This story was not taken from a science fiction movie, much less a comedy; this story is real, where only extreme necessity and Cuban ingenuity came together.
If someone told you that a group of people crossed the Florida Straits aboard a classic American truck, few would believe it.
On June 12, 2003, twelve people (nine men, two women, and a child) set out from Cuba heading to Key West, Florida, in something that seemed impossible: a 1951 Chevrolet converted into a watercraft. Luis Grass Rodríguez, the creator of this work of art, along with the rest of the crew, did the unthinkable.
How did they make it work?
1.They adapted empty and sealed oil barrels beneath the truck's structure to ensure that tons of metal could float over the rough waters of the sea.
They modified the traditional mechanics by disconnecting the driveshaft from the rear differential to attach a homemade marine propeller. The old Chevy's engine kept roaring, but instead of moving the wheels on the road, it spun the propeller to plow through the waves at a constant speed of about 13 km/h.
The makeshift amphibious vehicle managed to set sail and venture into the sea, advancing for more than 30 hours toward the north. A classic 50s truck, one of those that adorn postcards of Havana, navigating at full mechanical lungs through the Florida Straits with a dozen souls on board, clinging as much to faith as to the vehicle's nuts and bolts.
Unfortunately, like many of these journeys and stories that did not have a happy ending back then, the trip was intercepted before touching dry land.
This story is much more than a curious anecdote of bold motorists. It is the ultimate symbol of how popular engineering in Cuba defies the impossible. The car, originally designed to carry heavy cargo along dirt roads, ended up carrying the heaviest dream of all: freedom.
