LETTERS ⇑⇓THE U.S. DIDN'T KNOW HOW I SHOULD CLEAR IN My experience clearing into the United States after bypassing San Diego wasn't as painful as the one that Greg King of the 65-ft schooner Coco Kai had a few months back, but it certainly was confusing. I departed Cabo San Lucas on July 16, 2014 on my Pearson 365 Laelia. I sailed nonstop to San Francisco Bay, arriving on August 15. I called the Coast Guard on VHF 16 about two hours out of the Gate to find out how to clear in. They didn't know. But they wanted my vessel information and passport number. The Coast Guard eventually referred me to Vessel Traffic Service. VTS didn't know how I was supposed to clear in either, but they eventually came up with a phone number for the TSA. After calls to several different numbers, and repeating my vessel information and passport information, I was asked if I had a cruising permit. They asked this despite the fact that they were well aware that I am a US citizen with a US-documented boat. After a long pause, I was instructed to proceed to Jack London Square, where someone would come to the boat and process me. It was after 6 p.m. by the time I got to Jack London Square. My initial calls to TSA went to voicemail, but eventually I got a human to pick up. The speaker said she would check with her supervisor to find out what to do. About a half-hour later, I got a call saying I was cleared in and could proceed to my marina. Is clearing into San Francisco from a foreign port that unusual, or did I just hit a bad day? Ralph Lewis Laelia, Pearson 365 Northern California
WEBB LOGG
Ralph — We think it's pretty unusual for a small boat to check into the United States at San Francisco. And based on reports we've heard from both American and foreign sailors, US Customs, Immigration and Border Patrol folks can have a hard time handling anything out of their normal routine. For example, about a year ago we reported on a friend who delivered a US-flagged boat from Puerto Vallarta to Tampa, Florida. When he got to Tampa, none of the officials had any idea what the procedure was for clearing in. As we recall, he finally got it done after 12 hours, which included long visits to two airports. In the past, owners of foreign-flagged vessels have complained to us that many US officials didn't know the law. When coming into the US, a foreign-flagged vessel has to check into the United States, the owner has to get a cruising permit, and then the owner has to check with US officials "every time the boat moves to a new location." Owners of foreign boats groused that when they tried to report a change in their location, some US Customs and Border Protection officials and/ or the US Coast Guard weren't even aware of the requirement, and couldn't figure out how to accept the information. One owner of a foreign-flagged vessel told us he was Who ya gonna call when you arrive at literally kicked out of a San Francisco from a foreign port? US Customs and Border Protection office on the East Coast for insisting he needed to report his boat's change in location. Fortunately, the system for keeping track of foreign boats
www.southbeachharbor.com Page 20 •
Latitude 38
• September, 2015