Suggestions on Passage from USVI via Puerto Rico to USA

[Kim Petersen]

Hi guys:

I'm bringing my Nordhavn 40 back to Florida from St. John, USVI in June with some family and friends. Our intermediate destination is Georgetown, but in order to breakup the trip, minimize the length of the passage, and allow for some provisioning, I'm thinking of a stopover in Puerto Rico. From there, our next stop would be Great Inagua, where we would check-in with customs and immigration, and sail on to Georgetown and leisurely up the Exumas to home.

Other than San Juan, where would be a pleasant and convenient stop for us in Puerto Rico where we can enjoy a couple of days before we launch for Great Inagua?

By the way, will we have to clear customs/immigration if we're coming direct from USVI? I know you have to if you're going from USVI to US despite it being a territory.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

Kim

[s/v Breakaway]

All I know is that Fajarda, PR is considered their boating capitol. I think you will have to checkin/checkout, not sure.

[Kettlewell]

Yes you have to check in. Culebra Island is nice, while Fajardo is the boating center on the mainland. I actually enjoy San Juan, though it is a big city, and you have to be somewhat wary about where to walk at night and such. Interesting big city. There are a couple of marinas there--anchoring is very limited. You may want to consider cruising the south coast of PR, where there are many harbors to stop at--the north coast is pretty much devoid of harbors other than San Juan.

I should add that there is limited provisioning on Culebra--small island stores. Fajardo is probably your best bet, with access to supermarkets and big stores.

[tbodine88]

I did this same trip, I stopped in Arecibo and rented a car to drive up and see the Radio Telescope, the one that was in the James Bond movie. There is a Marina, but you must have a shallow draft to reach it. So we just anchored off the beach behind the Break water for the Hospital. It was a good trip. We really enjoyed it.

When I was there it was a good half hour bicycle ride into town.

[YACHT TARENTELA]

The South coast has several good provisioning spots. I have laid over in Salinas, with Selectos grocery a walk away and they have a bus to take you back to your boat. Great holding and protection, they have a marina, rental cars available.

[SmartMove]

We like Fajardo, on the east coast. There are a number of marinas to chose from. We stayed at Sunbay Marina, very nice, clean and reasonably priced. You can arrange a rental car from Enterprise (at the El Conquistidor Hotel) they will pick you up. There is a Ralph's on PR-3 about three miles that is a reasonable place to provision.

Also there is Puerto del Rey Marina just down the road. It has full marine services, but almost twice as much as the smaller marinas -- very nice though. There is a restaurant and a Thrifty Car Rental on site. There is an Amigo grocery store about two miles up the road.

Culebra is a pretty place as well. However, if you decide to stop in Puerto Rico it would be worth a day stop over just to see the rainforest and the fort at Old San Juan, if you haven't seen them already, they are fantastic!

Both the marinas have US Custom and Immigration offices on site, but generally if you are coming from the USVI you don't need to check in. But a quick call to the office in Puerto Rico will confirm this.

[gulfcoastsailor]

Culebra for fun, then Fajardo for maintenance and provisioning. Then push west. Have fun!

[SVAspen]

Actually if you are coming from the USVI, you NEED to check into Puerto Rico! The USVI are not the same. Checking in is MANDATORY!

Just so you know.


[QUOTE=SmartMove;1192539
Both the marinas have US Custom and Immigration offices on site, but generally if you are coming from the USVI you don't need to check in. But a quick call to the office in Puerto Rico will confirm this.[/QUOTE]

[billknny]

Originally Posted by SmartMove

Both the marinas have US Custom and Immigration offices on site, but generally if you are coming from the USVI you don't need to check in. But a quick call to the office in Puerto Rico will confirm this.

Incorrect information. You MUST check in in PR or the US mainland when coming from the USVI.

The rational is that the USVI have different import duties and customs rules than the US stateside. So to be sure that you are not importing things that need duty collected you need to clear customs.

Now, they might, or might not, make a big deal about it, but you DEFINITELY want to checkin when you arrive.