More Lattude 38 info

Posted By: Tom T. House
Date: 12/7/06 8:41a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Maybe helpful or not (Tom T. House)

Jim: I got curious and did some additional surfing on this subject. I found some inform, which seems pretty up-to-date on the Latitude 38 web page, in the subsection giving inforrmation on this year's Baja HA HA for those cruising down to Mexico from San Diego or where-ever north. As you scan down a bit from the top oof the following info, it appears to give good information about the "New" clearing process for those entering the country by boat. ...and remember, if you think about it, every now and again post a bit of info about your adventure for us (at the moment stuck at the office and boat covered by snow until spring) sailors. The following is from: http://www.baja-haha.com/Guide/index.html#anchor316375 IV. Once You're In Mexico When sailing to Mexico, you'll want to have the current documents and paperwork - both the originals and about five copies: 1) The original of your vessel documentation - with current stamp - or state registration. 2) Passports for the entire crew - although you can sometimes get by with a birth certificate and sometimes even a California driver's license. 3) Proof of Insurance - mostly only required by marinas. 4) Boat and Individual Fishing Permits - even if you're just carrying fishing gear. 5) Mexican Tourist Cards - pick them up at your first port. 6) Crew List - see the last page of this booklet. 7) Notorized permission letter for children who are minors if they are not accompanied by both their parents - muy importante! 8) Letter of Authorization if a captain is to be left in charge of the boat. The New Clearing Rules in Mexico If this will be your first time cruising in Mexico, you have no idea how lucky you are that the rules for 'domestic clearing' have changed. In the bad old days - meaning before April 19, 2005 - it took a lot of time and money to clear out of one port captain's district and into another port captain's district. It involved going to the Port Captain, Immigration, Aduana (Customs) sometimes, to a bank, and back to the port captain. If the port captain required you to use a ship's agent, it could cost you over $100, and take all day. And then you'd have to do it all over again at the next port - even if it was only 10 miles away. It was a tremendous waste of cruiser time and money, and much disliked. Clearing in and out of Mexico Today. The procedure for clearing into your first port of entry in Mexico is the same as it's always been. You visit the Port Captain to get papers clearing your boat into the country. Then you visit Immigration to get a tourst card / visa for each member of your crew. Finally, you visit Aduana to get your boat's 10-Year Temporary Import Permit. You have not cleared in until you've gotten all these papers. If you want, you can hire a ship's agent to do the paperwork for you. Expect that it will take all day or even overnight, and it can't be done on weekends or holidays. Do not lose your ship's clearance into Mexico, the Import Permit, or your visa. These are all valuable documents that should be kept with your passport. Clearing in and out of Domestic Ports. If you are going from one port captain's district to another within Mexico - such as from Cabo to La Paz, Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, etc. - the new clearing procedure is much easier, quicker, and less expensive than before. All that's required is that you "inform" the port captain of your arrival or departure. Depending on the port captain, this can mean slightly different things. Some port captains still require that you stop at their office and give them the basic information - such as boat name, size, document number, list of crew, and such. But that's it! It shouldn't take much more than five or 10 minutes, and unlike before there is no charge and you shouldn't have to use a ship's agent. Since port captains aren't getting any money for doing this work, many are allowing marinas to keep logs of the arrivals and departures of boats for them. This also constitutes "informing" the port captain. In these cases, you once again would provide the basic information about your boat and crew. If you are renting a berth in a marina, usually there is no charge. If you're an anchor-out using the marina's log, you might be charged a couple of bucks for that service. So yes, there still is a little work to do to clear in and out of domestic ports, but it's very little, shouldn't take much time, and is entirely reasonable. But again, don't try to do it on a weekend or holiday because the port captain's office will be closed.