Cruisers Fined $4,000 (Almost) in Mexico
for Not Checking in!
December 19 – Zihuatanejo, Mexico
The current system for checking into Mexican ports is both expensive
and extremely time-consuming, which is why some cruisers go to
great lengths – some of them legal, some of them perhaps not
so legal – to avoid having to do it. As the following story shows,
if you don’t follow the law exactly, there may be consequences.
Earlier this month, Paraquina and
Saucy Lady pulled into Barra de Navidad. Representatives
of the Port Captain came over and told them they had to check
in. The cruisers responded by saying it was their understanding
that if they didn’t stay longer than 24 hours, they didn’t have
to check in. Not true, said the reps for the Port Captain. The
cruisers asked if they could just stop to pick up some food and
leave in a couple of hours. No, they were told. So they headed
south for Z-town, thinking that was the end of that. It wasn’t,
as Anne Kelty of the Whitby 42 Michaelanne reports:
“The two boats checked in at Zihuatanejo
two days later – to learn that the Barra de Navidad Port Captain
had sent a fax stating that the two boats had left Barra without
properly checking in and out. The Zihuatanejo Port Captain was
polite, but after collecting their boat papers told them to return
at 11 am the following day – which was yesterday. Upon returning,
they were told that they would be fined $4,000 U.S. – that’s
right, $4,000 U.S. – for having not checked in. At that point,
Memo and Rick of Rick’s Bar – a cruiser favorite – interceded
by translating the explanations by the skippers of Paraquina
and Saucy Lady. Specifically, that they had departed Barra
under the impression that they were not required to stay or check
in at Barra. Some negotiation went on before the Port Captain
in Z-town allowed Rick to fax the two boats’ papers to Barra
de Navidad to have them processed in/out, stamped, and faxed
back. This should end the incident. Fees for all this have not
been divulged as of this writing. In the meantime, there have
been reports on the Amigo Net of other boats having problems
in Barra de Navidad. Viva stopped for fuel, where they
were met by the Port Captain’s boat. They told them they had
to check in and could not leave until they did so. It took Viva
two days to get it straightened out.
“Some cruisers,” Anne continues,
“are saying they’ve been told that they have 24 hours in
any port without having to check in. Here in Zihuatanejo, the
Capitania says that if you come into an intermediate point
– puntos intermedios – you need only present the local
Port Captain with a letter, written in Spanish, stating why you
are stopping there: fuel, provisions, medical care, mechanical
problems, etc. They will then stamp your letter/papers – not
clear what, actually – and you are then free to go without going
through the complete check in/out process. Barra de Navidad’s
Capitania never mentioned that to anyone, for all we know.”
We think the cruisers who believe they
have “24 hours in any port without having to check in”
are confused or more likely guilty of wishful thinking. As we
understand it, in most Mexican ports, mariners are allowed 24
hours within which to check in, not 24 hours before they have
to check in. In the old days, and this might still technically
be true, nobody could leave the boat until the captain had gone
ashore and completed the check-in. But if there is widespread
confusion over checking in policies, we have to lay the blame
at the feet of the Mexican government. The laws aren’t clear,
and they are not uniformly enforced. Starting in the January
issue, Latitude 38
is beginning a campaign to get the checking in procedures changed
– hopefully to an annual cruising permit with no check-in required.
We hope you’ll support our efforts.
Meanwhile, not all cruisers are sympathetic
to other cruisers who try to avoid clearing in. Take Terry Bingham
of the Eagle Harbor, Washington-based Secret Life, who
is on his third cruise of Mexico:
“My bitch of the week is that where
I’m anchored, the lagoon at Barra de Navidad, there are only
five boats. Two years ago there were 20 or 25 boats. At the nearby
anchorage of Melaque, there are no boats. Nada! And over
in Tenacatita, there are a number of boats – all claiming they
would rather stay there than come to Melaque or Barra which,
of course, would require checking in and paying a fee of $16
U.S. This is my third season cruising mainland Mexico, and my
second since the ‘new’ fees were established. I’m getting tired
of hearing cruisers complain about the port fees. They hang out
at an anchorage such as Tenacatita where they don’t have to check
in, but they take a bus over to Melaque to shop or use the ATM.
Or, they bring their boats over on the weekend when the Port
Captain is closed.
“I was at Cesar & Charlie’s on
the beach in Melaque the other day, enjoying a cold one and the
beautiful view. Cesar came by and made the comment that a few
years ago there were 25+ boats anchored in the bight, but that
day there were none. He asked why. I explained as I did above.
A lot of the cruisers in Mexico are like me, on a limited budget
and tight with cash. But quite a few – who think nothing of spending
big bucks on watermakers, SSB e-mail systems, and DVD movie players
– still go out of their way to try and beat the Mexican government
out of $16! Even with my small budget, if I’m staying in an area
that is within a Port Captain’s jurisdiction, I check in and
pay the fees. How would this play out if we were in the Estados
Unitos and the roles were reversed?”
Terry, we at Latitude have to disagree
with you. In our opinion, the Mexican government, not cruisers,
deserve the blame. We normally base Profligate out of
Marina Paradise on Banderas Bay for most of the winter. Within
a 10-mile distance in Banderas Bay, there are no less than three
port captains: Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, and La Cruz.
Technically, each time you go from one of these places to another,
you have to pay almost $20 for in as well as out, and do a dance
back and forth between a bank and a port captain that takes the
better part of a day. It’s as though you were on San Francisco
Bay and had to check out of Sausalito, in and out of San Francisco,
then in and out of Alameda before returning to Sausalito to check
back in. It would cost $120 and take a couple of days. Rubbish!
That’s why there are only two places we won’t take our boat on
Banderas Bay: La Cruz and Puerto Vallarta. It’s not because we’re
cheap, it’s because the Mexican government doesn’t appreciate
how ridiculously time-consuming and expensive their checking-in
process can be. That’s why it’s time Mexico – for its own good
– establish an annual cruising permit with a single fee – maybe
$200 – and drop the nonsense of having to check in with every
port captain. After all, if RVs in Mexico don’t have to check
in and pay a fee each time they leave and arrive at a new town,
why should boats? Lastly, the Mexican government is investing
$220 million in their Nautical Stairway to lure what they believe
will be 50,000 American boats a year in 10 years. Fools. If they
don’t change the clearance procedures, they’ll be less than the
2,500 or so boats a year that are currently visiting.
|
