Word: flotilla
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...flotilla of ships heading for Mariel has nearly disappeared, however, thanks to President Carter's order two weeks ago setting up a 200-mile Coast Guard and naval blockade of the Florida Straits. U.S. Customs is seizing any vessel that brings back refugees...
Four days after the blast, President Carter decided to inspect the devastated area. After a night in Portland, he climbed into the first of a flotilla of eight helicopters, packed with Cabinet officers, Senators, Congressmen and local government officials, including Governors Dixy Lee Ray of Washington and John Evans of Idaho. From the air Carter could not see the still-smoking peak of Mount St. Helens. It was hidden by rain clouds. But as his chopper flew at treetop level, he was astonished by the colorless landscape...
Beyond the near panic in Florida's large Cuban-American community, Carter's sudden crackdown on the flotilla chugging between Key West and Castro's designated embarkation port of Mariel produced other uncertainties. By seizing 113 boats by week's end and threatening boatowners with fines of up to $50,000 and prison terms of up to ten years, the Administration had effectively stopped the sailing of boats out of Key West. Yet some 1,500 American craft still lay in Mariel, capable of carrying an average of 45 refugees each-a potential capacity...
...also been imposed in an attempt to discourage U.S. boat crews, many of them hopeless land lubbers, from risking their lives on the high seas. Indeed, when a fierce storm with near hurricane-force winds lashed the straits last week a major disaster threatened the main body of the flotilla. Nine boats sank and nine boats capsized. Coast Guard cutters plucked 14 people from the 8-ft. waves and towed 65 vessels back to Key West. It was considered miraculous that only four people drowned...
Despite the obstacles, the flotilla continued to grow. Cuban Americans with relatives on the island converged on Key West from Ohio, California and New York, only to find that their thousands of dollars in cash were still not enough to meet the exorbitant prices. Skippers demanded $1,000 or more to ferry each refugee; charter fees for shrimp boats went as high...