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DTW Goes To Cuba Again
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8/17/09
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From Dennis McCrosky
As many of you may know DTW has been taking teams to Cuba for several years to play baseball. After a 3 year layoff we returned to Cuba this last winter. The trip was a great success and everyone seemed to have a great time. Now is the time to reserve your spot for the next one.
Last years trip included several DTW members as well as some other campers:
Dennis McCroskey, John Stalberg. Gene Sinclair. Aron Levinson, James Vaughn, Juan Fuentes, Sid Rosenblatt, Dave Gordon, Sil Krevocheza (A's), Steve Bennett (Giants)
Previous trips to Cuba also included:
Ed Garelick, Chris Fabos, Bob Daniels, Dennis Veltz, Mark Drucker, Harry Wade, Don Schwartz, Tracy Masters, Paul Raymond, Greg Rothman, Mark Bresnik (A's), Steve Balling (A's), Mike Marks (Giants), Allan Green (Giants), Bill Davis (A's)
If you have any questions about the prevous trips and the experiences, you may want to speak with some of the people mentioned above.
You'll find these trips are a lot more than baseball. Every day will be filled with activities, site seeing, meals and meeting with Cuban nationals. The baseball is very good, (we have 3 wins and 51 losses so far), the food is good, (especially if you like lobster), the entertainment is great, the sites are historic and interesting. The highlight of the trips though is being with the Cubans. They are very warm hearted, friendly, proud, have great spirit, and will receive you with open arms. You definitely want to go to Cuba before the embargo is lifted, if ever, and McDonalds or Starbucks move in. It's like stepping back in time to the 50's.
The trip I am proposing is a trip very similar to the one we recently completed. This involves meeting up in Miami for a charter flight to Cuba. We'll start the trip in Cienfuegos, my favorite city, for 3 games and then head to Havana for the 3 final games. Starting at the charter flight, almost everything is included minus a few meals.
It takes some time to put these trips together because of all the regulations involved. It's a linear process, nothing is ever guaranteed and each step can take several months. An outline of the procedures is as follows:
1. Invite from Cubadeportes- They are the sports officials in Cuba and I am currently working with them to get games scheduled..
2. Confirm the team rosters- This is where we are now, if you want to be on the roster, send deposit and registration form now.
3. Apply for travel license with OFAC, the Treasury Department- This cannot be done until the roster is confirmed and takes 2-3 months.
4. Coordinate trip details and costs with travel agent- The travel agents will not do this until we have an OFAC license.
Since the travel agents won't deal with us until we have the roster and license we never know what the final costs will be . You can expect the trip to cost anywhere from $2300-$2800.
Because of government/embargo/license regulations only players can attend. You cannot take your wife, kids, friends etc., players only.
You can see a preliminary outline of the trip at:
baseballadventures.com.
Preliminary dates are: Feb. 24- Mar. 4.
If you are interested in going please let me know as soon as possible. You will notice I already have several people listed on the roster, some are DTW members and a few others. The remaining spots will go quickly. We need 15 people for the trip so that will be the maximum roster size. You must be committed to this effort early in the process. Only people who have sent in deposits and applications will be considered. "Maybe" and "we'll see" don't count, it's either yes or no. Right now we need more pitching and a couple of catchers. You can find the application form at:
http://www.baseballadventures.com/cuba/cubasignup1.html.
If you are interested in going on this trip, now is the time to fill out the application and send the $500 deposit.
If the trip does not happen the deposit is fully refundable.
There is a another trip being planned for the week before this one that will be primarily in the Havana area. That trip is set up for veterans of previous trips and includes much less touring and other activities. You can see information on that trip at:
http://www.baseballadventures.com/cuba/Havcuba10.html.
The preliminary dates for that trip are Feb. 14-Feb. 21.
If you would like to do both trips, as some are doing, there will be some savings. Mostly for 1 charter flight and visa fees instead of paying for these twice, around $500.
FYI, I am also working on a trip to Paris for next July. It may also include some games around London. I'm still working on this but hope to have information worked out sometime soon. That trip is a family trip and anyone can attend. You can see preliminary information on that trip at:
http://www.baseballadventures.com/france/france1.html.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Hope to see you soon,
Dennis McCroskey
PO Box 707
Mendocino, CA 95460
707-937-4478
707-937-2349 fax
dennismc@mcn.org
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