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OCC CRUISING INFORMATION SERVICE
Editor: George Curtis, Blacksmiths Cottage, Aston Tirrold, Oxfordshire, OX11 9DQ, England
Tel/Fax:+44 (0) 1235 850794; e-mail cis@oceancruisingclub.org
General Information for: Cuba
1. Visa requirements:
2. Formal requirements for yachts entering from abroad: Reported by Graeme & Gillian Mulcahy, S/Y Kathleen Love, March 2008,
Apart bringing excessive paperwork (but little more than is experienced in other Carribean countries), the officials were all very friendly.
3. Some of the Ports of entry:
Bob Groves, April 2008:
Yachts entering from the south of the DR, Haiti, Caribbean, etc and planning to cruise the south shore of Cuba are better to enter at Santiago de Cuba as this continues a downwind leg.
Those yachts wishing to cruise the north shore can go downwind along the north shore to Marina Vita and enter there. This can be done from the DR or the Bahamas as well. We have been in both ports and Marina Vita is an excellent port away from any large centers. A good place to leave the boat for an extended visit.
The Marina Vita is located in Nigel Calders book although the marina itself is located further inland than the chart shows. The entrance is well marked and marina staff will contact boats entering to assist them in the approach.
Commodore Escrich, OCC Port Officer Cuba, updates this in April 2008 The Marina Santiago de Cuba has reopened as a Port of entry. Now, the vessels can arrive at that marina in order to make the clearance. Santiago de Cuba is on the Southeast of Cuba. The boats that are sailing in the Caribbean can clear in at Santiago de Cuba. There is another marina in the Northeast of Cuba; Marina Vita. The boats coming from Bahahas can clear in at that marina.
Reported by Graeme & Gillian Mulcahy, S/Y Kathleen Love, March 2008,
We have recently left Cuba after an interesting couple of weeks. Before making our way there we heard from another yacht in Luperon, Dominican Republic, that the Easternmost port of entry on the south coast, Santiago de Cuba, was closed, which meant the next available port of entry on the south coast was Cienfuegos. With reference to the Nigel Calder cruising guide to Cuba, Manzanillo and Casilda are no longer ports of entry, the only other on the south coast being Cayo Largo.
However, Cienfuegos transpired to be a good centre to get a flavour of Cuba and from which to visit Havana, which ought to be on everybody's list. The closure of Santiago was confirmed by those officials who could not provide any information as why or for how long the closure would last.
4. Formal procedures when departing from one port and entering another:
5. Recommended cruising guides:
6. Cruising permits and restrictions:
7. Web links providing local cruising information:
8. Recommended harbours to leave your yacht for a month or more:
9. Recommended sources of weather and climate information and reliability:
10. Where to obtain tidal information:
11. Contacting the search and rescue organisations:
12: Any comments on radio and communications:
13. Any comments on emergency and health services:
14. Any comments on importing spares:
15: General advice, places to go, warnings:
Commodore Escrich, OCC Port Officer Cuba, in April 2008
As Ocean Cruising Club Port Officer in Cuba, Commodore Escrich offers information and assistance in the cruise that the members of Ocean Cruising Club wish to make in Cuba and surrounding waters, including the necessary coordination with the Cuban port authorities. He would advise all members of OCC, that wish to cruise in Cuba, to contact Hemmingway International Yacht Club yachtclub@cnih.mh.cyt.cu before arriving to any Cuban marina. It gives us the possibility to inform to Cuban marinas that this vessel belong to OCC who represented in Cuba by Commodore Escrich. This helps to make the clearance faster and coordinate the cruising along Cuban coast with the coast guard in order to avoid any annoyance.
16: Any comments on safety and security:
17. Useful Languages
The OCC Cruising Information Service is provided by the OCC. The information is supplied to the OCC by members and is for OCC members only. The date given in the above is the date that the members supplying the information visited this place and the information may have changed at any time. The OCC has taken no steps to verify the information, which should be confirmed independently. The OCC accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information and cannot be held liable for any damage howsoever caused whether directly or indirectly or any consequential losses.
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