Philanthropic Kite/Windsurf Round Trip to Cuba

[jaco]

I'm a college student at Penn State University. Every year, we host the largest student-run philanthropic event in the world, known as THON (http://thon.org/). This year's total almost reached $8 million. THON raises funds for the Four Diamonds foundation to help in the treatment and future cure of pediatric cancer.

Ad avid kiter, windsurfer, and waterman, I have wanted to incorporate my hobbies to help contribute to THON. Also, being the product of Cuban immigrants, I have always had an interest to make a visit back to Cuba-especially after meeting real refugees who escaped to the states with boards, rafts, and sails.

Next January, I would like to plan a round trip voyage to Cuba from Key West, making one trip by kite, and the other by windsurfing board. I know this may sound a bit far-fetched, but after seeing how some of these kids and the way that they battle cancer, it shows that if they have the strength, I can pull through and make this, or something similar, happen.

I know several of the guys here on the forum have made the trip and I was just curious as to how epic of an endeavor it is. How about the timing of the wind for a to and from trip? I can imagine dealing with the authorities was a bit of a hassle, but hopefully my Belgian citizenship can help me over some of the hurdles. I am studying a career in marketing, so this would also be a way to beef-up my resume with some large scale project management, PR, and advertising.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!