US Atlantic Coast

[Kolchac]

Hello everybody,
I sailed from Martha's Vineyard to Ocean City. I was ~50 nm far from the land. When I approached Ocean City I wondered: should I call the coast guard? I decided not to bother. So nothing happened, but now I'm thinking: was I lucky?

[AnsleyS]

There is no need to bother the government if you are coastal cruising. If you go from port to port within the US you are fine. If you see a coast guard plane or vessel near you, make sure that you monitor channel 16 as they may want to ask who you are and where you are going or coming from. It is all part of their drug enforcement responsibilities. They can stop and board you whenever they like but you don't need to call them unless you are coming in from another country.

[Kolchac]

Legally I exited US territory, even the contiguous zone, and in three days I entered the territory again. I think it is not a simple question, probably for pros, who knows this subject.

[Jamme]

According to https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Artic...language=en_US, you do not seem to have to report at least to CBP:
All operators of a non-commercial small vessel/pleasure boat must report immediately to the nearest U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Port of Entry upon arriving into the United States (U.S) “from a foreign port or place”.

[Dsanduril]

No reporting required when sailing from US port to US port so long as you don't stop in a foreign country. California-Hawaii-Alaska puts you in a lot of non-US water, but the only reporting required is with State of Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture.

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

No reporting required when sailing from US port to US port so long as you don't stop in a foreign country. California-Hawaii-Alaska puts you in a lot of non-US water, but the only reporting required is with State of Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture.

It is being assumed that the OP has a US registered boat ... foreign yachts have to report to CBP every time they move to a new "port or place".

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

It is being assumed that the OP has a US registered boat ... foreign yachts have to report to CBP every time they move to a new "port or place".

Absolutely right, big assumption on my part.

[Kolchac]

So all of you suggest that a boat, which enters the US territorial waters from the international waters may not report to the Coast Guard:

1. for that the Coast Guard should know that the same boat sails away to the international waters from, let say, Cape Code or Portland, but not from Nova Scotia, or Bermuda. And they should watch every boat in international waters far behind the horizon line (how?) and track their movement for days to catch when they visit a foreign port. Also, in the international waters, the boat may pick up some illegal things from other boats or ships.

2. Some of you suggest that a US-registered boat does not need to report.
Again, how the Coast Guard knows without contact the boat, it is a US-registered one? What about the crew? Let say, from North Korea, Siria, or Iran? Do not bother to report??

I wouldn't ask if it was a strait on the website. I would appreciate some kind of a legal answer or at least a logical one.

[Mickeyrouse]

I think what we have here is the collision of logic versus regulations. The Coast Guard does not require US registered vessels sailing coastwise to report. Period. How they know where you have departed from is their problem, though admittedly it could be your problem if you are boarded and delayed at your point of arrival. Suspicious-looking activity, though totally harmless has always been able to attract unwanted attention.

[Kolchac]

Originally Posted by Mickeyrouse

...The Coast Guard does not require US registered vessels sailing coastwise to report. Period. .

The problem is in your definition of "coastal cruising".
Wikipedia has a different opinion, more logical from my point of view:

Sailing near the coast (coastal cruising) gives a certain amount of safety. A ship is always granted 'innocent passage' through the country (most countries usually claim up to 22 km (14 mi) off the coast).

[Captv]

It’s 12 Nm. 200 Nm considered economic zone. That’s also the navigation limit of a near coastal license. 6 pax license allow you to go out to 100 Nm. If you are a US registered or documented vessel, (state vs Fed registry) then you can depart from any US port and return to any US port even if you circumnavigate the Atlantic but you never clear into any foreign port that includes the Bahamas as well. The only exception is if you want to go from the east coast of the US to the West coast of the US via Panama Canal.
Technically, if you go around the Cape Horn an you never land anywhere, you can enter the US without checking in.
You would have documentation if you entered to any foreign country and it would be a major problem if you departed to continue without a departure clearance. So that would show that you were in a foreign port. Usually a call to the USCBP is enough. When you clear back in from a foreign port to the US if you are a US flagged vessel. They’ll tell you whether you need to come in or if they’ll come out to inspect. Otherwise, no need to bother.
Btw. You need a sticker or something from the CBP prior leaving. They use that upon your return.
So no worries how far you’ve been offshore before you make port as long as there was no stop in an other country.
Someone said that you should monitor ch 16, that is correct. You should for several reasons one of which is in case the USCG aircraft or Edsel or a navy vessel calls.
It is good practice to stay well outside the 12 Nm limit from land while navigating in foreign waters, so there’s no question as to your position. Whichever country’s economical zone you pass through has the rights to board you for inspection. Often the USCG does it for some countries for drug interdiction if they have such agreement, with officers from that county present onboard the USCG vessel. This should be it in a nutshell.

[wetdog]

Captv, what sticker are you referring to? "You need a sticker or something from the CBP prior leaving. " For a day sail?

[Captv]

Not for a day sail. It’s for re-entry from foreign port. As far as I know when you call in upon arrival you give them the number on it, that brings up all info they need. Then they make a determination if they just check you in over the phone, come out to inspect or have you sail to an other port of entry to do the process. That last one is of course if you make landfall at a port that is not an actual port of entry.

[Kolchac]

When you leave the USA for a foreign port you do not need to do anything. For re-entry US from a foreign port, you must report CBP. I would recommend installing CBP ROAM from Google Play. It works perfectly for me on Samsung Note 8.
If you came from nowhere, read a Captv note. The Coast Guard is interested only in safety, CBP - 200 Nm. But when I spoke to the officials, they told me better watch 100 Nm.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

... foreign yachts have to report to CBP every time they move to a new "port or place".

Is that a new regulation for the Covid-age?
Certainly when we were there on our foreign-flagged yacht, once we'd checked-in and been issued with a cruising permit, the only subsequent reporting requirement was a phone call to the Coast Guard whenever we moved into a new Coast Guard Area. This led us into what we felt to be perhaps our very strangest check-in, when having arrived in North Carolina, ten days after we'd sailed out of Bahia de Boqueron in Puerto Rico, the only requirement imposed upon us by US Homeland Security was to make a telephone call to the CG office in Wilmington.