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Caroline Jane · 05-10-2023, 02:55

My boyfriend Leon and I ( live in UK, UK passport holders) are planning on buying a used sail boat in the Caribbean, for ideally under £40,000.

We plan to sail around the islands from December to May every year and keep it on the hard during hurricane season. We estimate we will do this for around 3 to 5 years, then sell it on from where ever we end up, within the Caribbean.

We are open to anywhere in the Caribbean, our priority is to buy and start sailing as soon as possible.

I have been googling questions for a while and have seen there are lots of very helpful members in this forum and would very much appreciate if anyone could please help with any of the below specific questions.

1 – Where is the best place for a UK citizen to start looking and buy a sail boat in the Caribbean? Ie are there any islands where a Brit’ can simply look at boats, find a boat, and a sale can go through quickly and easily so we can start sailing as soon as possible.

2- Does it matter where the boat for sale is currently registered? Ie is it easier to buy a boat that is already registered in the UK SSR, do boats currently registered in certain countries attract tax for the purchaser ? or does it not make any difference where the boat is currently registered?

3- Are there any documents the seller can provide to us that proves they are the owner? And is there a way of telling if they are genuine?

4- Is there a way of checking the history of that boat? Ie that the seller really is the current owner, ? Does the current owner have any debt associated with that boat or owe any taxes associated with that boat? Has the boat previously been an insurance write off?

5- Do we need any documents other than passports to buy a boat there? Ie Proof of UK address / do we need an address in the Caribbean and if so could it just be a hotel I am staying in? or anything else?

6- Am I correct in thinking that as UK citizens we are best registering our boat with the UK SSR? If so how long does that take? Do we have to wait for an original registration document to arrive wherever we are staying in the Caribbean before we are allowed to set sail? (if so will they send to our hotel or? Or will we get an electronic PDF that all islands will accept or something we can print out? Or anything else?

7- do we need to wait for the current owner to deregister his/her boat before we can register it as ours? And are we better obtaining proof that they have de-registered the boat in their name? and if so how is that obtained?

8- Are there any insurance companies anyone can recommend, that maybe specialise in boats staying in the Caribbean and owned by UK citizen.

9- When purchasing are there any other documents we need from the seller or anywhere else other than the bill of sale and boat registration and /or anything else we need to do?

10- When sailing to another island is it the same as it is in most of the Mediterranean, ie find the port police and “check in” with proof of registry, insurance, skippers certificate and crew list?

11- if just anchoring up in a bay on an island, do we still need to go and “check in” on that island or can we just anchor up, stay a while and leave?

Any advise will be very much appreciated!

Caroline

Stingo · 05-10-2023, 03:35

I'll pm you the WhatsApp number of Rosie Hoggarth. She's also a Brit and has been working as a yacht broker in Grenada for at least eight years. She's will be able to answer all your questions.

Stingo · 05-10-2023, 03:41

p.s. I've known Rosie and her hubby, Sim, since 2010. They're good, humble cruisers that are now permanently based in Grenada.

**boatman61** · 05-10-2023, 05:18

I have bought two boats in the Caribe one in St Martin and one in the BVI's, both using brokers.
The SXM boat was a private sellers agent however I insisted on Involving a broker so we found one in Marigot willing to split the agents commission. The boat was registered in France so documentation had to be mailed to Brest for deregistration, this took 3mths.
The BVI boat was US reg and sold via Moorings and their broker handled all the details and organised the survey.
Apart from the delay with the French boat it was straightforward, both boats I registered with SSR and they sent me a PDF version and mailed the hard copy to my UK address...
No complications/payments of taxes etc.
Sailing the islands it's check in at each island even if just anchoring for a night on transit.. better safe than sorry, never know who needs a fast buck from fines etc..

Zanshin · 05-10-2023, 06:02

So many options in the Caribbean - I've bought/sold 3 boats in the BVI. The BVI is a good place to search for a boat, particularly ex-charter boats. The selection there is quite a bit bigger than on the other islands that I've looked.

Each flag country has different rules, but there is a procedure for determining ownership for each of them, and the brokers know those rules. I've bought U.S. registered, U.K. registered and BVI registered boats and each one had a different set of steps required to transfer ownership and documentation.

I'd start off with finding a boat (perhaps by searching online) to narrow down the market and then the other questions you have will let themselves get sorted out.

When sailing around the Caribbean you have to clear out and clear in, again each country is different. The common denominator is the boat registration and passports of all aboard. No insurance requirements for clearance, but some marinas will want proof of insurance.

I've got a full Part-I U.K. registration and they don't even issue a real certificate for that anymore, just a PDF that you get to print out yourself!

Remember to apply for a U.S. Tourist visa while still back home, that process will take months but the visa is valid for 10 years. Without that visa you won't be able to sail to the USVI or into the USA. The "ESTA" does not apply to sailing or motor vessels such as ours.

Caroline Jane · 06-10-2023, 00:06

Hi Thanks for that, how long did the boat sale take for the BVI US registered boat?

Caroline Jane · 06-10-2023, 00:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanshin

So many options in the Caribbean - I've bought/sold 3 boats in the BVI. The BVI is a good place to search for a boat, particularly ex-charter boats. The selection there is quite a bit bigger than on the other islands that I've looked.

Each flag country has different rules, but there is a procedure for determining ownership for each of them, and the brokers know those rules. I've bought U.S. registered, U.K. registered and BVI registered boats and each one had a different set of steps required to transfer ownership and documentation.

I'd start off with finding a boat (perhaps by searching online) to narrow down the market and then the other questions you have will let themselves get sorted out.

When sailing around the Caribbean you have to clear out and clear in, again each country is different. The common denominator is the boat registration and passports of all aboard. No insurance requirements for clearance, but some marinas will want proof of insurance.

I've got a full Part-I U.K. registration and they don't even issue a real certificate for that anymore, just a PDF that you get to print out yourself!

Remember to apply for a U.S. Tourist visa while still back home, that process will take months but the visa is valid for 10 years. Without that visa you won't be able to sail to the USVI or into the USA. The "ESTA" does not apply to sailing or motor vessels such as ours.

Hi Thanks for that, and it never occurred to me to get a Visa for the US islands, so I'll start the process now, is it the B-2 visitors visa that lasts 10 years? Its not very clear on the embassy website which visa is which