Help from Buenos Aires, Argentina

[Wetdoc]

Help from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hi all,
Whatever you need from this latitude let me know! ( River Plate, Argentina, Uruguay y Brasil )
CV: I'm cardiologst, living in Buenos aires city. STCW 95 OK. Divemaster with over 800 dives.
I am member of the local association of navigators and the Brotherhood of the Coast, and frequently I help to foreign sailboats who arrive here, with the bureaucracy of the papers, customs, to get club or marine, take care of the boat, service, etc. Also as a crew to sailboats with deficit of hands.
I have a website about dive and nautic medicine, and I help several nautic websites in my country. High experience in trips between Rio de Janeiro, Punta del Este and Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Madryn and Ushuaia.
Several years ago I was a cardiologist an sometimes sail and dive, now attempt sail and dive and sometimes works as cardiologist.
Contact : wetdocXargentina.com , replace X for @, to avoid spam.
Good week for all!
Omar Sanchez, Wetdoc.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Doc.

Is there an English version of your website?
➥ Wetdoc

[Wetdoc]

The English version is under development, but the Google translator helps a lot:
Wetdoc website translated

[mariposadealas]

Hi, I am newly arrived in BA (about 6 weeks) and am looking to join a crew for cruising or racing. I was living in San Francisco and sailing 3 to 4 days a week before moving here, so I miss being on the water. Do you know of any crews in Buenos Aires looking for more members or places where I can charter a boat in this area? Thank you!

[Wetdoc]

Originally Posted by mariposadealas

Hi, I am newly arrived in BA (about 6 weeks) and am looking to join a crew for cruising or racing. I was living in San Francisco and sailing 3 to 4 days a week before moving here, so I miss being on the water. Do you know of any crews in Buenos Aires looking for more members or places where I can charter a boat in this area? Thank you!

Please send me one email to see options and opportunities.

Contact : wetdocXargentina.com , replace X for @, to avoid spam.
Omar Sanchez, Wetdoc.

[skipmac]

Hola Omar,

Welcome and thank you very much for the offer of assistance to the forum.

I have a friend across the river from you and some day hope I can sail down for a visit. Will certainly accept your offer if I do.

Regards
Skip

[nemoofsweden]

This can not be true!

Here we are, cruising the South American cost from the northeast and trying to gather enough info to take a few multi-variable decisions. And the wast amount of info, some scary stories about bureaucracy and our route plan and schedule is so overwhelming that we just postpone some of the thinking. But it's time now!

So, if you can help us even a bit we would be happy as only a cruiser can be!

Hard fact:

- Swedish boat, 2 persons aboard, no charter
- Currently in Joao Pessoa Brazil with an expiering visa (180 days) the 11 April
- Want to go back to Sweden from mid May and return mid September
- Crusing continue to (but not have to be) Falklands, Ushuaia, Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and then back to Brazil

Two problems:

1. Where to leave the boat (prefer on the hard since we might have to do some work (but we need to live on the boat also on the hard) for the winter

2. The bureaucracy regarding coming in to Argentine, leaving for Falklands, going to Ushuaia , leaving for Antarctic, going to South Georgia. Phuuuu. Did I say that our Spanish is basic

The few Argentinian we met so far have been really nice to us so we can't wait to go down there sooooon!

[Black Wind]

Hi Omar,

Thank you for such a generous offer to assist. I am planning to get down your way at some point in my life (I really need to spend more time on my Tango...) and I will certainly be in touch when I am on my way.

James

[Wetdoc]

Hi Andreas-Nemo!!

Last week I was in Salvador , Bahia, sailing 2 weeks.
I published some guidelines nautical from Buenos Aires to Salvador, which may be of your interest. And obviously I have several (thousands) of recommendations, nautics and no nautics. over the different cities of Brazil
About the visa expiration, I have not clear when you intend to return to your country in the coming months or if you plan to be in Brazil.
If you go out of Brazil have to do before a submission to the Customs (Receita) and the vessel can be up to two years, but no crew on board and no sail. It is also necessary to find a marina or club to sign the form of Receita. When you decide were to leave the boat I would inform the clubs and marine friendly.
180 days is really very little to navigate a country ... a continent!
The other possibility is that after April you decide to come to Argentina or Uruguay.
About the bureaucracy to go to the Malvinas: you just have to fill out a form about 10 days before star the trip, another the start day, and the return of the islands ( Ushuaia ) closed the two, ready!
The problem is when the captains do not the form and return to Ushuaia.
Whatever you need , let me know.
Omar Sanchez

[Wetdoc]

Hi James - Black Wind !
Keep in contact.
Omar

[nemoofsweden]

Hi Omar!

Really nice to hear from you this quick.

Since we have to leave Brazil not later than 11 April we have two options: Go to Uruguay and leave the boat there until 15 September or go direct to Buenos Aires and find a place there to leave the boat. In Argentine we can stray for 90 days and after extension another 90 days. Those 180 days could then work, I thought it was just 90 and could not check since a gov.ar website was down earlier.

Good!

Then it is only for us to find a marina in either Buenos Aires or Montevideo to leave the boat AND let us live in the boat up on land for a few weeks. That I heard is the tricky part.

About the Malvinas/Falklands, the South Georgia and Antarctica and so on, let us talk about it over a beer in Buenos Aires. All I know is from some other web-forums, some articles and from Noonsite, for example: Noonsite: Ushuaia: Update on Customs Infractions

Well, come to think about it... was this day really this hard with all the thinking about every aspect of the case. Probably not after some help from fellow sailors. Now we are going to book the flight tickets from Buenos Aires mid May and return mid September. So easy all of a sudden

Thanks for setting us straight in our planning!

[nemoofsweden]

Originally Posted by Wetdoc

Last week I was in Salvador , Bahia, sailing 2 weeks.

I published some guidelines nautical from Buenos Aires to Salvador, which may be of your interest. And obviously I have several (thousands) of recommendations, nautics and no nautics. over the different cities of Brazil

Where did you publish it? Is it in English? That sound fantastic!

[svlamorocha]

Nemo,

The general principle in Brazil is that there is always a way, even if that way is a bit more complex than you would like it to be.

I do not have some relevant facts to analyze precise options, but as a general rule folks from outside Mercosul who are cruising Brazil resolve their 180 day per 12-month constraint and their boat´s 2-year constraint by taking the boat to Uruguay (easy bureaucracy and boat can stay for ever if it arrives on its own hull) and leaving it there ashore while they travel back home and/or to Argentina.

The usual place to leave boats ashore in Uruguay is Piriapolis, about 30 miles West of Punta del Este. In fact I was there a few days ago and saw many European and American boats stored ashore.

Back to the Brazil, I would be happy to look discuss specific options if you give me specifics. The relevant info pieces are:

- When does the two-year permit for your boat expire?
- What does your visa stamp say under:
Visa category (something like "Visto de Turista")
"Stay up to" how many days?
"Renewable for" how many days?
"Maximum" how many days per year?
- What do the entry and exit stamps from the last two years say?
- Have you extended your stay for 90 days already?
- Have you overstayed your entry stamp before?
- If you were to overstay and pay the (small) fine this time, would you want to go back to Brazil later?

I am not in Brazil these days and I am not a Brazilian immigration expert but I have been through similar issues when I was in Brazil and I know people who can advise and help. I also speak Portuguese and I am happy to make enquiries with the people who helped me.

Feel free to send me a private message with an email address or phone number if you want to discuss further.

Fair winds

Carlos

[Wetdoc]

Andreas-Nemo
In Argentina, things are different than Brazil.
Here the boat has 8 months visa, renewable for another 8 months.
You have 3 months, extendable for 3 more , but if you leave the country and back again has 3 + 3. When you leave the country should inform the office and leave a contact person here.
Most of the information on Noonsite about Customs Infractions, is information that I have sent due to an inquiry from the website. There are many boats entered as tourists and work like charter there, and when had problem with the custom gave "their" version of the facts. The rules are clear, here they come as tourists, they work as charters, and when they are caught complaining in the forums. There are dozens of websites that document that those who complain had worked as charters, and are paid fortunes!
If you leave me your mail I send all the information on the subject.
About leave the boat, now, Argentina is much cheaper than Uruguay ( Piriapolis ) and Brazil. Here there are many clubs and marinas, and many foreigners. Usually they start arriving in May to prepare for the trip south, and go in November.
I remind you that you can leave the boat in Brazil, go to your country,back and again has 3 + 3 months. First make the paper on the "Receita"
Wetdoc

[nemoofsweden]

Originally Posted by Wetdoc

Most of the information on Noonsite about Customs Infractions, is information that I have sent due to an inquiry from the website. There are many boats entered as tourists and work like charter there

Very nice to hear it from one of the sources! Reading between lines I had an idea that the fuss was all about "trying to act like a cruiser but work to take Americans to see some penguins"

Lucky for us we only have room for the two of us, only gadgets and junk and not a single extra bunk for "crew" nor "paying crew".

I just booked the airplane tickets after a whole day looking in to different routes to visit friends all over the globe. And now we finally know where to be, when to be there and with what

Flying from Buenos Aires the 11 of May 2011. Returning to BA the 15 of September. So I guess it's time to leave Rio de Janeiro in the end of March/beginning of April.

Hope to see you down there Omar, and all other cruisers as well!



/ Cpt. Nemo