[cantxsailor]

Having just looked at the US Visa page it appears there are 35 countries that, if you hold one of their passports, are not required to have a visa to enter the USA for up to 90 days. None of the places I might be interested in sailing to are however listed. Perhaps if they didn't charge us they could also get away without having to pay to visit our country but I think it has more to do with the special tech requirments for the actual passport its self, biometrics and the like.

As I said I have never heard of ANYONE sailing to the US having to pay to enter and have NEVER even heard of a cruising permit for US waters although Florida is making noises about it.

AndorraIcelandNorwayAustraliaIrelandPortugalAustri aItalySan MarinoBelgiumJapanSingaporeBruneiLatviaSlovakiaCze ch RepublicLiechtensteinSloveniaDenmarkLithuaniaSouth KoreaEstoniaLuxembourgSpainFinlandMaltaSwedenFranc eMonacoSwitzerlandGermanythe NetherlandsUnited KingdomHungaryNew Zealand

I have to humbly admit to sounding a little bitter lately. That will sometimes happen when, through no fault of your own, you find yourself back to where you were(financially speaking) 25yrs ago. Between the ecomony going in the tank and hurricane IKE I have been cleaned out. I'm sure some of you may see it as bad planning or some character defect on my part.

I don't, however, remember ever crying poverty. Bitching about not having much money, yes, and grousing about how the wealthy always manage to foul up the places they go, for sure, but never crying. I'm still working on sailing away in spite of having the wind taken out of my sails as it were.

I may or may not get to go any where but like you say at least I'm still young enough to go.

As for my "waking up" at the hands of your enlightened self from the great white north my suggestion still stands.........m