Vito wrote:

I'm admittedly ignorant of these laws.

What's involved in clearing in/out? When do/don't you need to do it?
Do you have to clear into each country you sail by without stopping
if you come within xx of land? If you anchor off shore and paddle in
to (say) get a tooth filled and buy some lemons do you need to
declare everything left aboard (eg, your gun, camera and jewelry)
even if it's never brought ashore?

Normally when you arrive in a country you must hoist a quarantine flag
and a port official either comes to the boat or the captain goes ashore
with all the passports and ships papers. The process can be simple or
astoundingly frustrating depending on the country, the attitude of the
clearing official and how popular the port is with cruisers. Most
places you must declare weapons but the contents of the boat are not
normally listed. You must not venture on shore any more than necessary
to clear customs. In an emergency some places might let you clear after
the emergency is handled but a tooth ache would definitely not qualify.

When you leave most countries require you to clear out and issue a
Zarpe which is a certification that you left in good standing. Some
countries want to see the Zarpe from your last port before you can clear in.

As to sailing through without landing, that is a good question. Most
places clearing is not necessary if you are just passing through their
waters but I would be interested to know what the Bahamian policy is on
that. On deliveries back from the BVI we usually break it into 4 long
legs stopping at Boqueron, PR, Luperon, DR and Georgetown. If it is
going to cost us $500 to stop in Georgetown we will probably just sail
right on through. If they still want our money we will have to go up
the Old Bahamas Channel and the west side of the bank. Sure hope Cuba
opens up before then 'cause Cap Haitian to Ft. Lauderdale is a long slog.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com