We just spent 10 days in USVI, Vieques and Culebra on Sweet Spot. A Leopard 48 owned by a partnership and in charter with the Moorings. I am one of the owners.
Here is a quick summary of our experience.
1. Clear out of Roadtown. It happened to be most convenient….but as others say it’s not the usual first choice. Everything is now done on Sail clear…. Easily completed over Internet in advance. If no Internet there are terminals available. Check in with customs with your Sail Clear number.(emailed to you) Unfortunately for some reason the Sail Clear number was cross linked with another boat !! Had to delete the original departure notification and generate a new on on the terminal.
Then had to wait for customs to be available. Customs prints all forms, ….then off to cashier. $15 charge. Then to immigration ….unfortunately my timing to avoid ferry arrival was thrown off by the sailclear issue. Total time 1 hour. Customs was friendly.
2. Clear in at Cruz Bay. Since we had 4 Uk citizens on board we didn’t use ROAM …not sure if it’s available here.
We arrived at customs at 5.40 …customs closes at 6. We were given a hard time by the 3 agents for late arrival. (Should be there by 5.30) Cleared in by 5.50 Officers wanted to leave asap. 10 minutes total.
3. Clear in at Culebra. Called customs ….asked to fill in Roam. I didn’t realize you could do this for UK citizens as well Purchased Dtop online. Initially they wanted us to go to Fajardo !! but asked to go to airport in Culebra. Short walk (15 minutes) to airport. Customs was very friendly….didn’t understand why we were there !! After a few phone calls…..realized he just needed to check UK citizen passports. 10 minutes total.
4. Clear in at Sopers Hole. Friendly immigration officer entered some boat details. Then to customs with Sail Clear number. Told them it was my boat … taking it to Moorings. Had BVI cruising permit showing it was a BVI based boat. I was asked if I had a tender …and did I tow it or on Davits. Since I towed it the customs official wanted me to generate a sailclear notice !! After showing her the dinghy and getting a second opinion….no need for Sailclear.
Next to Cashier to pay $3, then to port authority to pay $48 port fees…..a $1 a ft . Finally immigration … told the officer we were all leaving the next day. No need to fill in forms….just tell airline/ferry you lost the departure slip !!
