Without any
references to less than Hoyle intentions of the OP - bringing a foreign registered boat into the
USA involves
Customs clearance, etc., which involves cruising permits,
ownership documents and possible USCG or DEA inspections. If the boat has recently or currently been used for illegal activities by the former owner the liabilities to the "delivery Captain" can be extreme. The delivery captain will have to thoroughly inspect and determine if the boat is indeed "clean" and also if it is
seaworthy for the trip across the
Gulf Stream.
Even for a
used boat purchased inside the
USA, getting it sea worthy can involve expenses approaching 50 to 100% of the
purchase price. The price of boat
parts in the Bahamas can be significantly above the price of the same part in the USA.
And the OP needs to be prepared for the delivery Captain to refuse the job after his on-site personal
inspection of the boat, which means the air ticket needs to be a prepaid round trip ticket along with a fee for time and expenses while outside the USA.
Typical professional delivery costs - I had to engage one to bring my boat back from the US Virgins to Florida - can run in the US$5K to $10K range with no guarantee that the boat will actually be moved.
This leads to my and other posters' suggestions to wait and get your passport so you can personally inspect the boat and supervise any
repairs needed to make it
seaworthy for a
Gulf Stream Crossing and a sail down the Hawk Channel to Key West.
I don't
cruise the
Miami to Key West
route anymore due to extreme costs and fines if the boat or skipper gets involved an any damage to the Florida Keys'
reefs or sea
grass beds. So you can surmise that the whole operation can quickly get very complicated and expensive, and more so if you hire a delivery Captain.