What Document Is Delivery Captain Required to Have on Board

[crewofnoka]

My husband has been asked by a friend to sail his boat out of the Bahamas into the U.S. Since the cruising permit is in the owners name and the owner will not be on board, we were wondering if a letter or something else is required to prove that he is not stealing it but has permission of the owner, in case he is stopped. Thanks for any help!

[capt_douglas]

A letter of authorization for the transit of the vessel in the name of the Captain should do it. I'd also make sure the ships papers are on board as well. And make sure you have the owners details.

You might want to email the DHS/CG folks with a float plan and a note that you're delivering the boat for the owner.

And you're going to have to submit an ANOA (Advanced Notice of Arrival) as well. You can do that either by fax or email but you need to do it. The repercussions of not doing so are considerable.

[delmarrey]

I might add, it would be good to have the letter notarized or witnessed by and authority (the embassy would be good).

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by capt_douglas

And you're going to have to submit an ANOA (Advanced Notice of Arrival) as well. You can do that either by fax or email but you need to do it. The repercussions of not doing so are considerable.

That's a new one on me. What's an "Advanced Notice of Arrival" and why is it necessary?

[crewofnoka]

I was curious too, so I looked and found this on another thread here, which basically says a U.S. flagged vessel less than 300 GT is exempt from filing a ANOA.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ival-1083.html

[FSMike]

Figures.

[YOGAO]

The USCG does NOT want a copy of your float plan (it will end up in file 13). You should however, provide one to the boat owner and to someone else you know and trust to contact the CG if you never show up.

BTW, the friend is not sailing the boat back because he doesn't have the time, right? (Not because he doesn't want to be on the boat if it gets physically inspected by the CG/Customs folks...)

Fair Winds,
Mike

[crewofnoka]

Follow up question: We were told we should have a copy of the cruising permit when we enter the Bahamas so that they will let us in without a return ticket. We leave in a few days and the cruising permit is on the boat. We do have a letter from the owner saying we have his permission to sail the boat out of the Bahamas, shouldn't that be enough? We can try to get a faxed copy of the permit if it's really necessary but we are hoping that it isn't a requirement.

[Vasco]

It's a lot better if you have a copy of the Bahamian cruising permit or at the very least the number of the permit.

[FSMike]

Unless things have changed -
The good news is that you won't have a problem in the Bahamas about the lack of a cruising permit.
Unfortunately the reason for that is the bad news.
The bad news is that the airlines won't fly you there on a one-way ticket without a cruising permit.
Please note that the airlines may well sell you a one-way ticket, but when you try to board the gate personnel will not allow it. The ticket agents are not all aware of this restriction.

[captainKJ]

Unless things have changed -
The good news is that you won't have a problem in the Bahamas about the lack of a cruising permit.
Unfortunately the reason for that is the bad news.
The bad news is that the airlines won't fly you there on a one-way ticket without a cruising permit.
Please note that the airlines may well sell you a one-way ticket, but when you try to board the gate personnel will not allow it. The ticket agents are not all aware of this restriction

That is NOT true,,, I have flown over 2 dozen times into the bahamas on a one way ticket. You need a copy of the bahamas cruising permit,, a letter on boat letterhead saying that the boat is responsible for getting you home,,, and that you are delivering the boat to the U.S.. This needs to be signed by the owner of the sailboat.

check out ChefKen.com,,, I was a chef on the private yachts for over 12 years and NEVER had a round trip ticket... i always flew into the bahamas and took the boat back to the U.S.

[FSMike]

captainkj -

The whole point of the poster's question was what happens WITHOUT a copy of the cruiser's permit.

Your answer doesn't apply.

Nice avatar.

[captainKJ]

A cruising permit is not enough,,, you still need a letter or such saying that you are working on the vessel. Maybe I could have written differently but my point I was trying to make was that the cruising permit needs to accompany a letter saying the things mentioned in my last post ,, a call to the airline could help out in this matter,,,

[FSMike]

crewofnoka -

captainkj's experience varies from mine. I have flown one way into the Bahamas quite a few times with only a copy of the cruising permit with my name shown as a member of the crew with nary a problem. Paperwork giving you permission to move somebody else's boat is a different matter from merely entering the country.

We have also had friends fly in to meet us using the same procedure.

The airline will want a copy of the cruising permit with your name on it as crew, so will the Bahamian authorities. In my experience that is all that is necessary to enter the country.

[Auspicious]

I've had crew fly into the Bahamas to meet me a number of times, two as recently as January 2010. In each case I e-mail a letter identifying the person (full name and passport number) as a member of crew with our plan for depature from the Bahamas and a scan of my cruising permit. In no case has the inbound crew been listed on the cruising permit.

It's worked for me.