Didn't Have to Visit the Port Captain,
Immigration, or Aduana!
May 11 - Mazatlan, Mexico
"We're only one boat, and have only
cleared into one new port in Mexico, but based on our experience
in Mazatlan, there is evidence that the clearing procedures within
Mexico have indeed been all but eliminated," writes Terry
Bingham and Tammy Woodmansee of the Eagle Harbor, Washington-based
Secret O' Life.
"I (Terry) arrived at Mazatlan's old
harbor on the morning of April 29, anchored off Club Nautico,
and took my dinghy ashore to inquire about the current procedures.
The Club Nautico staff told me that as of April 20, they had
been taking care of 'notifying' the port captain of the arrival
and departures of boats - and that I wouldn't have to do anything
at all! The staff also told me that there was no need to check
in with Immigration either! Of course, both Tammy Woodmansee
- my crew, who arrived by air from Seattle - and I had valid
tourist cards.
"Just to be on the safe side, Tammy
and I decided to visit the Migracion office ourselves. The Migracion
staff confirmed that as of May 1, cruisers no longer needed to
report to their office when arriving or departing. They did,
however, make it absolutely clear that all foreigners always
had to be in possession of either a tourist card or a FM3 permit,
both of which are easy to get. I showed them my despacho
(clearance papers) from Barra de Navidad, with a section that
is supposed to be acknowledged by Migracion in the next port.
They firmly stated that this was no longer required - end of
story!
"And things got even better still.
When I was in Mexico in December of 2000 at the end of my Mexico-Hawaii-San
Francisco-Mexico trip, I got an 10-Year Temporary Import Permit
for Secret O' Life. But now I was unsure if the permit
was still valid because I'd taken my boat out of Mexico from
2002 to 2004. And I had heard through the 'cruiser grapevine'
that such permits were voided if you took your boat out of Mexico.
So we also paid a visit to Aduana (Customs).
"After a short review of my Import
Permit, the fellow in charge of the permits declared that it
was valid until 2010 - the original expiration date. Even after
repeated questioning by me, and my pointing out that my boat
had been back and forth between Mexico and the United States
during the past five years, he flatly stated that the permit
was indeed still valid. Two of his subordinates concurred.
"I have no knowledge of the situation
at Marina Mazatlan or El Cid at the north end of town, or anywhere
else in Mexico, but the above is what we experienced in Mazatlan.
And it was great. We're heading for La Paz and will soon be able
to report what's happening there."
Readers - This is such good news that we
can hardly believe it's true. We've been sailing in Mexico for
more than 25 years, and unless you've lived through a quarter
century of the old clearing procedures, which were a stunning
waste of time, money, and paper, you have no idea how great this
is. It's as if cruisers are finally free to cruise freely. And
now, instead of paying gobs of money to ship's agents, we can
spend that money on food, drinks, handicrafts and otherwise supporting
businesses. Viva Mexico!
What effect will this have on our cruising
in Mexico? A lot for cruisers who like to move around. For example,
in the last five years, we've pretty much avoided places like
La Paz, Mazatlan, and San Blas because of the time, expense,
and anger associated with having to jump through the clearing
hoops. Now, with clearing apparently free and simple, we're putting
all three of those places on this winter's itinerary. We're indeed
excited because this is the best thing to happen to cruising
in Mexico since . . . well, since cruising started in Mexico!
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