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!

[ricki]

Hello Jaco,

It is an admirable goal you have in mind to accomplish and for a good cause. I helped with some of the logistical preparations for the crossing back in 2001. Kent, Neil and Fabrice made it all the way in horrific conditions. Paul passed out on the way due to dehydration and some internal organ issues, (partial renal failure?!). Oliver took out his kite tearing up an outrigger on one of the chase boats just before the start. I wrote a serial of sorts about the crossing and posted it on the egroups kitesurf forum at the time. Copies appear at:
http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?p=41223

If you haven't looked the summaries over before, I would do so now. Then lets talk some more. The guys picked some of the worse weather for the crossing. You might be able to find more conducive conditions for your run.