Warning! Boat seizures reported in Mexico

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by oldjags

The US won't let you take passengers out for hire without having a Captain's License either - even if you're a US citizen. They don't confiscate your boat, though!

They'll confiscate your boat for a few grams of pot aboard though.

Without charging you for any crime either.

Even if your state has made it legal.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by GTom

Were these advertised charters or someone asked the guests to pay for their own coffee?

Advertising has nothing to do with it. Nor does even making a profit.

Making a living does. Passengers that aren't actually your "friends" does.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by oldjags

Well of course it's illegal. The question is, "Should it be illegal?"

If the boat is owned by an American and the worker is American, and the owner pays the worker via PayPal into his American PayPal account, how does Mexico even know? As far as they are concerned, he's just doing a friend a favor.

The objective of the law is to protect local workers. But, if I'm not willing to hire a local due to lack of competence, than I haven't really taken a job from a local, because they wouldn't have gotten it anyway.

you are selling mexico short. how did mexico know about the allegedly false paperworks a few years ago to create then send agace out to impound 1600 boats..... funnyhow the officials read cruisers forum and other sailing oriented forums/fora.
as a crew, gringos can work on boats in mexico but it must be declared as such. crew is tripulante in spanish. donot check tripulante on your entry papers you are breaking a law, if you have crew. working in positions locals are more than skilled to occupy and effect is illegal. taking money from mouths of mexicans is a deportable offense. oopsy. it only takes one complaint by a mexican for a gringo to lose his or her status in mexico and possessions.
do research on all nations intending to visit so you donot lose your possessions and boat to anyone.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by oldjags

Well of course it's illegal. The question is, "Should it be illegal?"

Are you asking whether Americans should be subject Mexican law when they are in Mexico? Do you think Mexicans (or anyone else) should be subject to US law when they are in the US? Just asking the obvious.

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Absolute rubbish, such that I don't even know where to begin.

Well please jump in and tell me where I'm wrong.

I live in Panama, and the dearth of skilled workers here is unbelievable. If I need my boat rigged, I know of only 2 people in Panama with the skills to do it. One is from New Zealand, the other from Spain.

There are plenty of people here who can do construction, but to Panama island standards, not to American or European standards. So I use a Frenchman who lives on the island. If it's a task that i'm comfortable that the local workers can handle, I'm always happy to hire them.

But my Spanish is not always up to the task of detailing the nuances of what needs to be done, so I sometimes use the Frenchman anyway, since his Spanish is much better than mine. He hires the locals and supervises the work.

The real world is often a lot different than people in ivory towers imagine.

[john61ct]

And really the "should it be illegal" question is none of your business except where you are a citizen.

Otherwise the answer is "none of your business".

Except for egregious human rights issues, but then of course fighting for those in a foreign country can be physically dangerous.

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

Are you asking whether Americans should be subject Mexican law when they are in Mexico? Do you think Mexicans (or anyone else) should be subject to US law when they are in the US? Just asking the obvious.

I am opposed to all laws everywhere that restrict what I or anyone else is allowed to do, assuming that the skill level is there.

Sure, there is a legitimate public health reason for requiring surgeons and others in the medical profession to be adequately trained before being allowed to cut people open.

But 90% of all jobs that now require licenses and certification do not justify being regulated like this. They are, pure and simple, artificial barriers to trade for the purpose of restricting the number of practitioners so higher rates can be charged.

Why do I need to graduate from a licenced barber school before being allowed to cut someone's hair? If I give a bad haircut, I will lose all my clients and go out of business.

Why do I need to pay over $1,000,000 for a NY City Taxi medallion before I am allowed to drive a NY City cab? As long my car is insured and safe, why do I need an extra license to drive for Uber as many places require?

Governments and laws have an irreplaceable role in society, but using them for protectionist purposes to prevent free and fair competition should not be one of them.

[Training Wheels]

It’s really quite simple. If you don’t like the laws in México, don’t go to Mexico.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

It’s really quite simple. If you don’t like the laws in México, don’t go to Mexico.

exactly. cannot comply, stay tf home. bye bye donot give gringos in mexico abad name. we are coming into a chavista regime. oops. chavismo no likee amurrikuns anyway. donot give reasonable cause to evict and eject all gringos merely for your self absorbed needs. remember what you do affects all of us.
remember the agace impounds?? they were resultant of whining on cf and other forums about paperworks. port capt of mazatlan read those rants and decided to fix the issue. he was govt, mandatory telling. he asked me first if the guy was for real. i told cpt i didnot know. he went forth with his mandatory reporting and agace happened. funny how all the boats tagged were in places that person had visited. where i was was avoided. they also added alcaputo to the agace list due to corruption in guerrero state.

be reasonable and do the legal things. be sure your friends are reliable.
i hire locals to do my work and they perform well. they know what to do , if not, ask to see pix, and learn from those what exactly i want ... if they cannot do the work, ie, welding., they bring a welder, and we interview together and i use the one with dirty hands. welders hands are unmistakable.
all this for well under the average gringo pricing, which is 30 to 60 usd hourly. i pay much less. he buys my parts for less than gringos are able. is handy to have mexihelp on boat. my workers treat me as if i were mexican. love that.


ps.. the worst work i have seen here has been done by the gringo organizations here only to rape wallets of gringo boaters. avoid them at all costs. the owner of business speaks good english, avoid like plague. will not mention names . this is fact in more than one mexipueblo or city.

[Scotty Kiwi]

Originally Posted by vonotto

HAHAHA the way this thread was going I was reading VERY fast and the first thing I read in your post was..."When my kids were little I used to SELL them".

.... said the prostitute to the priest.

[zeehag]

Re: Warning! Boat seizures reported in Mexico
Quote:
Originally Posted by vonotto View Post
HAHAHA the way this thread was going I was reading VERY fast and the first thing I read in your post was..."When my kids were little I used to SELL them".
.... said the prostitute to the priest.
end quote.....
i used to threaten my son with being sold into slavery when he was a lazy and distracted kid.. his reaction was comedic.
i ended up buying him a cheapo sailboat instead...

[Elie]

Countries accept gladly in general visitors, tourists, businesmen, coming to spend money in their contries. But visitors comming in fact to work, make money in the visited country implies that jobs risk of being stolen and putting local out of job. Unthinkable! And not paying income taxes: Horribilis!
Every nation try to enforce with more or less determination this kind of behavior!. And even between states in many countries, there are rules to 'protect' local economies. For exemple in Canada selling beer, booze, is strictly forbiden. And workers travel for jobs is also very well curtained. Why are Mexicans so different that Americans in that aspect, or other developped nations?. I'm alway surprise to see the candid position of some nationals while they ignore the way their own governements deal with this matters.

[Pelagic]

So, a foreign couple decides to fly to Mexico to join a foreign registered yacht that is presently transiting thru Mexico.

They are joining primarily to have pleasure and are drawn to this yacht because of their comfort level with owners from the same culture , same language.
From correspondence, ....they have a belief that this yacht will offer high technical and safety standards, to encourage them to fly to Mexico.

The Yacht and Crew will be spending tourist pesos all the time that they are ashore on consumables and services and is in fact only the catalyst and highlight part of a bigger trip.

However when on board, they are actually habitating on a foreign vessel, that happens to be in Mexican waters.

None of the crew onboard consider what they are doing is work, other than teamwork and mutual fun.

So, if a private consideration is made with each other to help facilitate that enjoyment in Mexico on a yacht that you are comfortable on....is that really competing with the local Bancas?

In extreme examples;
Super yachts are privately chartered and positioned anywhere in the World, the client desires them to be.

Local authorities are not informed of this private agreement and their boarding and departure is only individually noted as "Guests" in the Crew and Passenger departure list.

While more regulated in developed countries, remote and third world tourist cruising is by its very nature, more about the yacht, than the water.

Most tourist agencies recognize that it is a grey area of tourism, because their local boats cannot compete with a well found yacht and experienced captain and crew

The smart ones look at the big picture of encouraging all tourists to visit their country.

[ferrailleur]

Originally Posted by atoll

they need to build a wall to keep those yankees from stealing mexican jobs............

edit.... not going to help much when they arrive by boat

Just stay clear of third world waters!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by ferrailleur

Just stay clear of third world waters!

why would i want to do that?

as a cruiser who anchors out all the time,with a budget of say $600 a month ,in a country where the national average wage is $150, this gives me 4 times the spending power of a local.