"John Murfet" wrote:

I'm planning on finding a used 38' boat in the USA east coast, outfitting,
then sailing on to Europe. My questions are : how much visa time would I be

You are eligible for the Visa Waiver Program but I don't think this is
a help to you. It looks like your limit is 90 days which cannot be
extended, and you have to have a round trip ticket.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/questions.html
To enter the U.S. under the VWP, travelers must:

* Be a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program country;
* have a valid passport issued by the participating country that is valid for six months beyond your intended visit;
* have a machine-readable passport (MRP);
* be seeking entry for 90 days or less, as a temporary visitor for business or pleasure. You will not be permitted to extend your visit or change to another visa category under the VWP;
* if entering by air or sea, have a round-trip transportation ticket issued on a carrier that has signed an agreement with the U.S. government to participate in the VWP, and arrive in the United States aboard such a carrier;
* hold a completed and signed Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94W, on which you have waived the right of review or appeal of an immigration officer’s determination about admissibility, or deportation. These forms are available from participating carriers, travel agents, and at land-border ports-of-entry;
* have no visa ineligibilities. This means if you have been refused a visa before, have a criminal record or are ineligible for a visa you cannot travel on the Visa Waiver Program. You must apply for a visa to the U.S.

I'm not sure whether you could get a Cruising Permit after you get the
boat - that allows foreign boats to cruise in the U.S. for a year,
after which you must leave U.S. coastal waters and enter another
country. An alternative is to pay the U.S. duty (about 1.5%) so the
boat can stay in the U.S. as long as you want.

allowed (I'm an Australian citizen), and if I spend 30 - 40k on a boat would
that time be enough to ready the boat for cruising? I'm a single male, how
difficult is it to find crew willing to share expenses?
Any help is very welcome.

The time required will vary depending on the type of boat. I'd
suggest buying a boat that's pretty much ready to go SOMEWHERE, going
to the Bahamas or someplace like that, and then returning to the
Florida and putting the boat up in a yard to do the work (if the boat
is in the yard the Florida 90 day restriction doesn't go into effect).

As far as finding crew - I've never been able to do that.




grandma Rosalie