Coming to America

[jwalk]

We are sailing our 43 Irwin ,Elsa Jane back to the U.S. after a 4 year stint in the West Indies.Need heads up on current U.S. regulations.Elsa Jane is U.S. documented,with 11 ft. dinghy and outboard.We will be entering at Miami,staying for less than 3 months in Florida then moving up East coast.Your feedback is appreciated

[s/v Jedi]

Entering in Miami?! That's guts, I have heard nasty stories about that (only Key West is worse according to those stories) and would personally sail on to at least Ft. Pierce, where cruisers are still respected as human beings etc.

cheers,
Nick.

[jwalk]

What about Marathon ?

[donradcliffe]

If you check into Puerto Rico and sail straight through, you don't have to check in again.

[jwalk]

Have decal purchased in Culebra which expires in 3 days

[jwalk]

Trying to decide if I need to renew it

[Hud3]

jwalk,

Are you referring to the Customs user fee decal that costs $27.50? They're valid for a calendar year, so you'd have to purchase a new one for entry in 2012. And as donradcliffe said, if you've cleared in at Puerto Rico (Culebra) you're good to go. No need to clear in in Florida when you get there.

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by Hud3

jwalk,

Are you referring to the Customs user fee decal that costs $27.50? They're valid for a calendar year, so you'd have to purchase a new one for entry in 2012. And as donradcliffe said, if you've cleared in at Puerto Rico (Culebra) you're good to go. No need to clear in in Florida when you get there.

He probably is referring to the LBO card. This is the Local Boaters Option. It is a card that looks like a plastic credit card and is used to facilitate easy and quick clearance into US ports. The LBO program is designed for boaters who frequently clear into US ports -- such as between USVI and BVI and PR and also between SE USA ports and Bahamas and Bermuda. We obtained LBO cards for each crew member (all US citizens) in USVI. Allowed us to clear into Culebra and PR with just a phone call. We have not returned to the US mainland yet so cannot speak to how easy or difficult clearance might be.

Judy