03/07/2026
MESSAGE FROM COMMODORE ESCRICH ON THE 34TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HEMINGWAY INTERNATIONAL YACHT CLUB OF CUBA
Dear Friends of the International Nautical Community,
On May 21st, our Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba will mark its 34th anniversary amidst the worst economic and social crisis our country has ever faced.
These have been 34 years of hard struggle to defend the existence of our nautical institution—the only one of its kind in Cuba.
We exist today thanks to the support and recognition of over a thousand nautical institutions across more than 50 countries. They offer us their friendship and encourage us to keep fighting so that—despite the many difficulties and misunderstandings we currently face—we do not lose the flame symbolizing the Cuban people's love for the sea and recreational nautical activities.
Thirty-four years ago, a group of men and women from ten countries—convinced that Cuba held the potential to become a premier destination for yachting and nautical tourism in the Caribbean—gathered to establish the only yacht club in Cuba. This came after a 32-year hiatus following the disappearance of the dozens of yacht clubs that had existed in the country since the founding of the first one, the Habana Yacht Club, in October 1886.
Allow me, on my own behalf and that of the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba, to express my deepest gratitude to the members of the international nautical community and to the members of our institution who have stood by us throughout these years. I also wish to thank all the friends who have enriched this Cuban institution—a true "Sanctuary of Love and Friendship"—with their friendship and love.
Commodore Escrich
