It is Custom...ary

The process of becoming a legal cruiser in Fiji is not an arduous one, but it takes time.  Luckily, the Immigration and Customs offices have the best a/c in Savusavu.  I think the locals go there during the hot afternoons and just hang out.  I see a lot of people just sitting around looking at their phones and they're not in line.

There is a simple form you use to list crew on your boat.  I figured, hey, I bought the boat, I need a new list.  The Immigration girl asked to see the old one.  I had it on me.  (Joe and I throw *nothing* away.). "Where are these two people?" she asked, pointing out Joe and Michele's names.  They sold me the boat, they are back in the states.  "They didn't check out."  Uh-oh.  "Uh - check out?"  "If they leave the yacht they must see us to have their names removed."  Now somehow she missed the fact that my name was also on the form, I had left, and I had not checked out either.

I gave her my patented 'So what do you want me to do about it?' look.  She excused herself and went to a back room for a phone.  I thought, here we go.  The lyrics of the old Kingson Trio song were ringing in my head:

                "So here we are, in the Tijuana jail.  Ain't got no friends to go our bail.

                So here we'll stay, 'cuz we can't pay.  Just send our mail - to the Tijuana jail."

Well, she comes back out with Joe and Michele's names crossed out and her initials next to mine.  Ok, but shouldn't I get a new form?  This one says Joe is the owner.  "It's all good," she said with a smile.  Yeah, until I go to check out from this trip and get some Immigration Officer who is hung over and in a surly mood...

                "Just send our mail - to the Tijuana jail."

Next up was Customs for my Cruising Permit.  Form after form was requested.  I had them all.  Hah!  I think it took an hour sitting there at the Customs office window.  (Air-conditioned.).   There didn't seem to be any violations of laws I didn't know about and she finally came back and asked for my email address.  "We will send you notice in three days and you can come and pick up your Cruising Permit.

Ok, but I have one question...  "Since I bought the boat, shouldn't I get a new Rotation Number?"  She leaves to consult.  (Rotation Number is what Fiji Customs uses to keep track of when your 'Vessel in Transit' entered Fiji.  You have eighteen months to leave or face fines.)

She comes back:  "No."  "Ok, so if someone like me were to buy a yacht located in Fiji and the Rotation Number is say, seventeen months old, that means the new owner has to take the yacht out of the country within the month or face a fine?"  She smiled.  "Yes."  Holy wah, I'm glad I have seven months left.  Given time to plan and outfit, this is not such a big deal.  Most cruisers go over to Futuna, check in there, stay a day or two and come back to re-start the whole Rotation Number business.  You have to do all the Customs clearance crap with the associated costs, but it's their country, their rules.

I wonder what happens if a boat is for sale and doesn't sell in the time frame of the applicable Rotation Number?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The local environs

Image
 Pics.  I get requests for pics.  I'm stuck in Nawi waiting for my sails, the weather is crap, but here 'ya go. The island in the background is 'freehold' land, available for sale to foreigners.  Pretty nice location for a second home, methinks.
Read more

Red Sails in the Sunset

 I think that's an old Perry Como song.  For those of you who don't remember Perry Como, he was like the Michael Buble' of my parent's time. Who's Michael Buble'?  Don't even start. So the saga of the sails is drawing to a close.  It's a twisted tale of revenge and mayhem, betrayal and redemption.  No it's not, but that sounded good.  I should write a book.   I had sent my sails in for repair before I left Fiji last time in late October '24.  Spoke with the guy on the dock, we went through what I wanted, he made notes.  I told him I would be back sometime next February ('25).  Don't rush.  (Pro tip:  Don't ever say 'Don't rush' in Fiji.). I was getting regular emails into December.  Ok.  Good...good. Sent emails before I left.  Have you got my sails ready?  No response.  Again.  No response.  Finally I get a response to the effect that we will be sending them next week.  Ok, a little...
Read more

Same trailer, different park

 Yeah, I stole that from Kacey Musgraves.  Pretty good album, iiirc. Fueled up at Nawi this am and left for a mooring up the creek at Savusavu marina.  No more construction noise!  Nawi is building a hotel, convention center and condos right next to the marina.  As you can imagine there is quite a bit of noise from earthmoving equipment.  As Boz stated at the bar the other night:  "It's a trailer park.  A very nice trailer park, but still a trailer park."  Nawi will be hella expensive in a few years.  But - always have Savusavu marina.  Right now on the moorings there's one abandoned boat, one boat that hasn't seen its owner in a year, and me.  Quiet.  And the best part - the boat swings with the wind so the front hatch will catch breeze and cool the boat. Brian will be coming down (up?) in a few days.  We are going to use the hookah to go under and clean our boat's hulls.  Probably a good idea to have someone up...
Read more