Taxi! Cubans Set Sail For Florida In Vintage Cab

Reuters ^ | June 8, 2005

[Cecily]

MIAMI - Taxi! Take us to the United States, don't spare the gas and mind the, er, waves. A group of 13 Cubans set sail for the United States in a vintage blue taxicab converted into an unwieldy vessel, Miami television station NBC 6 reported.

But the makeshift boat, with a prow jutting out of the front and a taxi sign on the roof, was intercepted on Tuesday evening by the U.S. Coast Guard about 20 miles off Key West on the southern tip of Florida.

[Cecily]

Too bad they didn't make it ashore.

[Puppage]

I AHHHH. I DON'T KNOW

[wideawake]

20 miles offshore - they made it more than halfway!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[EggsAckley]

[NonValueAdded]

Aw, they didn't sink it again, did they??? Mel Martinez, if you would sponsor legislation declaring these car-boats as having national historical significance, I'll bet the television industry would bid for rights to use them and raise enough revenue to fund any government program you could think of. Heck, it might even make SocSec solvent.

[anonymous_user]

Reminds me of the old joke of hijacking a bus to Cuba.

[Old Grumpy]

Just for being so inventive, they should have been allowed to stay.

[NRA1995]

Nahhhhhh, been done before.

[onef]

Reminds me of an old joke.

"I'm hijacking this bus, we're going to cuba. Drive."

[Deaf Smith]

They were stopped for improper lane change and failure to signal?

[Charles Martel]

I think those old cars *do* have historical significance - in Cuba. The "boatbuilder" could be in a pile of trouble for trying to slip one of those old "national treasures" off the island. The morning news article identified this guy as the same one who built the oildrum-floated '51 truck. It's pretty clear that he'll either end up in prison, or worse - or he'll keep floating vehicles across until he makes it.

Y'know, as illegal immigration goes, this shows a whole lot more initiative and ingenuity than hiking a few miles through the sagebrush.

[elbucko]

declaring these car-boats as having national historical significance,

I agree. This amphibian looks to be a cherry 1945-'49 Plymouth.

[martin_fierro]

Looks more like a 1949 Mercury:

[NonValueAdded]

I witnessed some of what floated up on Florida's east coast during the last "flotilla" exodus. The workmanship was amazing (makes sense 'cause only the good stuff would make it as far as Cocoa Beach) but even then, visualize the craft in 4 foot waves and you realize they took their life in their hands. A local artist gathered up some of the "boats," took slices, and framed them, and the artwork hung in the lobby of the Melbourne, Fla (MLB) airport. It was an amazing tribute to the quest for freedom and I believe belongs in the Smithsonian. Or better yet, the US Capitol to remind our lawmakers just how precious is freedom to those living under tyranny.

[BurbankKarl]

if they were only Mexicans they would have a free pass.

[NonValueAdded]

It could make for a very interesting court case if they actually drove it onto a Miami beach but were apprehended before they could step foot out of the cab. The point of law, would they be wet foot or dry foot?

[oyez]

Something is wrong here. Why aren't people trying to sneak into Castro's paradise? Boats are plentiful here and in other countries. Hollywood and Danrather seem to think Cuba is a wonderful utopia.

[BurbankKarl]

These guys engineered a boat from a 50 year old taxi cab....the others that sneak in forget to bring water and walk across bombing ranges.

Which would you rather have in your country?

[socal_parrot]

DO NOT bring logic into this issue!