Day 373 - In Cuban Waters

Last night was a little more pleasant, and the sea was calmer this morning.

The captain announced that we were about to pass Cuba on our left. Commercial ships were required to stay 25 miles from shore.

Heinz asked the captain what his job was on board as the assistant electrician. He grinned and said it was really just a formality so the ship’s papers would be officially correct.

Ellen and I were sunbathing on the upper deck when the engine suddenly stopped and the electricity went out. The absolute silence in the middle of the sea was actually quite nice, but we were curious about what was happening. All sorts of scenarios went through our heads.

Gregor came up from the engine room and told us they had discovered a leak in the hull. They had turned off all the power as a precaution. That wasn’t exactly encouraging!

The crew worked hard to stop the leak and get the engine running again. When we peeked down the stairs into the engine room, a wave of hot air and the smell of oil and diesel hit us in the face. We could only imagine how much the crew was sweating down there.

After a few hours, the engine started up again. We were saved, and the adventure continued!

Captain Rodriguez was born in Cuba and now lives in Miami. He told us that the Caribe Freeze was an older vessel, originally purchased from the Israelis in 1960 and later converted to transport frozen goods.

None of the ship’s navigational equipment worked during the power outage, so the captain had to figure out how far we had drifted off course. We spotted him outside the wheelhouse, using a sextant to determine our position.Read more