Florida, Fort Pierce – Surviving customs, immigration and the culture shock

We made it safe and sound from the Abacos, Bahamas, to Fort Pierce, Florida.  We found a lovely little beach to anchor off with good protection and holding.

The next step, when entering a new country, is to clear customs and immigration.  When you fly into a new country you clear in and out at the airport.  Drive, it is at the border crossing.  Take a ferry, it is at the ferry terminal.  In your own personal boat you are expected to seek out these officials as soon as you arrive.

Before arriving at a new country you have to research what boat permits are required, personal visas and which ports have officials.  Not all ports have officials.  The ones that do are called ‘Ports of Entry’. You are expected to make one of these ports your first landfall in a new country. You are expected to fly a yellow flag in your boats rigging and not go ashore until you are ready to visit officials.

The US has additional security measures in place.

First all foreign registered boats must have a cruising permit.  They are not expensive, and are best purchased in advance.  They last for one year.  We purchased ours in the Spanish Virgin Islands.  This was the first American Territory where they were available as we sailed north.

The second thing the US demands is foreign visitors purchase a VISA before entering the country.  There are only a few places to get one and it is best done before leaving home to go cruising.  Canadian citizens and dogs are the only ones exempt from this formality.  If you enter the country without one you will be fined $565.00 or deported, the officials choice.  British Citizens can get a multi-entry visa, for individual stays not exceeding 6 months, that is valid for 10 years.  It makes sense to get one of these in advance.

The third thing the US demands is that you telephone them ‘as soon as’ you enter the country.  You will need to have looked up the phone number of officials in your chosen state of entry.  They will ask you for your passport details, your ships registration number and your cruising permit number.  They give you a reference id and 24 hours to check into immigration in person.

The phone number for Florida is 1-800-432-1216, and you have to go to the local airport to see customs and immigration.  As you travel through the country you are expected to continue to call officials and inform them of your location.  They will ask for all your details again, give you a reference number, but rarely ask to see you in person again.

For this reason, having a mobile phone is handy.  We picked up a cheap AT&T phone in the US Virgin Islands and used it to call officials in the Spanish Virgin Islands (who asked to see us) and Puerto Rico (who did not).  It worked again when we got here to call officials.  AT&T does not work in the Bahamas, it is Batelco instead.

Enough ‘jabbering on’ about what ‘officially’  to do.

Dolphins came in with the rising tide to feed.  Not the easiest guys to get a photo of.

They did not even mind when we kayaked up to them.

Short lived fun, the humans had to get themselves to the airport.  They used the ‘incredible deflatable’ to get across the inlet to Harbour View Marina.  They were nice enough there to let them and the crew of Prospero leave the dingys there while they caught a cab together.  It was $13 one way.  They found out from other cruisers there that renting a car was only $25\day.  They should have done that!

After clearing customs they shared another cab to the grocery store just down the road from the Marina.

WOW!

After scrounging through over priced wilted produce for so long, here was ‘the land of plenty’.  They were spoiled for choice.  Rows of fresh vegetables, shinning fruit and isles products.  Only the fact they had to carry it back contained their enthusiasm.  Baby spinach, corn-on-the-cob, asparagus, green grapes, peppers, feta cheese and honey cured ham are just a few of the delights they filled their bags with.

All this shopping made them thirsty, so they were forced to stop at the Marinas restaurant for Happy Hour.  $8/pitcher of beer and cheap chicken wings, this was pure indulgence for them!

Then their server Rachel told them they had to try Florida’s state dish, keylime pie.

With all the indulgences complete it was back to the boat to ‘batten down the hatches’ for a few days.  It seems the threat of a tropical storm has materialised.

Tropical storm Arthur is the first of the season, there for his name starts with an ‘A’.  At the moment he is ‘gathering momentum’ just off the Florida coast.  He is ‘spinning off’ strong winds and rain our way.

See: www.sad.NOAA.gov for hurricane forecasts.

He is slowly moving north towards the coastline of North Carolina and Virginia.  Everyone is hoping it stays out to sea, and doesn’t make landfall.  Everyone is also hoping it does not turn into a hurricane.

We are a bit lucky we stayed as long as we did in the Abacos, otherwise we would have been further north and felt more of the effects of the disturbance.  We worry about friends who have opted to go further north to these traditionally safer states.  We are crossing our fingers for them that Arthur does not developed into a hurricane or come anywhere near them.

Don’t worry about us.  We will hang out here for the week, until the weather clears, before we make an attempt to go further north.  At least we don’t have to worry about running out of food.

We are in the land of plenty now!