Chugs (Florida Boating, Post 29)

Wednesday, February 17

The Key West Botanical Garden has a fascinating collection of wrecked boats. These boats, called chugs, were used by Cuban migrants seeking asylum in the US.

The introductory sign reads, “Cuban Chug Exhibit – In 1980, 125,000 Cubans seeking refuge legally journeyed to Florida in boats (Chugs) from Mariel Harbor. The “Wet Foot/Dry Foot” policy (1995-2017) allowed migrants to stay in the U.S. if the reached land. These vessels are Chugs that landed in Key West. It is the only known collection of this size.”

This sign reads, “This boat arrived in Key West in 2008. The foam with plastic sheeting is hand sewn. It has an inboard engine. Note the unique wheel system which allowed it to be transported from where it was built to the ocean. It is suspected that the boat was built inside a home”

Here in the next photo; if you look closely in the dark area under the boat, you can see one of the wheels still attached – they didn’t bother trying to remove them and just left them on for the crossing. I’m sure it was a rushed and dangerous launching.

This next sign says, “This traditional Cuban fishing yacht with a wood hull and a gas engine is circa 1985. It arrived in Key West from Mariel, Cuba. The boat was used many years locally.”

This tall, narrow space in the picture below was probably the head (the toilet). Most of the other boats were completely open and would not have had any facilities. I assume they would use a bucket. The waters between Cuba and the Keys are too rough and shark-infested for anyone to be safely in the water (or even hanging-ass over the water).

This next sign says, “This boat was found on the Marquesas Islands, about 20 miles west of Key West in 2008. Note the plastic sheeting over foam. The fuel tanks are set in the floatation hulls, and it has aluminum siding along the bottom.”

The sign says, “This blue boat with an American Flag was found on Boca Grande, 10 miles west of Key West. It has an outboard engine that was modified and an aluminum hull. Notice the distinctive riveting with nuts and bolts.”

This sign says, “This boat engine was salvaged by Ricky Arnold. What makes this so unique is that it was made from a lawn mower engine!”

This sign says, “Also found in the Marquesas in 2008, note the industrial hoses used for stability at sea. Through stories from those who made it to land, there were refugees killed from shark attacks, as the overpopulated boats hung low to water line. The ballast helped to keep them safe from these attacks.”

This sign says, “This aluminum boat arrived in 2009, The engine of this boat is from a Nissan car. Note again the ballast construction that was used for safety and stability at sea.”

This one says, “This is the most recent arrival in early 2010 at the Marquesas Islands. The “USCG-OK” indicates that the persons aboard were retrieved legally under the “dry foot” policy and the vessel was abandoned.”

According to Wikipedia, “The wet feet, dry feet policy or wet foot, dry foot policy was the name given to a former interpretation of the 1995 revision of the application of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that essentially says that anyone who emigrated from Cuba and entered the United States would be allowed to pursue residency a year later. Prior to 1995, the U.S. government allowed all Cubans who reached U.S. territorial waters to remain in the U.S. After talks with the Cuban government, the Bill Clinton administration came to an agreement with Cuba that it would stop admitting people intercepted in U.S. waters. For two decades thereafter, any Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations (with “wet feet”) would summarily be returned to Cuba or sent to a third country, while one who made it to shore (“dry feet”) got a chance to remain in the United States, and later would qualify for expedited “legal permanent resident” status in accordance with the 1966 Act and eventually U.S. citizenship. On January 12, 2017, Barack Obama announced the immediate end of the policy.”

This next sign says, “An extra level of aluminum was added to this original fishing boat to protect the migrants from possible heavy seas. Also added was a rudder for steering and additional support across the width.”

These boats continue to arrive in the Keys to this day.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-rescued-florida-coast-after-being-sea-16-days-sheriff-n1258634

To send Kristina a comment, email turning51bykristina@gmail.com