Sailing into danger in Cuban waters
Dave Schaefer, a longtime cruising sailor and writer with a deep affinity for Cuba, has turned his knowledge and experience of the island into a gripping fictional action thriller that places Cuba at the heart of the story. For readers who love maritime adventure, tense plots, and vivid settings, Schaefer’s novel offers both an adventurous plotline and an authentic sense of place informed by years spent living aboard and sailing in the region.
In Cuba Run (Wing Press Books, $10.95), Schaefer reimagines some of the people who appear in his well-regarded non-fiction work, Sailing to Hemingway’s Cuba, which chronicles his own four-year cruising experience around the island. By drawing on real-life encounters and the rhythms of long-term life at sea, Schaefer builds a believable backdrop for a fast-moving, suspenseful narrative that blends the practicalities of cruising with the high stakes of espionage and escape.
The novel follows a liveaboard sailor who learns that his daughter has been drawn into a dangerous situation: she has been recruited by the Cuban secret police to act as a spy for a South Florida Cuban exile group. Determined to rescue her, the father sails to Cuba, setting in motion a sequence of events that quickly spirals out of control. What begins as a rescue mission becomes a tense and unpredictable struggle when he becomes entangled in a prison break and a desperate attempt to flee the island.
Schaefer himself describes Cuba Run as “a potboiler,” and the book delivers the kind of suspenseful pacing and high-stakes scenarios one expects from that description. The story emphasizes the precariousness of navigating Cuban waters as well as the difficult human choices faced by people caught between political loyalties and family ties. Readers familiar with cruising life will recognize the practical details of seamanship, provisioning, and the small but crucial decisions that can mean the difference between safety and catastrophe when sailing in unfamiliar or hostile waters.
The 244-page novel is available in print and in digital formats; it can be ordered through the publisher, Wing Press Books, or purchased through major online retailers such as Amazon. Paperback copies are priced at $10.95. Availability in multiple formats makes Cuba Run accessible to a range of readers, from those who keep a physical book aboard their boat to digital readers who prefer to carry a library on a tablet or e-reader.
Beyond the central rescue plot, Cuba Run explores themes that will resonate with several audiences: the cruising community, readers interested in contemporary tales set in Cuba, and fans of action-driven thrillers. Schaefer’s prior non-fiction work lends authenticity to the atmospheric details—harbors, coastal towns, and the maritime culture of the island—while the fictional elements provide suspense, moral ambiguity, and human drama.
Critics and readers who enjoyed Sailing to Hemingway’s Cuba for its insider’s perspective on life at sea and the Cuban coastline will likely appreciate the way Schaefer translates that expertise into a fictional narrative. The novel balances vivid setting description with brisk plotting, giving readers both the sensory experience of sailing and the urgency of a thriller. Those who have never sailed will still find the human story compelling: a father’s determination to save his daughter, the pressures of political conflict, and the perilous choices that come with trying to escape an island where every departure can be fraught with danger.
This article originally appeared in the Home Waters section of the April 2011 issue.
Publisher information: Wing Press Books. Also available through Amazon and in multiple downloadable formats from the publisher.