Persistent Quest for Freedom Award

MIAMI (AP) – Eleven Cubans trying to sail to Florida in a 1950s Buick
converted into a tailfinned boat were intercepted at sea by the Coast
Guard and will be sent back to their homeland, exile activists said Wednesday.

Marciel Basanta Lopez and Luis Grass Rodriguez, the two men who turned
the classic car into a floating vessel, tried a similar stunt last summer
and got caught: They set out for Florida in a 1951 Chevy pickup with
pontoons made out of empty 55-gallon drums and a propeller that pushed
it along at about 8 mph. (photo of the day July 24)

On Monday, the men set out again, with four other adults and five children,
relatives said. The Coast Guard intercepted the group late Tuesday en
route to the Florida Keys, picking them up off Marathon, about 90 miles
southwest of Miami, activist Arturo Cobo said.

If anyone deserves a green card (and pink slip) it’s these guys.  From
AP