Day 373 - In Cuban Waters

(Ursula) 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, and commercial ships were required to keep a 25-mile distance from shore.

Heinz asked the captain what his assignment was as the onboard assistant electrician. The captain grinned and replied he shouldn't be concerned; it was only a formality for the ship papers to be officially correct.

Ellen and I were sunbathing on the upper deck when the ship's engine abruptly stopped, and the electricity went out. The sudden absolute calm in the middle of the sea was nice, but I was curious to find out what was happening. A lot of scenarios swirled through my head.

Gregor came up from the engine room and announced they discovered a leak in the hull. They had to turn all power off as a precaution. That wasn't exactly encouraging news!

The crew worked feverishly to stop the leak and get the engine going again. As I peeked down the staircase into the engine room, a wave of hot air and the smell of oil and diesel hit my face. I estimated the crew was losing much sweat down there doing what they were doing.

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

Captain Rodriguez was born in Cuba and lives in Miami. He said the Caribe Freeze was an older vessel, purchased initially from the Israelis in 1960 and converted for transporting frozen goods.

None of the ship's navigational devices worked during the power outage, and the captain needed to determine how much we had drifted off course. I spotted him outside the wheelhouse, aiming a Sextant at the sky to determine our position.Read more