Apache in cuba.
 

So we all followed the record run, and there hasn't been much said since.

Promised go pro footage, nothing.

Now I see pictures of the boat sitting in a boat yard fading and rotting away. How about a followup?

:whistle:

Can you post pictures? Thanks

saw this picture on another thread and I'm still confused....

BTW...did he have insurance?:lolhit:

As per Apache "It's only money , their will be another chapter in the long history of the boat . No further comment at this time."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...1488741&type=3

I'm surprised the props are still on it.

Ya so for those of us that are late to the party, what's the quick story on this boat?

I'd geuss the Dubai bank roll dried up.

I'm surprised that the nice cooler is still there

There isn't another boat on that island that could make use of those props!

Besides they couldn't find a pair of channel locks that big to get the prop nut off!:party-smiley-004:

Didn't the boat have a mechanical issue just outside the harbor? Maybe it is stuck there due to that or it has been impounded for some type of "departure tax" they are trying to collect....

the sad part is the cost of the drives and props could feed many cubans that are impoverished by Castro....shameful
Jake1250

A. It isn't their stuff to "sell"
B. Not sure if you have seen the news footage of the Poker Run that went over there but Cuba isn't Haiti.....big skyscrapers on the harborfront. Didn't look like Ethiopia with skinny kids with bloated bellies.

I was shocked by actual Cuba footage as I had much lower expectations for their living conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL409OqapOU

Just because you can doesn't mean you should go. Good luck getting their boat back.

Most if not all were probably built pre commie days, either way whose in them?
Can't see em driving their cobbled together 1950's Chevys home to the waterfront condos.

I spoke to several people that were there 2 weeks ago and while they said there were several run down buildings/broken windows there were also other decent hotels/buildings. Two things stood out in the conversation:
1. No a/c was common
2. They said there were tons of tourists (not all Americans but rather Europeans/Canadians)

They also mentioned that the Bahamas makes Cuba look down right metropolitan!

Omar never should have never sold the boat, communism and the Castro family sucks... Its a disservice to the people of Cuba to go there and give any money that the people will never see. For Americans that make a living off of capitalism to visit a communist country guilty of the atrocities bought forth from the likes of Castros and Che Guerrero, it can rot...

Most of the Cuban old timer's in south Fl are there because Castro took their farms and businesses from them.

They also mentioned that the Bahamas makes Cuba look down right metropolitan![/QUOTE]

That's mostly true, but the Bahamas are mostly out islands have no real agricultural base to speak of, Cuba is in an ideal geographic location to exports tons of fruit/vegs into North America during the winter months when the markets are usually high$$. But even without the embargo, it ain't gonna happen without private incentive

Don't need a cooler when you can't afford ice!

Lol easy to play the "just money"political speech... political because thats exactly what it is. BS.

I just wondered if they can't ship the parts/tools to fix it. I definitely would have wanted to know this whole story before I went with another group of nice boats.

I'd have been sick the entire trip after seeing apache heritage sitting like that... it does appear the travel cover is on it.

WOW that is crazy, what a shame. As above they have been closed lipped about the aftermath of their run. 7000hrs of labor and a couple runs later.... They prob want 3 million to get the boat back. After that figure out shipping logistics on your own. F that place

Well the owner is not a US citizen if I recall so I don't think he has the same issue we have. Also FPC got there and back just fine. I am betting there is MUCH more to the story then many think and I am sure the owner knows why it is there which really is all that matters.

If money isn't an issue then it wouldn't be sitting there bleaching out in the sun. Cuba is corrupt...you can't tell me there isn't a palm that could be greased to get the boat loaded on a barge or supply tug and headed north if it's "only money" like they say. Either the money isn't there or they pissed off somebody over there it seems.

Yup. Whole deal seems odd.

That is my favorite Apache bar non. It hurts to see it lie there like some old fishing boat. Would kill to have it.:violent040:

Free for the taking? If money is no issue. Every body else was thinking it so I said it. I'm pretty sure if the proper person told me it's mine if I can get it, It would be gone within a month

I wouldnt be to concerned with the fading ( neons and candys can fade like that in less than a couple months in direct sun).Id be more worried about the way that cradle is supporting the hull. If it stays there to long , they'll have some 283cid small blocks in it doing island tours , after cutting out the front deck and adding bench seating.

Thing looks like it's taking a beating. Sad because it was absolutely beautiful. That candy lambo orange was simply bad azz!

For whomever asked for the readers digest version of this boat - originally built as a sit down racer in the early 90's as Apache Heritage which won a few world champions. It was purchased by German entrepenour roger kuh about 5 years ago. Kuh took the boat directly to McManus where it was completely rebuilt to the tune of 2 million. Kuh's goal was to set a new US to Cuba record. Boat took about two years to build and was absolutely STUNNING! powered by merc 1350's, Kuh wanted to attempt the record run over 3 years ago but could not get US approval for the run with the sanctions against Cuba. No one had done the recording since 1963. Finally when Obama dropped the sanctions the run was OK'd. McManus throttled, Kuh drove and another navigated. They were going to absolutely destroy the previous record that was something like 6 hours but had a mechanical issue that cost them significant time. However they still beat the record by 2 hours I believe.

Kuh is a native of Gernany and rose to fame as a professional ice hockey player. Very wealthy. Grew up around performance boats off the French Riviera and his visits to S. Florida. He was actually present when Apache heritage won one of its world championship races.

As far as what the deal is with the boat. It's weird. I wouldn't think after Cuba has been really cool with opening its boarders to tourists and welcoming this well publicized record run that they would want bad press over taking the boat hostage. I'm guessing being a million/ billionaire etc Kuh is just onto something else and will getti the boat when he has his people get around to it.

If anyone is tight with McManus, he'll know exactly what the deal is since he's been directly involved from the get go.

Tank

An update and repower on a early 90s boat was 2 million bucks?

ew 50 cig is a mil. Figure lots of sanding, prepping, tearing down to get the boat to a bare hull. I'm guessing they did stringers and all. So you're actually doubling your work than just building it from scratch. Also, the thing had some cool attention to details custom touché like custom mad Ricardo aircraft seats. Not agreeing or disagreeing with the price just throwing it out there. I believe the 47 Apache spirit was roughly a 2 mil rebuild as well.

It's my understanding that they broke one of the M8's near the very end of the run. They were running 90+ the whole run even in 8-10's. This is what I heard from Mark when he was at the shootout last year.

Think the floor also had two stage shock absorbers built in.

Leave Apache Star there too long and it might get recycled/re-engineered:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pq89KLHscM

Reason there was no go pro footage and all the videos of it doing the actual run are pulled down is because it was glass smooth the whole way and they were claiming 9 foot seas. They literally said they had blisters on there hands from throttling so much in the rough water.

I take my endurance runs pretty serious. I normally wouldn't call someone out this bad but I have given them every chance to tell the truth and they haven't.

I did lots of research the days prior to them doing the run, the day of run, the days after run.

First thing is weather reports: We have weather routing companies that we use that are really accurate. They all said it was 1 foot seas or less from start to finish. That there was no way it was bigger in the middle. The wind reports from 15 different companies showed 2 - 4 MPH wind from the south west that morning they did the run. Which that wind direction would be going with the current that goes between cuba and key west to not stack the water up.

First hand people on site: We talked to people that were in key west that morning, fishing charters that night asking them about the water conditions towards cuba that morning. Coast guard that was between keywest and cuba, commercial boats that were in the area, and people in cuba when they arrived. They all said the water was glass smooth and no wind (which all the pics and videos from that day show.)

Weather bouys: there are bouys between keywest and cuba that all showed hardly any wind and 0-1 waves and 0-2 occasional long duration swells.

Then comes the record time: The record was supposed to be from dock to dock and we made a chart of the spot tracker locations the whole way with average speed, distance, time, ect. and we gave them the benefit of doubt by starting our chart several miles away from the island and moving that direction and stopped our chart before they made it to cuba. According to the spot tracker it was more then 1 hour 50 minuites not counting each end. They say they did the record in 1 hour 30 min.

The spot tracker worked the whole way and it is gps based just like the ones in the boat so how did they "mysteriously loose all gps signals in the boat" or have there gps "blocked by the government"?

The video they uploaded a few days after the run and said "this is video from the run" showing how rough it was. If you watch the video there are a few problems. In the video the boat did not have the same stickers on the side that it did when it left key west or arrived in cuba. So they must have left the dock and stopped, pulled the stickers off, took the helicopter video, then stopped and put the stickers back on. Seems like a lot of work when your doing a record run. And if you pay closer attention the helicopter was on the starboard side of boat. The boat was running south west in the morning, how was the sun shinning on the starboard side? Could have been a big reflector on the helicopter for the photo shoot. The waves they are running in the video were cresting from the north-east which is backwards of what they should be according to the wind/wave/current reports.

There is a lot more wrong with the story but I will leave it there. Here is a chart of the spot tracker and a video link from cuba showing how smooth the water was.

The reason I take this pretty serious is because they say they averaged 90 MPH the whole way in rough seas. When they only really averaged in the 50 MPH range in smooth water. If I go to try to beat this record and its rough and I average 89 MPH I would not set the record?

https://youtu.be/G72t35FPS-Q

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Doh!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for clarification.

I think the German played the "rich German card" too hard and got himself in trouble with the Cubans! :D

There should be a mic drop emoji for this. I'd say someone just got their a$$ handed to them. I hope you crush the record.

I watched the whole thing and have to agree with BSC's analysis. I was watching the bouy's and NOAA forecasts at the same time. I agree there can be rogue waves but nothing like they claimed.