More problems with Australian Customs

[donradcliffe]

The Australian Customs just took another giant step to winning the this year's WBA (World's Biggest *******) contest.

News - Edmond de Rothschild on her way home - Vendée Globe 2016-2017

The Vendee Globe boat was damaged and limped into Freo. The Gitana team sent some guys down to help get the boat shipped back to France. Australian Customs told them they were not allowed to touch the boat unless they had work visas.

This allowed the Aussies to retake the overall WBA lead from the US Coast Guard, which earlier required the Viking ship replica Draken to have a pilot on board at all times if the sailed in American Waters in the Great Lakes.

Anyone else have a nominee for the WBA this year??

[SV DestinyAscen]

Shrug. I don't see what the big fuss is about. I wouldn't be able to fly into London and work without a proper visa, why would a professional team be treated differently?

The Viking boat registered itself as a foreign cargo vessel. The pilot fees were warned and estimated well prior to their departure but they wanted to gamble it.

I don't go sailing into Chinese waters near Hainan island without permission then blame the Chinese for being pissed that I'm too close to their naval base.

[El Pinguino]

Silly french peoples..... they should have known they needed either a Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (Subclass 400) or a Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) visa (Subclass 401) in the Sport stream...... one wonders what the other 399 subclasses cover.
Or maybe they needed something in the other 600 700 - and counting - series of subclasses.. https://australianfreediving.org/wp-...-July-2015.pdf

The world WBA leaders remain the Argentine Aduana..... the Tigre office getting a special mention.

[JPA Cate]

Surely, the Vendee Globe guys will be able to help arrange a short stay work visa for these men. A little bit unthinking to have not done it in advance, but it is hard to get things done in the last few days before Christmas.

El Ping, what did El Tigre do to get your nominationn?

Ann

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

.......
El Ping, what did El Tigre do to get your nominationn?

Ann

Tigre is a place not a person... one of the nicer bits of BA.... I had dealings with the 'gang of four' over a period of a year and a bit. The four of them inhabited an office maybe 3 metres x 3 metres at the back of the ferry terminal.
What didn't they do would be a simpler question to answer.
An example... hauling the boat at YCA in San Fernando.... must apply in writing and then in person.... man must come to inspect the boat when it is hauled... takes photos of boat.
Splashing ... same deal in reverse... apply to put boat back in water... be interogated to ensure no work was done by anyone when out of water.
Nope just washed her... nothing else ..honest.
You would think that employing incompetent local labour and buying 2nd grade RG boat bits would be good for the country...apparently not.

I'll never go back to the country ( left in mid 2010 ) but reports over the last few years from Ushuaia suggest aduana is 'going for gold' down there....

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

The Australian Customs just took another giant step to winning the this year's WBA (World's Biggest *******) contest.

News - Edmond de Rothschild on her way home - Vendée Globe 2016-2017

The Vendee Globe boat was damaged and limped into Freo. The Gitana team sent some guys down to help get the boat shipped back to France. Australian Customs told them they were not allowed to touch the boat unless they had work visas.

This allowed the Aussies to retake the overall WBA lead from the US Coast Guard, which earlier required the Viking ship replica Draken to have a pilot on board at all times if the sailed in American Waters in the Great Lakes.

Anyone else have a nominee for the WBA this year??

one should be aware that life in AUS is about creation of jobs to protect property prices, and therefore banks which are, we are told, the pillars on which the whole system rests.



you will get allocated experts from india to handle the boat.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Tigre is a place not a person... one of the nicer bits of BA.... I had dealings with the 'gang of four' over a period of a year and a bit. The four of them inhabited an office maybe 3 metres x 3 metres at the back of the ferry terminal.
What didn't they do would be a simpler question to answer.
An example... hauling the boat at YCA in San Fernando.... must apply in writing and then in person.... man must come to inspect the boat when it is hauled... takes photos of boat.
Splashing ... same deal in reverse... apply to put boat back in water... be interogated to ensure no work was done by anyone when out of water.
Nope just washed her... nothing else ..honest.
You would think that employing incompetent local labour and buying 2nd grade RG boat bits would be good for the country...apparently not.

I'll never go back to the country ( left in mid 2010 ) but reports over the last few years from Ushuaia suggest aduana is 'going for gold' down there....

To much Argie Bargy huh..??
Must be the fact its an English boat..

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by boatman61

To much Argie Bargy huh..??
Must be the fact its an English British boat..

No.... they treat everyone equally badly.... afloat, ashore, RGs or Foreigners....

[DeepFrz]

The boat has been loaded on to a cargo ship and is on the way home. Someone stepped in to help get the matter straightened out.

[Pelagic]

Very shortsighted!

I wonder....how many Australians are unofficially working in the Superyacht industry in the south of France?

I would not mess with the French over the Vendee

[RaymondR]

It appears that the problem was not whether or not they would be able to work on the boat only that they have the correct visa in order to do so. Like many western countries Australia has a substantial illegal immigrant problem. Assuming that you can enter a country then go to work will get you into trouble in many countries.

[bletso]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

It appears that the problem was not whether or not they would be able to work on the boat only that they have the correct visa in order to do so. Like many western countries Australia has a substantial illegal immigrant problem. Assuming that you can enter a country then go to work will get you into trouble in many countries.

Yep, but not here in the U S of A. We'll let anyone in to do what they will just so it's on the cheap.

[Pelagic]

This was a team with specialised knowledge of a private racing yacht, coming in to save it.

In many ways a Force Majuere situation.

For the time needed to prepare it for shipping, they could easily have ignored the red tape

I would not call this 'mate ship'

[MLOI]

Sounds like there might be a bit more to the story.
Did the French folk lob up on a tourist visa, then proceed to tell the customs guys they were here to work on the boat and that it was going to be a good little earner, done as a cashie?
If they'd just said they were here to get blotto at Cottesloe, then hitch to Darwin with a stop off at Broome for lunch, then they would have sounded just like any other Euro bum, and waved right through.
I suppose they declared all their cigs as well? How un francophile

[Pelagic]

I've seen a few times in Australia and New Zealand when a local immigration boss will try and make a point with a high profile case.

We had a similar situation in Auckland in 1999 at Americas Cup Village, when Immigration decided to issue all attending Superyacht crew Work Visas instead of Tourist Visas.

This was not normal international protocols for visiting yachts and I threatened to leave if they persisted to treat my crew as workers.

The other captains and owners supported this position and it was pushed right up to the minister of immigration.

Luckily at a meeting she finally acknowledged that crew working on a visiting yacht were tourists as their job was not on NZ soil, but on foreign registered yachts.

As we were the unofficial Louis Vuitton yacht, an ugly precedent was avoided.

My advice is to never give up your status as a visiting yachtsman