leaving boat in St Martin

[smokey joe]

I need to leave the boat in Marigot (Marina la Royale) St Martin FWI on a buoy while I fly to the US for 6 weeks. What officialdom would be involved? Clearing a boat in on the French side does not involve immigration. Will that be a problem at the airport? I would have boat clearance papers, passport, and a
return ticket. When in St Lucia this required temporary importation of the boat.
Thanks, Joe

[MarkJ]

I think the French are a bit more relaxed. Ummmmmmmm quite relaxed.



Very relaxed.

[sck5]

The airport is on the Dutch side. I left my boat in St. Martin in 2011 and had numerous crew come and go at different times during the season. Never once did anyone at the airport ask me or any crew anything about boats, previous entries or exits, nor did anyone ever want to see a return ticket. They all were happy to welcome us and seemed to want to process us through the system as fast as possible. When checking back out with the boat it was not a problem either. Just be sure that if you are checking out with fewer crew than you arrived with, try to get some evidence that they left on a plane.

[Zanshin]

Mark has put it rather succinctly - the French are quite relaxed indeed. If you leave the ball on a mooring at Marina Royale you will meet the port captain and he's also the same person who does entrance and exit clearances and is very affable. Friends of mine had a cat on a ball there for a couple of months as well. I cleared in there a couple of days ago and he recognized me and waved away all the paperwork (I can't recall if they ever actually really checked the previous exit papers...) and we talked about the influx for the Heineken Regatta.
On another note, I did have friends flying in (from Europe) and gave them a letter stating that they would be on a boat, but that was just backup - all they really ask is whether one is staying on the French or the Dutch side at airport immigration.

So, to go back to the original question - you would clear your boat in, arrange the mooring fees and perhaps guardiennage if wanted and that would be it until you return! The moorings, at least the outside ones, are close to Cadisco and it would be wise to ensure that everything not shackled or welded to the boat is locked securely.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by sck5

The airport is on the Dutch side. I left my boat in St. Martin in 2011 and had numerous crew come and go at different times during the season. Never once did anyone at the airport ask me or any crew anything about boats, previous entries or exits, nor did anyone ever want to see a return ticket. They all were happy to welcome us and seemed to want to process us through the system as fast as possible. When checking back out with the boat it was not a problem either. Just be sure that if you are checking out with fewer crew than you arrived with, try to get some evidence that they left on a plane.

We definately had the opposite experience. We needed to provide the marina name, name of the boat, and how long we would be there, many times. Also, I would'nt say the immigration folks where ever really happy to welcome us. As far as them ever putting anything together, well, that didn't happen. You could make up any name of the boat and it's location. Same for clearing in/out. They don't cross reference it, except through the bridge. Every boat is photographed as it passes through and they do check to see if you paid your port fees.

Regardless, to the OP, I would follow Mark and Zanshin's advice, they have been there often enough.

[Zanshin]

Palarran - I wonder if the difference at airport immigration is the passport; with EU/Schengen state passports they might not really care, while with non-EU passports there are both immigration and via factors involved.
When you keep your boat here (I'm still in Grand Case, St. Martin) do you keep it on the Dutch or the French side?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Joe.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Palarran - I wonder if the difference at airport immigration is the passport; with EU/Schengen state passports they might not really care, while with non-EU passports there are both immigration and via factors involved.
When you keep your boat here (I'm still in Grand Case, St. Martin) do you keep it on the Dutch or the French side?

Oyster Pond, so technically both. The part with immigration is that they only know what you tell them on the form and don't have a system to cross reference it. So if you check that you are going to be staying on a boat, you need to list the name of the boat and it's location. If you check that you are staying at "Captain Olivers" with out mentioning a boat, they don't care. I must have had 15 trips through that airport over 2.5 years. I don't think the passport makes any difference.

[Teknav]

If a person in your group speaks French, the french side authorities <la capitainerie (marina's office)/la gendarmerie (police station)/ la douane (customs office)> will make him/her "in-charge" of the whole group. He/she does not have to be a french citizen, as long as he/she knows French. You can do your customs paperwork, at your leisure; even the following day, if you arrive late. Ditto lenient rules in Guadeloupe and in Martinique, but tougher standards in St. Barths, because of the pricey yachts visiting there. Mauritz