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Let’s talk about Sailing in Cuba

Following the issuance of OFAC’s regulatory changes, travel-related transactions with prohibited entities identified by the State Department generally will not be permitted. Guidance will accompany the issuance of the new regulations.It’s #FlotillaFriday! As some of you may already know - Sailors NYC is one of the pioneer companies to offer sailing flotillas in Cuba. So far we got two trips under the keel - the first ALL WOMEN Flotilla (20 women) from Key West to Cuba in November 2016 and a second flotilla Last April. Both flotillas were on boats chartered from Harmony Yacht Vacations - a Key West charter company. 

This coming fall we are having our third Cuba flotilla - this time it’s going to be the South of Cuba - from Cienfuegos towards the Western islands and back. This flotilla already includes 2 fully booked catamarans and a catamaran with last two spots available. 

It was an intense week following President Trump’s speech in Miami on Friday 6/16. After reading through numerous articles and the publication done by the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).     

For those of you who don’t want to read the whole post - Let’s start from the end and from the good news: Sailors NYC’s November 4-11, 2017 South Cuba Flotilla is compliant with all upcoming regulations. Please note that as per the document by the Dept. of Treasury (above) - nothing will change until the new regulations are officially announced (which can take up to 90 days, but much earlier) and that any travel plans made PRIOR to the announcement date of these new regulation - shall not be affected by them.

For those who want to be more educated with the new regulations and their relevance to our trip - please continue reading:

In addition according to the new regulations regarding travel of Americans to Cuba: 

- “Group people-to-people travel is educational travel not involving academic study(...) and such exchanges to promote people-to-people contact. Travelers utilizing this travel authorization must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities that are intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba(...) and that will result in meaningful interaction between the traveler and individuals in Cuba. An employee, consultant, or agent of the group must accompany each group to ensure that each traveler maintains a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities.” Sailors NYC’s flotilla will be lead by Capt. Nitzan Levy - founder of Sailors NYC and Capt. Joy Sherman - founder of Joyride Charters who. The group leaders are in charge of running a full time schedule of activities promoting “people-to-people” between the flotilla participants and local Cubans.

- “The new policy will not change how persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction traveling to Cuba pursuant to the 12 categories of authorized travel may purchase their airline tickets.” This means direct flights from the US to Cuba are still running, and that travelers who would travel with us will simply have to select on their travel affidavit the “Educational exchanges – people to people”. A travel affidavit is being filled up with the airline when purchasing the ticket.

- “Following the issuance of OFAC’s regulatory changes, travel-related transactions with prohibited entities identified by the State Department generally will not be permitted. Guidance will accompany the issuance of the new regulations(...) The forthcoming regulations will be prospective and thus will not affect existing contracts and licenses.“ According to President Trump - Americans won’t be allowed to spend their tourist money in institution owned by the Cuban government or Military such as: hotels, boats, restaurants, car rental etc. Sailors NYC’s Flotilla offers the following activities which are fully compliant with the above:

- Boats are chartered from Dream Yacht Charters which is a French private company.

- We will spend all of our nights on an anchor.

- All transportation will be provided by local private drivers who own their own motor vehicles.

- Sailors NYC is offering land excursions prior and after the week of sail. These excursions are coordinated with a local Cuban Private English speaking tourist guide. All land accommodations will be in Casas Particulares - which are Cuban Bed & Breakfasts owned by Cubans. 

If you are still interested in joining our November trip - this is the time! Don’t miss it! https://www.sailorsnyc.com/cuba-nov-2017 1.800.777.6493.

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NITZAN DOES CUBA

Nitzan Levy loves adventures and is an avid sailor, but she never thought she would embark with a group of women on a sail from Florida to Cuba. A story about an experience that changed all of their lives

Carrie Rubinstien

Yedioth America

12/9/2016

Original article: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4890756,00.html

Who has recently had an opportunity to go on a real adventure? Like sailing the high seas, cruising the most beautiful coastlines and exploring new countries and cultures?

Nitzan Levy, 39, never skips an adventure. For seven and a half years, she has lived in New York City, a city that has always fascinated her: not necessarily because of  its high-rises and busy streets, but because it’s one big island. Levy, a certified captain, arrived in New York, a city surrounded by water, and immediately started to look for the local sailors’ community. When she realized that even if she looked hard she wouldn’t find such a thing, she decided to create her own. “I was seeking a sailing community similar to the community I was part of in Israel, and when I didn’t find it I just established my own club,” Levy said.

The club, Sailors NYC, was founded three years ago. Today it has 40 club members and over 400 Meetup members. “We teach sailing to all levels and offer our members access to sail the club’s boats,” Levy said. “In the winters we are organizing sailing flotillas in the Caribbean and preparing the next sailing season.”

Levy has gathered a group of people who meet on a regular basis, even during the wintertime, for lectures, instructions, meetings and other social activities. “We welcome non-sailors who have a passion for being on the water to join in order to get introduced to sailing and to sailors, and to learn,” she said.

Over a decade ago, Levy went on a trip to Cuba. “I was sitting on the beach when I saw a sailing yacht,” she remembered. “I thought to myself, ‘How amazing would it be to get to Cuba from the sea?’ and I made up my mind to come back on a sailboat.”

Cuba is one of the most exotic, colorful and intriguing destinations being revealed to the world in the last few years. In spite of its strict Communist government, which limits the locals’ lives, it has pastoral views, turquoise beaches and a rich culture. The floodgates from the United States to Cuba opened up last year, and the Israeli captain’s idea started to become feasible. “I announced a flotilla from Key West to Cuba and quickly got 15 people to sign up -- all women,” Levy said. She did not initially think it would be a women-only trip, but when she realized the enthusiasm of the women, she saw an opportunity. “I decided to make this whole flotilla a women-only journey.”

This meant changing her plans. “I let go of the male skippers who I initially contacted, and recruited female skippers,” she said, and 20 women sailed on board three yachts as part of a six-boat “Wind of Change” rally organized by Harmony Yacht Vacations in Key West.

Three weeks before the journey started, while all the women were immersed in preparations for the trip, Hurricane Matthew hit the eastern coast of Cuba. The hurricane, the strongest to hit Cuba since 2007, had taken a hard toll on people’s lives in the eastern part of the country. The women then decided to start collecting donations and provisions that could help out the Cuban people. “We realized it wasn’t an easy task,” says Levy, “but we didn’t give up. We each reached out to synagogues, churches and communities and collected things we learned were highly in demand, such as office supplies, T-shirts, shoes, USB drives.”

The women did not worry about another hurricane even though the flotilla was planned for the tail of the hurricane season, and they all got insurance in case something went wrong. “The main concern of all was the sail itself --  which for many women was the first time to do such a crossing and the fact we were planning to do it overnight.”

A few weeks back they embarked from Key West bound for Varadero, Cuba, then on to Havana and back to Key West. Most of the women did not have offshore sailing experience;  however, each captain instructed her crew, and delegated responsibilities to the crew so that every woman did something and took an active part in the sail.

“We sailed 15-hour legs  between the destinations and sailed most of the time overnight,” Levy said. “We assigned two to three women for every four-hour shift. Most of the sail is on an autopilot, so the main responsibility is to make sure that there are no other vessels on a collision course with us.”

Levy describes the arrival at a new coast, a country and whole new world as a Columbus-like experience. “Cuba is an exquisite country,” she said. “It’s not a poor country. The people may not have great financial means, but they are not poor. The government provides them with food, health insurance, education and jobs. In fact, Cuba has the highest average of high school graduates. Having said that, the salaries are the equivalent of $25 a month and the citizens are not allowed to leave the country. It’s like living in a cage.”

The Cubans were very excited to hear about the arrival of the women and their contributions to the community. The local TV reported their arrival and people everywhere mentioned that they heard of the sailors.

Every place they went to they passed along the donations and visited restaurants, bars and famous architectural landmarks, from the plazas to El Capitolio. Being surrounded by women only added more meaningful layers to the journey.

“It was funny, emotional and yet empowering in a way only women could bring each other towards,” Levy said. “Definitely a life-changing experience. Each of us brought something from her own life experience and shared it with the others. Sisterhood contains and helps channel those energies towards those who need them. We had younger and older women, singles, married, divorced, with or without kids,  each in a different life phase, and they all got to share as well as be there for each other.”

“Cuba is going through a great change. You can feel that. In my previous visit there the only marina in Varadero was very old and neglected and the sewage was running through the streets of Old Havana. It seems that since then the Cubans have realized the economic power of tourism and a lot of improvements were already implemented and new facilities were built. I believe that now that Fidel Castro has died a lot of things will change even more, so this is the right time to see how it is before it changes completely. It is even more exciting to do it through the sea. It is a very fulfilling experience.”

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The Wind of Change for NY Recreational Sailors - Capt. Nitzan Levy

The New York Harbor Sailing community is in turmoil. Mike Fortenbaugh, the founder of the Manhattan Sailing Club, is about to loose his lease at the North Cove Marina after 10 years.

I have a lot of respect for Mike's vision and what he's accomplished. His entrepreneurship in sailing, that began almost 30 years ago, provided a strong foundation for recreational sailing in New York City.  The city is an island surrounded by water and this natural resource should be open to everyone for recreation.

However, Fortenbaugh's work is only the beginning. The people of NYC at large and specifically the members of the sailing community -- individuals, nonprofits and for-profit companies -- have more work to do. Today, there are only three recreational boating marinas in New York City: The 79th Boat Basin, where the waiting list for getting a slip assignment in about 10 years, Chelsea Piers, which is occupied mainly by large powerboats and offers limited slips for seasonal dockage and the North Cove Marina. The latter, under Fortenbaugh's management, has become a very attractive spot due to its location at the heart of the renewed and developing World Trade Center, its proximity to Battery Park City, as well as its vicinity to New York Harbor's Governors, Ellis and Liberty Islands.

New York City's recreational boating community needs affordable access to a host of marinas. However, at the North Cove Marina Mr. Fortenbaugh banned many members of the recreational sailing community. The marina is primarily occupied by the Manhattan Sailing School/Club vessels and facilities, with the remaining slips available to mega-yachts paying mega rent for a short term dockage. Private boat owners who are not members of the Manhattan Sailing Club cannot dock in the marina or even pick-up and drop-off their guests, a paid service offered by most marinas around the world. Sailing businesses and small charter companies or other clubs, such as Sailors NYC, are also out of the game, leaving thousands of people deprived from easy access to the NY Harbor waters.

Taking the control of North Cove Marina out of the hands of one person will be an opportunity to introduce many more people to other sailing activities if other sailing business are allowed at the marina. Most marinas I've visited around the world offer different options for different sailors with different needs and budgets. It is my hope that the new operator of the North Cove Marina will open its gates to more recreational boating businesses and that they will set a model for future marinas to open in the New York Harbor.

Captain Nitzan Levy is the co-founder and CEO of Sailors NYC - a sailing club and school operating out of Pier 25 .

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Great day for #sailing !!! #seeyouatsea #sailorsnyc

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And there goes the 2nd #outdoorfestnyc #sailorsnyc #sail #clymbhigh #sailfast #seeyouatsea #sailorsnyc (at Sailors NYC @ Pier 25 TriBeCa NYC)

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#Sailing is #fun! @outdoorfest #outdoorfestnyc #clymbhigh #seeyouatsea #sailorsnyc

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Sailors NYC Features 2 Hours Sails with Outdoorfest

Sailors NYC has joined the 2014 Outdoorfest - a 10 day festival bringing over 80 FREE events to all five boroughs of New York City. 

Sailors NYC is offering a taste of sailing experience of 2 hours on Saturday May 31st and Sunday June 8.

Missed this free opportunity but still want to get on that boat? Check out our special offer for a 3 hours Hands On Sailing class at 44% OFF!