Boat paperwork

[Selected Risks]

Hello all. It would be great if someone could help me relieve the headache caused by the sticky red tape that stands between me and my sailing dream. I am a british citizen but I've been living in South Africa for a few years where I bought a Flicka 20 yacht. Currently it is registered in SA and I have been sailing and enjoying the boat there and preparing for a long cruise. I thought, being as i eventually plan to return to the uk, why not sail the boat back and kill two birds with one stone. However, heres the problem: i don't know how to do this legally. I don't know how the import laws work. Do i get a british reg for the boat before I leave SA and clear out as a foreign 'british' yacht? Can I do this even though I never cleared in to SA with it? Will they give me an export fee? And when I get to EU what happens? Will I be liable for import tax or other fees on arrival in UK. I will probably have ports of call in azorres, spain and france before arrival in uk. The boat was given to me, i paid nothing for it initially. I have since restored the boat and have all new sails and equipment etc (mostly which I bought over from uk). Sailing out of SA with a SA reg is a no no. They are very strict and won't give clearance to local boats under 30ft. If anyone can please help me with some sound advise I would be so grateful. I want the freedom to sail the big ocean, but I don't want to get chucked in prison for it on arrival in uk.

[atoll]

register with small ships register part 3 you will need a uk adress for it to be sent to
can do it online,you will need to get a deletion certificate for the sa registration

Registering your pleasure craft | nidirect

report to uk customs on arrival they will arange for any vat if applicable,though as a returning non resident you should be able to bring it in tax free as a personal possesion,as long as you do not sell it for the subsequent 12 months

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by atoll

register with small ships register part 3 you will need a uk adress for it to be sent to
can do it online,you will need to get a deletion certificate for the sa registration

Registering your pleasure craft | nidirect

report to uk customs on arrival they will arange for any vat if applicable,though as a returning non resident you should be able to bring it in tax free as a personal possesion,as long as you do not sell it for the subsequent 12 months

Don't honk you need deletion cert Atoll , not for the SSR.

oP, don't overthink it, just sail , have insurance and registration papers. Deal with the vat in the UK , under transfer of residence rules you can bring in your personal possessions vat free into the UK

Dave

[atoll]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Don't honk you need deletion cert Atoll , not for the SSR.

oP, don't overthink it, just sail , have insurance and registration papers. Deal with the vat in the UK , under transfer of residence rules you can bring in your personal possessions vat free into the UK

Dave

i was asked for a deletion cert when re registering a sa boat to ssr,but i did tell them it had been registered in sa,plus i allready had the delete cert from the po,
(best is not to tell the ssr people that it has previously been registered as sa yacht,or get a deletion certificate)

leaving sa in the 80's with a sa yacht i had to get a tempory export permit to take it out,but things might have changed.

[Selected Risks]

Thanks for the advise, it's a great help. Someone advised me to get the british reg and slip out of SA at night. Hypothetically if I were to do that, I wonder what would happen at my next port of call (probably st helena, ascension or brazil). I would have no previous port of call, but my british passport would have an entry but no exit visa from SA. Could things get a bit sticky do you think? Am I over thinking it?I don 't really want to burn my ties with SA as I have property and friends their. Maybe someday I will want to visit again (all circumnavigations pass there these days too). I will try and speak to someone in customs and find out, but it's really hard to find someone helpful in the government here. Meanwhile if anyone on this forum has advise, please keep it coming. I am planning on leaving cape town in Jan next year one way or another, wild horses won't stop me!

[Selected Risks]

Ps: i meant speak to customs and try and find out if I require to get an export permit.

[boatman61]

Get her SSR'd then buy a cheap flight to Mozambique or somewhere close with just hand baggage.. clear through customs and get your passport stamped then go back through for a smoke and head for the boat.. carrier has your money and don't care if your there or not.. you've got your stamp.. works every time...
Only for use if all else fails..

Originally Posted by Selected Risks

Ps: i meant speak to customs and try and find out if I require to get an export permit.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Selected Risks

Someone advised me to get the british reg and slip out of SA at night.

Why? I mean really, don't you sail during the daytime with no hassles from the SA authorities, even for daysails? Just keep going.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Selected Risks

Thanks for the advise, it's a great help. Someone advised me to get the british reg and slip out of SA at night. Hypothetically if I were to do that, I wonder what would happen at my next port of call (probably st helena, ascension or brazil). I would have no previous port of call, but my british passport would have an entry but no exit visa from SA. Could things get a bit sticky do you think? Am I over thinking it?I don 't really want to burn my ties with SA as I have property and friends their. Maybe someday I will want to visit again (all circumnavigations pass there these days too). I will try and speak to someone in customs and find out, but it's really hard to find someone helpful in the government here. Meanwhile if anyone on this forum has advise, please keep it coming. I am planning on leaving cape town in Jan next year one way or another, wild horses won't stop me!

best to do it legally if you wish to return!
contact south african sailing,formerly the cruising association of south africa
they will be able to help you get the correct paperwork sorted once you have your ssr cert, link below

SAS

[Selected Risks]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Get her SSR'd then buy a cheap flight to Mozambique or somewhere close with just hand baggage.. clear through customs and get your passport stamped then go back through for a smoke and head for the boat.. carrier has your money and don't care if your there or not.. you've got your stamp.. works every time...
Only for use if all else fails..

Haha, I wondered what the benefits of smoking were, now I know. Best I start up!

[Selected Risks]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Why? I mean really, don't you sail during the daytime with no hassles from the SA authorities, even for daysails? Just keep going.

I was speaking figuratively. Sorry , sometimes I do that. But come to mention it, a few weeks ago i got boarded by a police patrol whilst day sailing. The fined my for not having a certificate of fitness (yeah you heard correctly, FITNESS for a boat! Next they'll want a doctors report). I argued that boats under 9m are exempt but he insisted and threatened that he could have my boat pulled apart (figurative hopefully) if I persisted arguing. When I got back I went through the regs and was correct. Spent the next day wandering around the court trying to get it squashed. They asked me stuff like, 'is this a traffic fine? You need to go to the other building'. Trafic fine? Ok so off I go. At the other building, 'your in the wrong place, we only deal with traffic fines'. They bounced me about all over the place until I eventually got it sorted. Sorry Stu, I've gone on a tangent. Felt good to tell someone though.

[Selected Risks]

Originally Posted by atoll

best to do it legally if you wish to return!
contact south african sailing,formerly the cruising association of south africa
they will be able to help you get the correct paperwork sorted once you have your ssr cert, link below

SAS

Hey thanks Atoll, I hear ya. Will try having a chat with SAS. Best always to find out if theres a legal way before going pirate

[Katiusha]

Maybe try talking to one of more experienced delivery captains or somebody on the RCYC board? We were told that they're tightening the control now and your boat indeed could be towed and confined to harbour until fitness cert was obtained. Go to RCYC - they even keep the list of boats confined to harbour on a prominent board. We also noticed some boats stopped and checked by marine police outside of Saldanha. Somebody told us they were checking paperwork and life saving equipment.

[Craig Cape Town]

Get it from the horses mouth. Speak to SAMSA. The ladies that deal with registration are Edwina or Candice. Tel: 021 421 6170.
Failing that, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permisssion. All the red tape kinda takes the fun out of it.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I'd seperate boat from you.

Boat won't ever be coming back to SA - you clearly will be (otherwise I would say - just leave).

I would de-register in SA and then register on the UK SSR......and then checkout of SA and keep fingers crossed that they accept that as now a UK reg boat local seaworthiness laws do not apply (and the change in paperwork being the reason the boat never arrived under a UK flag). In practice the fact that the boat is going to the UK and never coming back may well help more than it should (you as a "problem" that does not fit the standard forms won't be back on their desk!).

If that not possible when you try, maybe check out as crew on another boat (to get the exit stamp) and then a rendezvous at sea with your own boat?! - or just tow it out! (UK don't need the boat to have checked out of anywhere else).