SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Question about dropping anchor in another country

10K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  schdennis 
#1 ·
Hey folks,

First post. Sailing has been on the list for quite some time and I'm going to get started soon.

I had a question about dropping anchor in a foreign country. Last week we were in Grand Cayman for a dive vacation. We saw several boats anchored off shore.

When you do this are you obliged by law (or courtesy) to check in with local authorities when you arrive? If you don't, will you get a visit from someone? Do you usually have to pay fees?

Thanks,

Beck
 
#3 ·
If you don't check in, expect problems if the authorities end up boarding your boat. As a general rule, if you're going to be staying in foreign waters long enough to anchor, you need to check in with the customs office.
 
#4 ·
Hey folks,

First post. Sailing has been on the list for quite some time and I'm going to get started soon.

I had a question about dropping anchor in a foreign country. Last week we were in Grand Cayman for a dive vacation. We saw several boats anchored off shore.

When you do this are you obliged by law (or courtesy) to check in with local authorities when you arrive? If you don't, will you get a visit from someone? Do you usually have to pay fees?

Thanks,

Beck
beck I am curious about this as well, do you mean check in with local authorities after clearing customs or do you mean should you check in with customs if you have no intention of "landing"?
 
#5 ·
A while back you were only required to clear Customs before you went ashore but I was chewed out by the US Customs in 2006 when I anchored after returning from Canada and went in the next day to clear. I was told it was a $5000 fine but they would let me go "for now". You are expected to clear as soon as reasonably possible when you enter US waters. I don't know about other countries but I expect they are all pretty much the same.
 
#8 ·
It is a good idea to fly the host (your visiting) country flag on the starboard spreader. The Q (yellow) beneath this flag signals pratique (I would like to stay her, clear customs, etc,).

If you do not go ashore, they most likely will come to you to check out visas. Don't just assume that you can drop an anchor anywhere,

Hand made flags are easy to make out of your sailmakers scraps - offer them 10 - 15 bucks for the colors. They don't have to be perfect (like the eagle eating a snake on the Mexico flag,) just make green, white and red panels. Even canvas can be sewn by hand.

A grommet kit is invaluable as the flags flog in the wind. Also helpful is muslim to make the flying flag edge stiffer and accept the grommets.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Typically, when you enter a foreign country and go to check in with their customs, ONLY the captain is allowed to go ashore for that purpose and the rest of the crew/passengers must stay aboard. (That is, if there isn't a designated wharf with a customs station, or they don't come out in a boat to meet you when you radio in or show your yellow Q flag, or if they don't have things set up so you can clear in at designated marinas.)

In general you'll really need your passport... especially to get back in the USA. And some countries won't let you in if your passport is close to expiration. Some countries also require visas. Sometimes you have to get these visas way ahead of time. Sometimes you need a typed crew list, perhaps in the language of the country you're visiting. Sometimes you have to pay cruising fees. Sometimes countries have so much paperwork that it's worth hiring brokers / agents / fixers / couriers. Sometimes the paperwork and requirements for people coming by boat are very different than for coming by commercial airplane, cruise ship, etc. In some situations you may need to show proof of some basic boating competency.

Bulletin boards, yacht clubs near foreign borders, cruising guides, travel books, etc. are loaded with good info.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I guess the simplest explanation is to ask how any country would control drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, illegal immigrants and the list goes on, if they were happy to allow vessels to just turn up on their coast and put down and anchor.

Logic says that the above scenario would not be allowed by any government outside of Somalia.

Many places in the world would be downright unhappy if a foreign vessel anchored without clearing in first. Many would simply put you in jail. Some would confiscate your boat, sell it and use some of the proceeds to fly you back home.

Any of these reactions is something that no clear thinking sailor would want to test.

The other aspect to think on is that when you are moving from one sovereign country to another, your boat papers have to show an auditable trail. The first question any custom/immigration office is going to ask is "Where have you just come from" and they're going to want your papers to prove it. If it took you six months to sail the last 500nm, they're going to start asking some uncomfortable questions. So wandering from one island group to the next without clearing in AND out will eventually get you bogged down in discussions most of us would rather avoid.

So to repeat what an earlier post said, fly a courtesy flag of the country you have arrived at as well as a plain yellow Q flag and things will be easier for your there and from there-on in. Just anchoring and hoping not to be spotted is the worst of all the choices at your disposal.
 
#11 ·
If you intend to stay in foreign waters instead of just passing through them, you have to go to a port of entry to check in first. For (re)entering the USA, it means one of these: DHS | US-VISIT: Current Ports of Entry

The only area I know of where this is handled rather loosely is the Schengen countries within the European Union. There are no border controls between these countries, so going from one of them to another with a ship from there doesn't cause any stir. We did it between Italy and France, and there were no legal formalities - just payed for berth and showers ;-)
 
#12 · (Edited)
This website is regarded by most cruisers as having the most up to date info about each countries entrance formalities http://www.noonsite.com/

You can arrive some where and anchor flying the Q flag but you must make reasonable efforts to clear in ASAP. In most countries if you arrive after 3pm they are happy if you go ashore to clear next day.

NOTE NOBODY IS SUPPOSED TO GO ASHORE not even the captain that night.

Can you arrive in a country, stop somewhere, drop the hook, stay overnight and leave next day for another country. Lots of people do and in some places it tacitly allowed but do be aware that some countries are definitely not happy if you do that.

The BVI for instance arrested a charter boat seized the boat and jailed the captain for a year plus a fine for being in their territorial waters without clearing and fishing there. It does appear that he was a repeat offender.

The USA is also somewhere to follow the letter of the law. Note too if you hold a non US passport and arrive on a private vessel you must have a visa. The visa waiver program does not apply. many people have been caught out by this if they fly into the USVI on a visa waiver, get on a charter boat, clear out [no problem] sail over to the BVI. Clear in there clear out for the USVI only to find they are denied entry on arrival.

BTW if this happens to you get the commercial ferry over to St Johns from Sopers or Road Town, the visa waiver does apply to them.

As well as Noonsite I always ask around the long term liveaboard community if the rules have changed which port of entry to use and or how are they being enforced. For instance for a long time it was preferable to enter Antigua at Jolly Harbour rather than Elizabeth Harbor.
 
#13 ·
EU and protocol

So, it sounds as though life would be pretty simple if you flew in as a non-EU citizen, cleared in like a normal tourist, and then chartered a yacht in Italy and visited France and Spain, life would be fairly simple.

But if you sail from outside the EU to the EU/Schwengen accord countries I assume you'd have to do the full check-in procedure, and if you included any non-EU/outside-the-protocol countries in your itinerary, you'd be getting the full treatment.

Italy to Tunisia to Malta to Egypt to Israel to Lebanon to Turkey to Greece to Albania to Serbia to Italy, for example, would be "interesting". Indeed.

And even on the northern side of the Med, there are countries where the rules seem to change from one port official to the next.
 
#15 · (Edited)
So, it sounds as though life would be pretty simple if you flew in as a non-EU citizen, cleared in like a normal tourist, and then chartered a yacht in Italy and visited France and Spain, life would be fairly simple.
If you have a permit to enter the EU, it is exactly like that. We (EU citizens) had a Chinese with an EU visa on board. The Italian customs officers would rather complain about possible work you cause instead of appreciating good behaviour. It's not necessary if there's no control at the land borders.
But if you sail from outside the EU to the EU/Schwengen accord countries I assume you'd have to do the full check-in procedure, and if you included any non-EU/outside-the-protocol countries in your itinerary, you'd be getting the full treatment.
True.
Italy to Tunisia to Malta to Egypt to Israel to Lebanon to Turkey to Greece to Albania to Serbia to Italy, for example, would be "interesting". Indeed.
Haha, if you really want to entirely spoil your journey, then do it like this. I doubt you could make it within a year :laugher

I'd also keep in mind that some countries have odd restrictions for anchoring, whether it's with costs or generally banned. Some areas even require a payed cruising permit to be there.
 
#14 ·
Flag etiquette

A small point....., but I believe that on arrival at a port of entry foreign vessels should fly only the Q flag from the starboard spreader. This indicates to anyone looking that the vessel has not cleared into the country and should not be approached -- it's essentially Quarantined.

In the book of international flag signals "Q" means "My vessel is healthy and I request a free pratique", which in years gone was a request for the port's health officer to come out and determine if the boat was free of disease. Once granted the pratique the vessel could then proceed to a dock and begin unloading its cargo.

My understanding of proper flag etiquette is that only AFTER clearing in with port authorities, does the Q flag comes down. It is then immediately replaced by the host country's flag.

On BR our practice is to run up the Q flag when we enter the territorial waters of a country.

I've seen many boats who use both host country flag and Q at the same time, and I haven't heard of any port authorities objecting to that practice.

I have been in countries where officials have objected to the absence of their national flag on the starboard spreader, so its best to have one and it should be a good representation of the flag ((I'd stay away from the home-made variety unless it's something easy to do, e.g. France).

And finally, note that it's not good practice to fly the courtesy flag upside down as I did on my first stay in Sint Maarten. It's easy to do with the Dutch flag. Following this minor embarrasment, I marked all the flags in our inventory with an arrow on the luft indicating "this side up".
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top