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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#290685
11/07/2022 02:14 AM
11/07/2022 02:14 AM
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,407 St. Lucia
Zanshin
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,407
St. Lucia
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@d_fish - I have never had a good experience in Spanish Town. Take a look at 2020-02-17 Blog entry where it took me 3 hours to clear back in there. The fees for that entry were $120, but usually the charges are a lot less than that as I have my annual temporary import paid. The important thing is to ensure that you and your boat are private and not remotely a charter boat. As that blog entry showed, another boat in line which was a charter boat but the owners were aboard and sailing privately was charged $1100!
Last edited by Zanshin; 11/07/2022 02:14 AM.
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#290686
11/07/2022 05:54 AM
11/07/2022 05:54 AM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306 Tustin CA
d_fish
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306
Tustin CA
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It is my understanding we must clear close to where we make landfall which will be Spanishtown given where we are sailing from. We could head to Road Town as we will most likely arrive very early due to sailing overnight passage.
My concern after reading this nonsense is our vessel is private only and never been or will be chartered, HOWEVER it is owned by an LLC that we personally own and I have documentation proving that. However I don’t trust the C&I to necessarily understand why our vessel it registered this way.
We only intend on staying 10-14 days, our daughter & grandchildren for 6-7 of those days. If we end up viewed as a commercial vessel upon entry that makes the whole trip exhorbitantly expensive coupled with all the rest of the fees, moorings, service charges, exit fees & private water taxi 🏴☠️etc, not to mention how I would feel - violated. Meeting our family in the USVI is beginning to look like a better option.
Last edited by d_fish; 11/07/2022 08:12 AM.
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#290701
11/07/2022 09:33 AM
11/07/2022 09:33 AM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,934 St. John, USVI
RickG
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,934
St. John, USVI
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We had a boat for 5 years that was owned by a two owner LLC. We carried our Articles of Organization that listed the two owners. The boat was a former Moorings Beneteau 40. We were very careful to say "This is a private vessel owned by our LLC. It has NEVER been in charter." Never a problem in the BVIs. In Sint Maarten a different boat with the same name as our boat's former name owed Simpson Bay bridge fees; they tried to get us to pay that. We did not pay.
We recommend checking in at West End. Road Town is a major challenge to do ferry traffic through C&I. If you cut between Norman Island and St. John, there you are. Gun Creek will not reopen. Too bad, never a wait!
Cheers, RickG
Last edited by RickG; 11/07/2022 09:33 AM.
S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423 Coral Bay, St. John USVI - Grenada (summer)
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#290821
11/08/2022 05:35 PM
11/08/2022 05:35 PM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,331 USVI
LocalSailor
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,331
USVI
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: Maria_and_Steve]
#290912
11/10/2022 12:44 PM
11/10/2022 12:44 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,394 Miramichi NB Canada
Sandsailsun
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,394
Miramichi NB Canada
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Most long term sailors in the Caribbean are totally avoiding the BVI's altogether. Too many made up fees, unfriendly C/I officers, etc. etc. I talked with the tourism representatives at the Annapolis Boat Show, last month about the many issues and problems in da islands. The tourism people seemed oblivious to what was going on with the cruising community avoiding their islands. They explained that charter boats are what they like to see, regardless of what real sailors feel. Unfortunately that is the attitude throughout the BVI's.
This makes me very sad . Watching this thread closely as we will be trying to enter e private boat from USVI in April. Love the BVI but not loving hearing about all of this attitude !
Kim
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#290916
11/10/2022 01:13 PM
11/10/2022 01:13 PM
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,407 St. Lucia
Zanshin
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,407
St. Lucia
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@Maria_and_Steve - unfortunately the overseas tourism representative jobs are effectively sinecure and looking at the surnames of those folks you might see a correlation to those currently wishing to keep the status quo. And those same families are earning from the cruise ships and charter companies and cruisers don't rank. Unfortunately, a bigger proportion of islanders don't profit from cruise ships but need income from cruisers and private visitors; but they don't have much of a say. Impolite and incompetent C&I/other officials are just a side-effect of the BVI's unemployment policy and a remnant of the "good old days" when IBC and offshore banking guaranteed a good income stream for the country.
I depart for a couple of months of sailing the Caribbean next week. I'll be in St. Martin shortly, and think I'll sail to the USVI while skipping the BVI completely. The reception at C&I that I expect to get is keeping me from planning on visiting, unless Mal happens to be there when I come past, in which case I might drop by and re-visit the BVI. It is unfortunate that despite the beauty of the islands and the friendliness of the majority the cruising community tends to avoid the BVI (at least until after the obligatory first visit).
Last edited by Zanshin; 11/10/2022 01:18 PM.
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: d_fish]
#291850
11/30/2022 04:02 PM
11/30/2022 04:02 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,934 St. John, USVI
RickG
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,934
St. John, USVI
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Sounds like an improvement over the paper system. We will be giving this a try soon.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423 Coral Bay, St. John USVI - Grenada (summer)
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Re: Excessive Fees Private Vessels
[Re: BaardJ]
#291899
12/01/2022 05:57 PM
12/01/2022 05:57 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 907 Georgia & South Carolina
Deepcut
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 907
Georgia & South Carolina
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On departure from West End I was charged a $4 Customs fee. No departure tax was charged. Again, use Sail-Clear to submit your departure notification in advance. I went to 3 windows - Customs, Treasury, then Immigration.
No departure tax for your boat as all aboard are "Crew" and not "Passengers".
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