Amazing Cuban Refugee Rafts that Dared the High Seas in Search of Freedom

The Cuban refugee crisis has been an ongoing issue every since Fidel Castro took control in the 1950's. Though there have been a number of surges of note in the past including the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, dozens of refugees try, succeed and often fail to make the 90 mile crossing to Florida on a weekly basis. Many refugees from Cuba pay thousands of dollars to smuggler's but more must depend on their own ingenuity to create seaworthy vessels to withstand seas of up to 10 feet (and more) in height. The following are pictures of some of the more unique "vessels" that have been created. No matter what your opinion is of immigration (legal or illegal) from Cuba or other countries, these are people like you and me that have decided to risk everything for themselves and their families.

1. On July 16, 2003 a group 12 Cubans were found in the Straights of Florida by the United States Coast Guard in a 1951 Chevy pickup converted to a boat. The dozen refugees were caught just a few miles south of Key West. The truck's drive shaft was attached directly to a propeller and the craft could reportedly reach (8 mph). 55-gallon oil drums were welded together and were used for flotation.This ingenious and first attempt of this sort of crossing gave the Cubans on the vessel the name "camionautas" (truckonauts). Click here for the original CUBANET.com article.
   
   
2. In a second attempt, 3 of the original "camionautas" attempted the crossing with 11 others in a 1959 Buick. Initially picked up at sea, there tale eventually had a happy ending as they made their way from Guantanamo, to Costa Rica, through Mexico, and finally to the United State. pic 2 For more information on this attempt, click here.



3. Not to be outdone, yet another of the original "camionautas" made the attempt in a 1959 Buick Taxi. The 13 people were apprehended just off of Key West. At this time, the fate of this most recent group of truckonauts is at this point uncertain. Their families are calling on the U.S. to provide them political asylum. pic 3



4. The rafters that constructed this vessel made use of many different types of materials including a sealed metal tank, innter tubes from tires, sticks for a sail, and other pieces of wood and rope for framing.




5. Another material widely used in the construction of a typical raft is Styrofoam. This raft below is constructed of Styrofoam, small inner tubes, and a wood frame and platform. Styrofoam was a common material as it could be frequently found on beaches where it washed up as flotsam from cruise ships or as discarded packing waste.



6. An incredibly "flimsy" and obviously un-seaworthy raft discovered on Melbourne Beach, Florida during the Cuban exodus in 1994. The distance from Havana to Melbourne Beach is over 250 miles.
   
   
   
7. This vessel was discovere in 1995 on a beach in New Smyrna, Florida... a distance of about 350 miles! This abandoned raft is made from tires, metal barrels and recycled wood.




8. Many of the rafts that are created for the crossing to the United States are grossly overcrowded. The photo below depicts 5 adults on a raft constructed of just a few tires and a wooden frame. Remember, the crossing from Cuba to the United States is at a minimum 90 miles. Often, due to currents and winds, the journey can be much longer (150 miles and more). Compound that challenge with extremely high seas, dehydration and extreme tropical sun, and you have an extremely difficult journey.
   
   

Best College Pranks of the Past 25 Years

1. Fire Truck on MIT Dome - On September 11, 2006, to mark the 5th anniversary of 9/11, students at MIT in Boston, managed to put a real 25 foot antique fire engine on top of the famous MIT dome. Fortunately for MIT, the perpetrators left instructions about how the prank was done and how to best get it down.
   
   
   
   
2. Gabe Pruitt wants to "c u so bad" - Prior to an important game between U.C. Berkeley and USC, Cal fans had posed as a UCLA student online, named Victoria, who Pruitt agreed to meet once he returned to L.A. Before the big game, he wrote to Victoria: "I want to c u so bad." When Pruitt took his first trip to the free throw line early in the game, the Cal student section hollered in unison: "VIC-TOR-IA, VIC-TOR-IA," and then yelled out a telephone number. Pruitt glanced back at the crowd in horror and bewilderment before missing his free throws. USC lost by 11 points.
   


3. We Suck! - Students at Yale pulled this prank at one of the Yale / Harvard football games in 2004. Colored signs were passed out to Harvard fans that were told that when held up, would say, "Go Harvard".
   
   



4. UW time capsule from '50s reveals "extras" from '70s - A "Time Capsul" that was sealed in the 1950's at the University of Washington was opened 50 years later but somehow the contents managed to increase. The original reel-to-reel films, newspapers and other items were still inside but other items were added over the years including Playboy magazines from the late '70's and early '80's, woman's panties, clip-on ties and nearly petrified Twinkie. The time capsule was locked away, implanted in the wall of the Communications Building, with an inscription that said it should be opened on the 100th anniversary of the first journalism classes at the university. The department was planning an event to reveal to the general public the original contents of the capsule. The more recent additions to the capsule will be part of that display.
   
   
5. Hey Teach! A Lecture Musical Prank!!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. NCAA Overturns Stanford's Loss - In 1982, after Berkeley's football team beat Stanford with a wild last-second kickoff return that involved five laterals, Stanford retaliated by replacing Cal's student newspaper with an impostor edition that claimed NCAA officials had overturned the touchdown and made Stanford the winner. Click Here for the fake edition proclaiming the news.
   
   




7. College Prank Gone Wrong
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. College President's First Day on Job - It was the first day for MIT's new President and the students wanted to welcome him... well, right?? When the new president got off the elevator at the floor that he thought was where his new office was, he found nothing but a hall with a large student bulletin board. As it turned out, students covered the door to his office with the bulletin board.