Bahamas Serious About Proper Clearance

[sailorboy1]

sea lawyers crack me up

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

... People seem quite fond of quoting the UNCLOS agreements as if these are guaranteed rights that they have anywhere in the world. WRONG! There are plenty of countries out there that have not signed the UNCLOS agreements ...

Including the USA.

[svseachange]

There was an educational story on the Georgetown cruisers net this morning. Apparently a sailor had got a 90 day visa when he first checked in, but in the meantime he had flown back to the US. When he came back in he was give new 30 day visa (he did not notice this change).

He was boarded yesterday and the Bahamians noticed his visa was expired and asked him to leave the country immediately. Check your visas if you have flown out and back in!

[svseachange]

Putting my last post in context, I think the Bahamians are being reasonable. Consider what happens to outsiders who get caught overstaying their visa in the US. Some Australians I met overstayed their visa by a week whole making a repair in Lake Worth. The CBP boarded them, noticed their visas were expired and put them in prison until they sorted things out.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by svseachange

Putting my last post in context, I think the Bahamians are being reasonable. Consider what happens to outsiders who get caught overstaying their visa in the US. Some Australians I met overstayed their visa by a week whole making a repair in Lake Worth. The CBP boarded them, noticed their visas were expired and put them in prison until they sorted things out.

It can be quite a task to keep up with the requirements of every country, all our visas, entering and clearing procedures. However, it's something we have to do. It's much like use of cell phones in different states while driving or flying into NYC, renting a car, and not realizing right turn on red isn't legal.

There was a time and I don't know if it's still the case that having a CB in your vehicle was illegal in VA. I knew someone who said he lived in NC, owned a Porsche and the CB came built in on the car. He was pulled over in VA. Red Porsche so not surprising. They told him he had to remove the CB. He said there was no way. They went on for a while and finally they agreed if he cut the wires to it, they would allow him to continue. So, he did.

[jhovan]

The international laws are clear. You don't need to check in if you don't stop at a port and are making passage through the waters. All the macho talk about the Bahamas sovereignty is just that. Macho talk.

[S/V Antares]

"They" have also been looking carefully at foriegn boats that are stored here in the summer and do not renew their cruising permits.

A group of agents has been hitting marinas and looking for scofflaws. Also boats bringing in a few too many cartons of American cigaretts. They are not busting cruisers for "Ship Stores" but if you have 100 cartons of smokes or a few hundred cases of beer you might have a problem. They are looking for specific boats, not bothering anyone else.

Any visiting cruisers that come here and follow the simple requests of the fine people of the Bahamas Customs and Imigration will be met with smiles and a warm welcome.

S/V Antares
Abaco

[Hud3]

Many boats making the passage from the eastern Caribbean to Florida sail right through the Bahamas without stopping. Typical routes are the Old Bahamas Channel between Cuba and the Bahamas, and the Northwest Providence Channel, which goes right through the northern Bahamas. Sometimes the Royal Bahamas Defense Force will board transiting vessels to inspect for illegal activity, but if clean, they send them on their way. I sailed through the NW Providence Channel with no issues. Friends of mine were politely boarded at night in the Old Bahama Channel and cleared onward.

Sailing through the normal transit routes is apparently not an issue. Sneaking through the routes normally taken by cruisers enjoying the islands of the Bahamas (like the boat in question that was caught at Ship Channel Cay) makes it difficult to claim "innocent passage".

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by jhovan

The international laws are clear. You don't need to check in if you don't stop at a port and are making passage through the waters. All the macho talk about the Bahamas sovereignty is just that. Macho talk.

show me the law specifying that applies to Bahahmas

or ...

tell it to the Bahamian judge.

[S/V Antares]

Quote:

There was a time and I don't know if it's still the case that having a CB in your vehicle was illegal in VA. I knew someone who said he lived in NC, owned a Porsche and the CB came built in on the car. He was pulled over in VA. Red Porsche so not surprising. They told him he had to remove the CB. He said there was no way. They went on for a while and finally they agreed if he cut the wires to it, they would allow him to continue. So, he did.[/QUOTE]

Band B, It was radar detectors in VA. They gave my wife a choice of getting a fine and putting it in the trunk or he could smash it on the roadside and proceed with no fine. (Maryland car)

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by jhovan

The international laws are clear. You don't need to check in if you don't stop at a port and are making passage through the waters. All the macho talk about the Bahamas sovereignty is just that. Macho talk.

Its not macho talk. Its the law.
As Hud says the main shipping chanels are fine to transit but "internal" waters ate not.
Now, as checking the definition of "internal waters" is far too macho i guess you wont do it and will remain ignorant. I am certainly not going to help you out


Mark <---- for all my failings at least I know what I am talking about.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by jhovan

The international laws are clear.

Wow. You are just so wrong, on so many levels.

For one thing, there is no such thing as "international laws." There are treaties between countries. Not all countries sign all treaties. Not all countries enforce the treaties in the same way. Regardless of anything else, when you are in THEIR country, you are subject to THEIR laws.

Beyond that, the UNCLOS agreements, which I suspect you are thinking of, very definitely do NOT say that "you don't need to check in if you don't stop at a port." Not even anything close to that.

The laws that do apply, and what is allowed under the UNCLOS agreements, has been pretty well explained in previous posts. For those who are reading this, and trying to understand, please, read the other posts, ignore the post by jhovan.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

no such thing as "international laws." There are treaties between countries. Not all countries sign all treaties.

Which Gord noted that the USA has not signed. I had a look at the reasons why and it all makes interesting reading United States non-ratification of the UNCLOS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by jhovan

The international laws are clear. You don't need to check in if you don't stop at a port and are making passage through the waters. All the macho talk about the Bahamas sovereignty is just that. Macho talk.

Yeah, good luck with that when you get caught. Please don't tell the Bahamas authority something like that: I am the Mighty American, bow before me or I will send our drones to bomb your sorry asses.

I just wonder............ how old are you?

[tomfl]

My guess would be that if you are on the Bahama Banks you should probably check in. If you are transiting between Cuba and the Bahamas you will probably be safe. But keep in mind the USCG overflys this area multiple times a day, you can almost set your clock by it on the Cay Sal Bank.

Realistically I would not want to be sailing on the Bahama Banks at night or for long periods of time for safety reasons. The water gets skinny and there are big coral heads that pop up in the worth places.