Please point me towards printed (guide book) general customs clearing for the world

[nematon785]

Just looking for general purpose guidebook for basic expectations for clearing in and out of customs and visa/vaccination special regulations for world countries (or regions)

I know they change a lot, and online sources are the most recent and most used. I just would like to have a print copy to throw on the shelf with ocean passages and the sextant...Pointers towards a overall database for customs and travel information for vessel port entry and exit would be tremendously helpful.

While I am at it, any pointers towards online sailing directions for the U.S.? everything I find is for everywhere else except the US, but I plan to sail US coast for quite some time. (Active captain is cool, but I mean admiralty type directions for port arrival).

I am also looking for any charts (old or new) in paper form for gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, central america, and baja/mexico, as well as any and all guide books for those areas. If you have moved to all computer, or have old copies you would like to get rid of, I am very interested. Pointers towards electronic sources (especially budget minded) would be very helpful also

Lastly I saw something about a requirement or expectation to fly the country flag you are visiting on your vessel once cleared in, is this actually expected? I am under the impression the home port on the stern and the home country flag is what is normally displayed...?

Thank you for any input, this forum has been very helpful.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by nematon785

Lastly I saw something about a requirement or expectation to fly the country flag you are visiting on your vessel once cleared in, is this actually expected? I am under the impression the home port on the stern and the home country flag is what is normally displayed...?

Thank you for any input, this forum has been very helpful.

Yes, you need to fly the flag of the country you are in. Typically, it's flown from the starboard spreader in the highest position of any flag flown. You can buy these flags cheaply from online sources ($3 a piece).... just search for "international flag stick". Remove the stick it comes with and run it up the spreader.

Matt

[nematon785]

Hey Matt, thanks for the reply. I'm guessing upon arrival you run up yellow alongside home country flag, and after clearing in you run up the current country location flag as you describe for your stay until you clear out, home country flag goes up offshore...?

[UNCIVILIZED]

It sounds like you're also in need of various Coast Pilots, & Cruising Guides. Which will give you loads of info on any areas you plan to visit. And they'll also serve to give you ideas & tips of where & what to research about locale X, or Y, online.

[Hobiehobie]

In some countries you show fly that country's courtesy flag with the Q flag, until cleared then you remove the Q flag. In others you stole only fly Q until you are cleared and then replace it with the courtesy flag.

Here is an excerpt from USPS flag etiquette page:...

Courtesy Flags
When you visit foreign water, your boat should display a courtesy flag (the civil ensign of the country you are visiting) whenever your U.S. national ensign is displayed.

If your vessel is mastless, it should wear this "courtesy flag" at the bow, in lieu of a squadron or club burgee, or on a starboard antenna strong enough to support it. It your vessel has one or more masts, display it single-hoisted at the outboard signal halyard of the main starboard spreader. Move any flag normally flown there to the inboard starboard halyard or, if your boat has only one halyard per side, to the port spreader halyard.

The customs observed in various foreign waters differ from one another. Try to learn the correct procedure for the country you are entering. For example, is some countries it is customary to fly the courtesy flag only after the quarantine flag (the yellow 'Q' flag) and the vessel has been granted pratique by the appropriate authorities.

Do not fly a foreign courtesy flag after you have returned to U.S. waters. It is not to be used as a badge of accomplishment for having cruised to another country.

[nematon785]

Thanks for the reply Uncivilized, you are right, any coast pilots and good guide suggestions would very helpful!

[Zanshin]

I start with Noonsite.com”, which lists the requirements for each country and is updated regularly by cruiser reports. If I think that the material might be outdated I'll search around the internet sites for that country to see if I can find any more information and odds are that I can find at least one fellow sailor at happy hour at the local sailor's watering hole who has just come from there and can give me the most recent information.

[nematon785]

Thank you Zanshin!

[George DuBose]

Sailing directions are free for downloading from:
https://www.admiralty.co.uk/Download...2%7D#Admiralty Content Pods=%7B%22k%22%3A%22%22%7D#Default=%7B%22k%22%3A% 22%22%7D

and

from the US government:
Maritime Safety Information

These documents are for large ships, but there is a lot of information for yacht captains.

When arriving at a port in a new country, first fly the quarantine flag (yellow) until you have cleared customs and immigration, then fly the flag of the country you just landed in from the starboard side of the mast under the first spreader.

It's a matter of courtesy and law.

George DuBose

[nematon785]

Thank you George! There is probably a good reason that I just don't grok right now, but the sailing directions available from the U.S. site do not include directions for any U.S. ports. I have previously benefited from NOAA, and NGS tremendously, and I have full U.S. charts, Open CPN, I am working on a long term weather tool set to use, and as I get closer and closer to actually going somewhere in a boat voyage planning in smaller chunks along the U.S coast is becoming my primary focus. I am also looking to Mexico as my first and primary cruising destination outside of the U.S.

I am amassing an enourmous amount of digital information and learning to use it, but being a bit old fashioned, I still want basic paper guides, charts, and cultural customs info. I am thinking I will just trade rum and fine cigars for these hard copy directions as I travel, and If I loose my computers or electronics I will "just pull in somewhere and ask directions" like the esteemed Captain Ron.

[Dave22q]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Yes, you need to fly the flag of the country you are in. Typically, it's flown from the starboard spreader in the highest position of any flag flown. You can buy these flags cheaply from online sources ($3 a piece).... just search for "international flag stick". Remove the stick it comes with and run it up the spreader.

Matt

If you want a flag to fly, think more like $10-20 each. $2 stickers will not work. For some strange reason a cheap yellow 'Q' flag is hard to find.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

If you want a flag to fly, think more like $10-20 each. $2 stickers will not work. For some strange reason a cheap yellow 'Q' flag is hard to find.

Gee, glad to find out that the el cheap courtesy flags don't work after we used them for our circumnavigation. It is actually a bit more complex but here is our take on it. the stick flags will last about a month in normal trade wind conditions - harsh UV and generally strong(ish) winds. After a month they start to look pretty crummy. In some countries, they want a relatively fresh courtesy flag. So if you are going to be in a country for multiple months you might want to get a better quality flag. Might be best to start with one of the cheap ones and buy the second one in the country itself where the selection and price are better.

In other cases a good flag makes sense. Often these can be more than $20. We have a very high quality French flag and were able to use in a variety of places such as Martinique, St Martin (north), Guadeloupe, and Reunion. If you are visiting 20+ countries and you pay $25 each for flags it does add up.

In some cases you need to make flags because you just can't buy them. The Cook Islands flag has 15 stars on it (30 if you count both sides). We know because we had to make one. We bought some extra $3 flags e.g. British red and blue ensigns, and used these as the base for making flags - in some cases using the Union Jack part and in one case the fly. Also getting some spinnaker cloth scraps in common flag colours (red, blue, white, etc) helps.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

If you want a flag to fly, think more like $10-20 each. $2 stickers will not work. For some strange reason a cheap yellow 'Q' flag is hard to find.

What do you mean by fly? We never had an issue with the $3 stick flags unless you're holding up in one spot for a long time, in which case, invest in a better quality flag. Typically, even our $20 flags start to get nasty after a few months in one spot.

Matt