Annals of Emigration–It’s a Buick…It’s a Boat: The dream of freedom–or the frustration and pain of oppression–can juice the human spirit to creative extremes. So, imagine you are stuck in Castro’s Cuba. You are entrepreneurial, lust for a better life, and the old bastard…just…won’t…die. What do you do? You cast your eyes toward the 90 miles of open ocean that separates you from the modern Gomorrah otherwise known as Key West, and you start looking for a vessel to get you there. Sometimes it’s a dinghy, sometimes it’s a a few slats of wood slapped together with rusty nails and a prayer, and sometimes–if you are a mechanical genius–it’s a 1959 Buick. So imagine the surprise of the U.S. Coast Guard, when they came upon Luis Grass and 10 others “motoring” their way across the Florida Strait in a lime-green coupe. TWC would offer the group a “Wetass visa,” a free pass into the U.S. for demostrated courage and creativity. I mean, Grass and his buds took a 45-year-old car, sealed its doors, slapped on a double-bottom, a steel plate bow and a propeller…and even managed to use the original V8 as a motor. They drove the thing straight off a beach, and headed north. The US needs people like this. Let ’em in. Particularly since this was Grass’ second attempt. Last year, he modified a pick-up truck by strapping oil drums to it, and set off. But no…the U.S. Coast Guard has no sense of humor, no admiration for the exceptional, and a fear of bending any rules. What did they do? They sank the Buick. But don’t worry, Grass will be back next year…maybe in a TransAm?



“Punch it, Dude, these f*cking Federales have no appreciation for classic cars…..”

(Photo: Reuters)