Two US kayakers crossed the Florida Straits to Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 15 (acn) Only two of the 10 American kayakers who departed on Friday 11 from Havana to Key West could complete the journey after nearly 34 hours of rowing and bad weather.

The pair made up by the journalists Frank Sedlar and Brent Rose arrived on Saturday 12th, at around 10 pm, to the shores of Key West, a fact that places them among the few people who have crossed the Florida Straits kayaking, announced the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba.
Although they arrived in Havana with the mission to report the feat, Sedlar and Rose were invited to row on board of one of the five boats for the rest of the team, because they knew they had the potential to successfully cover the 145 kilometers; Sedlar, for example, was a rower at the University of Michigan.
According to the message of David Smith, mastermind of the adventure, to Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich, Commodore of the Yacht Club, everything went smoothly for the two journalists to meet the challenge of rowing for more than 30 hours, despite muscle pain and a severe storm they faced on Friday.
When recalling the circumstances in which they had to navigate, Smith said: "We think of the Cuban people all along the journey", which was conceived with regard to the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States.
The statement refers the rest of the athletes abandoned the cross, but continued to travel in the support boat that escorted them, encouraging the two adventurers who didn't bow to pain or stormy sea.
The original idea came from Smith, representative of the Kayak Association of California, who gathered in this feat several athletes, including Olympic medalist Joe Jacobi, and Carter Johnson, who holds two Guinness Book of World records for distance paddling.
This already historical journey, completed by Sedlar and Rose, joins those made by swimmers Susie Maroney, from Australia, and Diana Nyad, from USA; American surfer Ben Fribert and Spanish adventurer Alvaro de Marichalar, on the jet ski "Numancia".
Crossing the Florida Straits has become a challenge for many athletes in the world, especially from the northern country, as a symbol of friendship that should prevail between the Cuban and American peoples.