Rescue of Cuban Refugees By The Serenade

[Raxter54]

Not exactly sure how one statistic applies to the other. You don't really think they only covered 3 miles a day? Cuba is 780 miles long. I'm assuming that you picked them up off the southeast end of the island, since the ship tried to disembark them in Jamaica, but since they were trying for Mexico, it would have made more sense to start from the west end of the island. And if they started at the east end, they should have been prepared for at least 10-20 days at sea, since even at 10 miles per day, that's 8 days to clear Cuba. Regardless of where they started, without a basic knowledge of which way the winds blow and which way the currents flow, only leads to a doomed operation. That "boat", even without a sail, should have drifted at least 10-20 miles a day. Heck, even something with the windage of a coconut can drift 3 miles a day.

 

We were coming around the west end of Cuba, heading towards Jamaica. I was told that their "sail" broke and they were mainly drifting for most of their excursion...

[chengkp75]

We were coming around the west end of Cuba, heading towards Jamaica. I was told that their "sail" broke and they were mainly drifting for most of their excursion...

 

Ah, I thought the itinerary went the other way. One reason they probably wanted rescuing was that they could periodically see the coast of Cuba, and realized they were going either no where, or backwards. They should have been drifting west, as I believe the current between Cuba and Jamaica runs east to west to join the Gulf Stream. Anyway, like I've said, I've seen far worse things to be floating in the open ocean on, so these guys were lucky.

[Aquahound]

Ah, I thought the itinerary went the other way. One reason they probably wanted rescuing was that they could periodically see the coast of Cuba, and realized they were going either no where, or backwards. They should have been drifting west, as I believe the current between Cuba and Jamaica runs east to west to join the Gulf Stream. Anyway, like I've said, I've seen far worse things to be floating in the open ocean on, so these guys were lucky.

 

You are correct. It flows east to west in that area. Thing is, it flows fast! Recently, a boat abandoned off the north coast of Jamaica made its way west, around the west coast of Cuba, up into the FL Straits, then east, then up to Miami where it was recovered by SeaTow. Guess how long that journey took? Just under a month. Given the location these migrants were rescued and knowing the typical stories told by migrants, I believe they were underway for a couple days, but no way were they underway for 10.

[504ever]

We, too, watched this rescue from onboard. The Serenade's rescue crew did an absolutely AMAZING job in fairly rough seas. They transferred half the refugees to the rescue boat and brought them to the Serenade, then returned to the make-shift vessel for the rest of the group. We all trust the crew with our lives every time we board a ship. Having seen this rescue, I feel very confident that the crew can and will be able to respond to the emergencies they are trained to handle. And every officer and crew member we talked to responded the same way -- "this is what we are trained to do." Like it's no big deal. Well, lots of us felt like it was a very big deal, and it was a privilege to witness these skilled professionals saving lives.