sailing and US coast Guard

[jsizemore]

This is a hypothetical question. I would like to bring a sailboat down in a few year or so when I retire. I would get someone to crew with me when I come down but if I want to go from the north coast around to the south coast with dominicano friends on board how do I keep the coast guard from accusing me of trying to smuggle people into PR.
I mean I would be in an American flagged vessel in a channel between the DR and PR with Dominican Nationals on board.
Is it just a matter of contacting the Coast Guard with a sailing route and people on board?
John

[Ken]

John, before you leave the north coast harbor you will need to clear out with the Port Commander. When doing so, you will need to give him a list of everyone that you have on board, including their passport or cedula numbers. He will give you a paper clearing you to leave the harbor and go to your destination harbor. If you should get stopped by the coast guard in the Mona Passage, show them the paper. When you get to your destination, you must clear in with the Port Commander there before anybody but the captain of your vessel disembarks. At that time they will check that all/only the people you gave the previous port commander as passengers are still onboard.

You have more to worry about from the Port Commanders than you do the US Coast Guard. Chances of you being boarded in the Mona are minimal if you don't appear headed for Puerto Rico. But you are certain to be scrutinized by the Marina de Guerra and if you don't follow all the rules exactly regarding clearing out and in, they will confiscate your boat and put you in jail. This is a very serious subject with them.

[jsizemore]

I am not too concerned about the DR. I fill out my forms pay for my permits ahead of time and do my thing with in their rules.That is the easy part.
My concern is with the Homeland Security DEA thing. I will still be legally in the Navy Reserves for ten years after my retrirement. I will fit the profile of drug/immigrant smuggler.( yes white boys get profiled) I just want to make sure when the Coast Guard boards me , we wind up sharing a cup of coffee over a sea story rather than me and my guest spread eagle with shot guns in our backs. And I will get borded.
If I have any legal trouble with the US government my pension could be fouled up. So I would rather have any kind of looking at me gets done and finsihed the same day. I have no desire nor intention to break any law. It is just when it comes to homeland secuirty and drug enforcement you are assumed guilty until you prove otherwise and I would like to have my proof when I am looked at and not after the fact. Especially when I will just be doing soem fishing and drinking Cuba Libres.
John

[Ken]

Just get the clearance from the port of departure and be sure it lists all the crew and passengers. That is all the proof you need. The coast guard knows that departures and arrivals are taken very seriously by the Dominican port authorities. For example, US Customs in Puerto Rico normally doesn't give departure clearances to departing vessels. But they will give you one if going to the DR because they know the Dominican port authorities want to see it.

I've crossed the Mona in a sailboat more than 10 times and was only boarded once. And that was very close to PR. Of course, with the current security concerns they may be boarding more often. But if you have the departure clearance from the north coast port they will know you are legitimate.

If you are taking Dominicans on a sailing yacht that will be traveling in the Mona Passage, you can be very sure that the Dominican port authorities are going to take great interest in what you are doing and who you are proposing to take. In fact, they may not let you take some or all of the Dominicans you propose to give a ride to. You can also bet that if they do allow some or all of the Dominicans to accompany you, that they are going to notify the port commander of the arrival port that you are enroute. If you don't arrive when they think you should, somebody will likely come looking for you. They may even notify the USCG to keep their eye on you to be sure you aren't headed for PR.

If I was worried about calling attention to myself, I certainly wouldn't invite a group of Dominicans to make the passage with me from the north to the south coast.

[jsizemore]

I was looking at the fact I am a bachelor and will be retired and boats being what they are and considering the distance and time the trip would take I was more thinking entertainment value of the company.

John

P.S. Did I keep that PG-13

[Ken]

You'll find that rules re use of boats is quite different here than most places. I traveled to the DR from the US on a cruising sailboat, spending time in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos enroute. I've crossed the Mona numerous times and have cruised the eastern Caribbean, spending time on nearly all the islands and close to a year in both Trinidad and Venezuela. Strictest of all is the DR, next strictest Venezuela. In the DR you don't just clear in and out of the country, you clear in and out of each and every port. Same procedure to go from Samana to a south coast port as to go from Samana to Puerto Rico.

[jsizemore]

So does that make it hard to gunkhole? I mean one of the attractions would be to find some little fishing village along the coast and way anchor. Would it be easier to get residency and and flag the vessel in the Dr with all the Duties and taxes that entails?
Do I make friends with the Naval Comadante and bring his nephew along? Is it that way for day triping. DO you have to clear port and reenter to go out and fish?
John

P.S. 367 days until retirement. But who's counting.

[Texas Bill]

John;
Your best bet will be as follows:

1) - Document your vessel with the USCG at the time of purchase. Might be better to form a Sub-chapter S corporation and place ownership of the vessel in it's name.
2) - Get some good insurance coverage and keep an up to date inventory of equipment and spares along with original invoices of their purchases. You'll have a lot of stuff stolen and will need these when you file your claim.
3) - During one of your trips to the DR, make the acquaintance of some reliable Dominicans (male and female) who KNOW HOW TO SAIL. Most do not, since they haven't been exposed to that sport. Make sure they possess an up-to-date valid passport and are not considered to be in the ranks of undesirables.
4) - Enter the DR at Manzanillo or Luperon and start your DR journey from there after the Dominicans whom you have selected as crew arrive and you are ready to proceed.
I recommend Luperon since the Commandancia there is accustomed to dealing with onward travellers, it being a major stopping off port for such.
5) - When you finally arrive at the South Coast, you'll be in a position to convert your vessel into a money maker by forming a Dominican Corporation (after getting your temp residency) and conducting day charters for the tourists that frequent the area.

Number 5 may take a while, but will be beneficial as an income supplement to your retirement.

In answer to your ?'s about gunkholing; there are NO good areas for that sport in the DR that I know of. Take a look at the ONLY chart available! The data presented is over 50 years old and really not all that reliable! Also, bear in mind that local fishermen WILL NOT provide you with any local information regarding such. They are very secretive about where they get their livelyhood.
Just a word to the wise.

Feel free to contact me about any other advise that I might be able to offer.

Good Luck!!

Texas Bill

[jsizemore]

I am being totally Redneck but I am building my boat in the Backyard of my house in Virginia Beach. I am not sure what I want to do after I am down there but I am looking into to several options and one is to do the merchant marine thing for a few years and save some cash. The other is after spending a year or so screwing off on a boat and going to Maine and attending the Washington County Comunity Collge in eastport for the Marine Technology course to get AS in boatbuilding. The other is after a year going to St Augustine and going through the First Coast Culinary Arts Center to finish out my exectutive chefs certs.
I want to take a year and chill out before I start anything again. One of the biggest problems with military retirees is trying to live the military life after retirement. I am choosing to purge myself of the whole rat race and then start over. I will not be one of those guys that falls over dead in less than three years after retirement.
The other problem is my ship has been in the yards since March 1. We have been at sea less than 7 days since then. We won't be getting under way for another month or so. While I am tired of the Navy I can't give up the Sea. It sucks you in and wont let go.
John

[ustelephone]

If you want to relax, I would suggest sailing anywhere but near Mona. Why in the world you would want to sail with Dominicans in an area where you could loose everything over a misunderstanding is beyond me. I am an ex-pilot who has flown the Caribbean for 15 years. Many of my fellow crewmembers have done a lot of boating in these waters. The stories are endless. I'm sure many are exaggerated, but is it worth it? There is a lot of open water to the South. Jamaica is lovely. No one with suspect you of smuggling Dominicans into Jamaica, Cuba, or Haiti. Anyway, if you would like the number of a good bail bondsman, send me a PM.

May the wind be at your back, and the cops far away!