in the engine room was empty. The galley had an old aluminium pot, three plates and a few spoon left. Empty bunks. I finally accepted the delivery charter but under many conditions. In retrospective, I should have just flown back home on account of all the troubles that I got into to just run the boat across the Strait of Florida. But, this story is for another book which will follow.
My implication as the caretaker for Samuel de Champlain produced other unexpected opportunities. Representatives of Cubanacan Nautica, the national organization in charge of all Cuban marinas, visited me on Aventura in Marina Hemingway to invite me to their head office for a meeting about long distance swimming in the Caribbean. I immediately made a connection for their interest with the late dinner of Susie Maroney and Andre Baillargeon with Castro. Fidel had followed up on the idea of swimming from island to island and passed this idea on to the marketing branch of Cubanacan.
We had numerous meetings where I produced nautical charts with GPS coordinates showing in details the route to take and the swimming distances involved for hopping from island to island from Venezuela to Cuba. I believe that I made a good impression to the group on account of my knowledge of all these islands up and down the chain since it was my cruising ground for many years. The distances were reasonable considering the world records already achieved and I was told that there were Cuban long distance swimmers that might be up to the challenge. The Cuban interest was to make that a world event promoting Cuba as a great supporter of athletic achievements. We had many meetings over a period of three weeks. I proposed to the board a plan to achieve this publicity stunt step by step over a period up to a year with a crescendo triumphal entry into Cuba, the last island of the chain.
Upon proposing my services as the promoter, I was asked to propose a budget. Therefore, I produced an estimate for travel expenses and another for my fees. Although I made sure that my quote was reasonable for my fees compared to what I was used to make as a high tech marketing consultant, it raised eyebrows with the executives of Cubanacan who were used to survive on their meager salary. After a long delay, the executives informed me that they could not find the money for the project. They proposed that I try to raise some private funds. In other words, after working for free this far, I was supposed to spend more free time finding money to pay for my own future income. This is the ridiculous and typical Cuban approaches where the foreigner takes all the risks and ends up with nothing. At least, that experience taught me a lesson on not doing business with Cuba. I would never forget it.
Faith had it that Samuel de Champlain became a boat which stuck to me like an old flame. Indeed, as many other neighbors in Marina Hemingway, Captain Cinq-Mars used to give me the keys to the boat to do a daily check on the bilge for water infiltration and occasionally start the huge diesel engine. His main concern though was not that Samuel de Champlain would sink at the pier from lack of maintenance but that she would be burglarized by Cubans who knew that she had been left without a caretaker. The main culprits for these robberies were the guards themselves who were not patrolling the piers to protect your property or for your safety but were there only to spy for the Cuban ludicrous system. To compensate for their spying activities, the Cuban system kept a blind eye for the break-ins. This was part of the compensation package which made-up for the ridiculous salary that the Cuban State gave to all their slave workers. The workers even had a special Spanish word for robbing: “Inventing”. It was an expression which very well described their desperate condition where they had to “invent” ways to survive outside the boundary of the controlled and cheap estate machine. To them, “Inventing” did not mean stealing, it meant surviving the system.
As a result of my knowledge of this complicated boat which had, for example, 5 different electrical systems, i.e. 220 and 110 A.C,. 12 and 24 volts D.C. and a separate generator, I ended up being involved in selling it to another Canadian. Much later on, the new owner contacted me in Montreal to deliver her to Miami where he thought she had been sold. When I got to Marina Hemingway where old Samuel was moored, I found a totally different boat. She had been “cubanised”. She had been run as a gold seeking dive boat by a Cuban crew. When they left, they took everything that they could carry. There was nothing left inside anymore. The huge red Mastercraft tool box in the engine room was empty. The galley had an old aluminium pot, three plates and a few spoon left. Empty bunks. I finally accepted the delivery charter but under many conditions. In retrospective, I should have just flown back home on account of all the troubles that I got into to just run the boat across the Strait of Florida. But, this story is for another book which will follow.
My implication as the caretaker for Samuel de Champlain produced other unexpected opportunities. Representatives of Cubanacan Nautica, the national organization in charge of all Cuban marinas, visited me on Aventura in Marina Hemingway to invite me to their head office for a meeting about long distance swimming in the Caribbean. I immediately made a connection for their interest with the late dinner of Susie Maroney and Andre Baillargeon with Castro. Fidel had followed up on the idea of swimming from island to island and passed this idea on to the marketing branch of Cubanacan.
We had numerous meetings where I produced nautical charts with GPS coordinates showing in details the route to take and the swimming distances involved for hopping from island to island from Venezuela to Cuba. I believe that I made a good impression to the group on account of my knowledge of all these islands up and down the chain since it was my cruising ground for many years. The distances were reasonable considering the world records already achieved and I was told that there were Cuban long distance swimmers that might be up to the challenge. The Cuban interest was to make that a world event promoting Cuba as a great supporter of athletic achievements. We had many meetings over a period of three weeks. I proposed to the board a plan to achieve this publicity stunt step by step over a period up to a year with a crescendo triumphal entry into Cuba, the last island of the chain.
Upon proposing my services as the promoter, I was asked to propose a budget. Therefore, I produced an estimate for travel expenses and another for my fees. Although I made sure that my quote was reasonable for my fees compared to what I was used to make as a high tech marketing consultant, it raised eyebrows with the executives of Cubanacan who were used to survive on their meager salary. After a long delay, the executives informed me that they could not find the money for the project. They proposed that I try to raise some private funds. In other words, after working for free this far, I was supposed to spend more free time finding money to pay for my own future income. This is the ridiculous and typical Cuban approaches where the foreigner takes all the risks and ends up with nothing. At least, that experience taught me a lesson on not doing business with Cuba. I would never forget it.
