On the way to Düsseldorf: Roger Klüh's Apache Star leaves Cuba

Now, at last - a proud 17 months and eleven days after its world record journey from the USA to Cuba - a US freight forwarder working for the government in Washington succeeded in transporting the Apache Star initially from the Hemingway Marina to the cargo port in Mariel.

As Klüh pointed out, this was only possible after a five-month lead time and with many special permits in the luggage; for example, wooden trestles suitable for transport had to be made. The world record boat was then loaded on Wednesday and shipped on an open container to Port Everglades in the USA. This means that what the U.S. government demanded of Roger Klüh has finally been fulfilled.

The criminal file was also successfully closed last week: the Düsseldorf man was facing 20 years in prison. Now, however, it remains with a mere warning. The prison sentence and massive fines had threatened him because of a possible violation of the still existing embargo. An odyssey is coming to an end, and Klüh seems very happy about it: "I want to have and keep the Apache Star in my home country."

The entire transport process via the U.S., including customs clearance all the way to Düsseldorf, is likely to take until the end of March. "But time is no longer an issue now. I would now like to close this chapter after a total of five years and move on to new tasks," he says with relief.

Source: RP Online