I'm sure I can find the articles again, but it's all in German. The short story is typical red tape and gov't hassles. I think Bob the builder came close to having issues upon his return but things worked out. Things just went a little sideways for this guy.

Edit- one about the boat situation.http://m.bild.de/regional/duesseldor...ildMobile.html

Here's one about his general thoughts on Cuba.There are a couple more talking about the boat situation, but I have to leave you with something to do.
http://m.bild.de/regional/duesseldor...ildMobile.html

Thank you BCK.

first article roughly translated.

The Dusseldorf. entrepreneurs Roger Klüh (50) has only time until May to get his record boat from Cuba. Otherwise klüh a criminal proceedings for an offense against the U.S. export laws, warns his US lawyer Rebekah :Poston. The penalties ranged up to a million dollars and 20 years in jail.

The is only limited until May! Klüh: "The boat is still in Cuba because it has been severely damaged. And because of its 20 tonnes and 17 meters in length, it is already difficult to transport. Add to this the complicated legal problems."

There's at least 3 on the boat that when combined give the full story.

If you know it as most can't read German, care to let us in on it?

Easy to ship as open deck cargo or plug some holes and tow it out of cuban waters.

He claims every company that can ship it has backed out.

I hate putting the pieces together and posting it in case I'm wrong or the news agency is wrong.
1. He had a permit from the US that said the boat had to be returned to the US by a certain date.
2. The boat broke and could not return.
3. The parts to fix the boat could not be shipped because of US restrictions.
4. Cuba didn't issue the necessary return paperwork.
5. He loves Cuba or the Cuban people at least and claims he is a bit of a hero there. Cuba seems to be Ok with him as he was invited by the govt for Castro's funeral. He went but could not attend the actual services.
6. He definitely wants the boat back and is not happy about the situation.
7. I believe he now wants the boat shipped from Cuba to somewhere other than the states. I'm assuming he's afraid the boat will be confiscated in the US. He is now facing legal problems himself in the states over the boat which will likely get worse if he ships the boat elsewhere, but at least he'll have the boat back.
8. He's talked with many shipping companies that can ship it, none of them will do it because they don't want to get involved with even shipping it to the states let alone elsewhere.
9. He has set up or hired some sort of team to try to figure out how to get the boat back.
10. He has retained an attorney in the US.
11. The boat did not make the official destination for the record run, but went to an alternate location instead because of the damage. He thought the attempt was a failure because of this until he limped the boat in and everyone was there congratulating him.

If someone disagrees with the info or the translation or what I think it means, I don't want to hear about it.

If the Cubans can tow it to international waters then he could pick it up without breaking any laws, possibly.

What damage did the boat incur? did it bust a hole in the bottom hitting cuban refugees swimming for the us or what???

They look indestructible! Turn volume up.


https://youtu.be/9pDV7vHF2G4.

We had the bundy ranch and the Oregon standoff... I say it's time to round up the fellas and save this apache :coolcowboy:

I really bet the folks that participated in the poker run to cuba and saw that apache on stands were literally counting the mins until they were back in the US.

Unless it's spine was broken and even that can be solved there is no physical reason the boat can not be returned. I mean it's not like it's some broken down 1980's Bayliner and not worth it. It's a multi million dollar boat with an owner that spent that kind of money for fun. It all has to be legal and motivation.
Like some one hinted to a while back in this thread, If he is such a hero in Cuba pay a couple of them to steal it and use it to come to the US. Even if they don't want to stay customs will give them a free ride home. They would patch up what was needed, spray it black and slap a couple outboards on it and it would be sitting in a Florida marina in a week.
The sad part is when they do get it back most cases it will just sit in Florida or some where else and rot away. At least in Cuba its pretty much like they left it. Here someone will be stealing parts off of it before it reached dry dock.

Leave this poor delusional rich guy to his story. The reality of it is as follows. He attempted this little escapade and the Cuban Government got his crown jewels in a jar and his Apache. The issue is not the US or it's laws. It is Cuba that is toying with him. They want something and he just doesn't play ball. He has now hired a team of experts to get the boat. WOW. Cuba is full of experts; they come all the time on what they build and its no where near an Apache. I or 50 other individuals on here could have patched up that hull or water intrusions with 5200, plywood, and screws. Then here is the fork in the road. The Cuban government would allow for the boat to be towed to international waters. Transfer tow line to US vessel waiting and continue to the FL Keys for a crane and trailer at a boat yard. Hell I would have gone along just for the slow ride back. I would have taken a lot of pics. Its not every day that you can say that you finished ahead of an Apache. :) Think of all the tall tales many of use could have told on a slow ride back to the states. He could have rented a fishing party boat and about 50 of us could have fished and party the whole way there and back. Probably even needed a resupply ship for food liquor and fountain skanks. Maybe Obama will get it back for him.

I agree, could pull it back in one long ass day.

Or load up the parts to fix the boat in a center console :party-smiley-004:go down there fix it, drive it back.

Prob not worth the time or effort to get it back for someone like him self.

Whatever the deal is, it's painful to see (according to McManus) the most expensive Apache ever built (or rebuilt) rotting in the open Cuban sun after only a handful of hours was put on her since build.

It only broke one drive, a few wet t-shirts and some electrical tie wraps an it's ready to limp home. Not that I know anything about that kind of repair! :drink:

The owner states in some of the interviews that he has loved that boat since he saw it race when new and that's why he chose to rebuild it. He says it was completely torn down to the outer skin and recored. It had some sort of shock absorbing floor installed and something about titanium. Perhaps the floor is titanium? The seats are custom made Recaro covered with leather by Bentley. There is some big show that he hopes to have the boat at in spring of 17' I think. Ultimately he sees it in a museum.

Fuel prices in Havana. Just for the hell of it.

Great! He has achieved his goal. Its already in a museum. Communist Museum= Enters as the best most beautiful and ends up withering away and abandoned. Don't worry they have excellent health care, it will be revitalized.

Very sad. I remember seeing this boat when it originally ran in Key West. Broken hearted.

Boat weighs 20 metric tons? That would be 44,000 pounds.
17 meters in length is almost 56 feet.......Anybody sure they aren't talking about a 45 Fountain?

I noticed a mistake like that when talking about the boat restoration. I figure it was a problem with the translation or metric conversion. They said 1100 tons of old coring was removed iirc

No, that sounds right.... Apache uses concrete laden with lunar dust for coring. It's why they ride soooo good!

Good point. I forgot it's an Apache we're talking about here. Concrete and powdered lead.

Those numbers would be consistent with all the other exaggerations associated with that run.

I AGREE with most of this statement. And DO NOT agree with the so-called owners explanation. Anybody who is half-as wealthy as this guy, would NEVER leave something like this over there, and would have had this boat out of there, and somewhere else by now. And nobody, no matter how wealthy, would leave this boat there. US$25k in Cuba would get that boat out of there in plain daylight, not to mention 100 other ways to get sneaky about it.

There is more to this story. A lot more. And like every Apache story over the past few decades, I'm sure once we hear the "real" story, it'll make for some good reading, just like the old days. It would be cool for Speedonthewater to look into it.

It would be cool if they looked into it and did a story but that'd be a bit like work.

It would be nice to fly down there and research it. But I'm sure the real reason for no exposure in our sport is it may be (a few peoples) biggest nightmare if the real story came out and hurt credibility or something.
So, that kills it right there.
It would have to be somebody not related to the industry and who doesn't mind pissing-off a potential advertiser.

I don't see the German guy or Cuba as a potential advertiser. I think it's just too much effort. It's only the first sit down vee ever built that then won back to back championships and then was subjected to one of the most extensive and expensive rebuilds ever done for that type of boat utilizing some sort of fighter technology and titanium floors. It possibly set a record but there are some issues with that and then it's possibly confiscated by the Cubans or barred from returning by the Americans. Not much of a story there I guess... I mean I'm sure some manufacturer is building a new center console!

Im guessing its one of 3 possible things.... (and it just wouldnt be an Apaches story if there werent some controversy and cloud of mystery..)

1. he didnt get proper US clearances and they told him once he and the boat are out of Cuban water he is going to visit Ben...

2. He didn't grease the proper hands down there and when he showed up they took the boat and told him to pound sand.

3. He is a rich enough kid that when things didnt go how he imagined and his 15 minutes of fame were quickly turning into 15 minutes of embarassment over huge seas and incredible speeds, he dropped it like a hot rock and walked away.

All he really needs is to send Chuck Norris over there to pick it up and run it back, But then Chuck would just destroy his record on the way back to Key West...

On Cuba magazine - Translated from Spanish. "An engine exploded, the rudder is broken, the yacht capsized, it does not rotate, it can not move in the water", tries to summarize the Teutonic pilot the misfortunes of his colorful boat that with the passage of time has faded. "It was difficult to bring the yacht to Cuba and also difficult to take it back home but as we are accustomed to drive to the end, we will find the solution"

He says that he can not return with the "Apache Star" to La Florida in the current conditions "because there is no structure of ships with containers that can make that journey ... And the companies are not authorized to come to Cuba to pick up the yacht" .

This will do the trick........... Fk floating it

ship it to another island, sell to a friend/ broker ... then ship it where ever..didn't colin farrell/fake cockett set the record ind the miami vice moive??/

Actually there not consistent, saying it weighs 44,000 lbs would be closer to the truth then the rest of the Lise they said. If they said it weighed 4,586,943 lbs that would be a closer example to everything else they said.

My guess, the owner has either so much money, he couldn't care less about the boat or else he does not have much money and his connections/influence in Cuba are not nearly as strong as he would like us to believe.

Maybe he just hasn't got a Kluh?

RRtt

Anyone know a Cuban "fixer"? :cool-smiley-011:

This is so stupid. Ready to run down there and get it now. Just need crane set up and maybe do it under cover of night.