Migrant Vessel

While in the Keys this past week we rented some kayaks and paddled around some of the outlying keys that do not have roads.  All of the Keys are surrounded by very shallow water.  There are multiple shipwrecks all along the reefs where the captains think it will be deep enough but it really isn't.  While out, we ran across this ship wreck:

It was pretty interesting because it didn't look like it had been there very long.  Taylor hopped out of the kayak and investigated:

After reading the notice placed by the Coast Guard and investigating the "ship" we have a new appreciation for how much some people would like to live in the United States.  The notice was placed on Aug 1, 2013.  The "ship" is made out of styrofoam and rebar.  They have long sticks and pieces of plastic for sails.  There is an engine pieced together from rusty parts.  It doesn't look like it works well. I can't imagine setting out from Cuba, in the dark, in this make-shift craft on the open sea hoping to drift 90 miles into the US waters before I starve, dehydrate, run out of gas or capsize.  We had a long discussion with the kids about how blessed they are to have all the privileges and opportunities just by the nature of their birth.  We also discussed how life would be in Cuba and why those people are willing to risk their lives to come to the United States.  There is nothing like seeing an actual "migrant vessel" to make you compassionate and thankful.