Roger Klüh's Apache Star: World Record Speedboat Triumph

His father also shaped Roger Klüh's enthusiasm for boating at a very early age. A pronounced passion quickly developed in him, so that he spent most of his time on the coast of Florida (USA) at a young age. As a result, over decades he acquired the skills to pursue one of the most dangerous motor racing sports in the world.

After Klüh acquired the former world champion speedboat "Apache Heritage" in early 2012, he spent two years in Florida extensively upgrading it to 2,700 hp and 200 km/h top speed and renamed it "Apache Star." Roger Klüh planned a crossing from the U.S. to Cuba in order to connect the two countries, whose relationship has been strained since the 1959 embargo, also in a figurative sense. For this purpose, he applied for a permit for the crossing on the American side and contacted Cuba through his lawyers.

Finally, due to positive developments with Cuba, his second application was personally approved by U.S. President Barack Obama in December 2014.

The starting signal for the world record was given on August 1, 2015 at 10:00 am despite complicated weather conditions. Roger Klüh had to contend with waves 3 meters high and wind speeds of up to 35 knots. In addition, after only a short time there was damage to the second drive due to flotsam, so that the trip had to be interrupted for 15 minutes. Russian jammers off the Cuban coast also presented Klüh with a particular challenge, as they blocked the navigation system of the "Apache Star". Despite the complications, Roger Klüh reached the port of Havana after a record 90 minutes and was greeted by over 20,000 cheering Cubans.

His world record went down in the history of international understanding for the USA and especially for Cuba.

According to the conditions for the world record, Roger Klüh would then have had to immediately transport the Apache Star out of the port of Havana. However, due to the severe damage, the transfer to the USA proved to be very complicated. Nevertheless, the American authorities accused Klüh of an embargo violation and threatened him with a 20-year prison sentence and a fine in the millions. He was finally able to comply with this demand in January 2017 due to more difficult logistics regulations, and it remained with a warning.