sailing and US coast Guard

John, before you leave the north coast harbor you will need to clear out with the Port Commander. When doing so, you will need to give him a list of everyone that you have on board, including their passport or cedula numbers. He will give you a paper clearing you to leave the harbor and go to your destination harbor. If you should get stopped by the coast guard in the Mona Passage, show them the paper. When you get to your destination, you must clear in with the Port Commander there before anybody but the captain of your vessel disembarks. At that time they will check that all/only the people you gave the previous port commander as passengers are still onboard.

You have more to worry about from the Port Commanders than you do the US Coast Guard. Chances of you being boarded in the Mona are minimal if you don't appear headed for Puerto Rico. But you are certain to be scrutinized by the Marina de Guerra and if you don't follow all the rules exactly regarding clearing out and in, they will confiscate your boat and put you in jail. This is a very serious subject with them.

Just get the clearance from the port of departure and be sure it lists all the crew and passengers. That is all the proof you need. The coast guard knows that departures and arrivals are taken very seriously by the Dominican port authorities. For example, US Customs in Puerto Rico normally doesn't give departure clearances to departing vessels. But they will give you one if going to the DR because they know the Dominican port authorities want to see it.

I've crossed the Mona in a sailboat more than 10 times and was only boarded once. And that was very close to PR. Of course, with the current security concerns they may be boarding more often. But if you have the departure clearance from the north coast port they will know you are legitimate.

If you are taking Dominicans on a sailing yacht that will be traveling in the Mona Passage, you can be very sure that the Dominican port authorities are going to take great interest in what you are doing and who you are proposing to take. In fact, they may not let you take some or all of the Dominicans you propose to give a ride to. You can also bet that if they do allow some or all of the Dominicans to accompany you, that they are going to notify the port commander of the arrival port that you are enroute. If you don't arrive when they think you should, somebody will likely come looking for you. They may even notify the USCG to keep their eye on you to be sure you aren't headed for PR.

If I was worried about calling attention to myself, I certainly wouldn't invite a group of Dominicans to make the passage with me from the north to the south coast.

You'll find that rules re use of boats is quite different here than most places. I traveled to the DR from the US on a cruising sailboat, spending time in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos enroute. I've crossed the Mona numerous times and have cruised the eastern Caribbean, spending time on nearly all the islands and close to a year in both Trinidad and Venezuela. Strictest of all is the DR, next strictest Venezuela. In the DR you don't just clear in and out of the country, you clear in and out of each and every port. Same procedure to go from Samana to a south coast port as to go from Samana to Puerto Rico.

John;
Your best bet will be as follows:

1) - Document your vessel with the USCG at the time of purchase. Might be better to form a Sub-chapter S corporation and place ownership of the vessel in it's name.
2) - Get some good insurance coverage and keep an up to date inventory of equipment and spares along with original invoices of their purchases. You'll have a lot of stuff stolen and will need these when you file your claim.
3) - During one of your trips to the DR, make the acquaintance of some reliable Dominicans (male and female) who KNOW HOW TO SAIL. Most do not, since they haven't been exposed to that sport. Make sure they possess an up-to-date valid passport and are not considered to be in the ranks of undesirables.
4) - Enter the DR at Manzanillo or Luperon and start your DR journey from there after the Dominicans whom you have selected as crew arrive and you are ready to proceed.
I recommend Luperon since the Commandancia there is accustomed to dealing with onward travellers, it being a major stopping off port for such.
5) - When you finally arrive at the South Coast, you'll be in a position to convert your vessel into a money maker by forming a Dominican Corporation (after getting your temp residency) and conducting day charters for the tourists that frequent the area.

Number 5 may take a while, but will be beneficial as an income supplement to your retirement.

In answer to your ?'s about gunkholing; there are NO good areas for that sport in the DR that I know of. Take a look at the ONLY chart available! The data presented is over 50 years old and really not all that reliable! Also, bear in mind that local fishermen WILL NOT provide you with any local information regarding such. They are very secretive about where they get their livelyhood.
Just a word to the wise.

Feel free to contact me about any other advise that I might be able to offer.

Good Luck!!

Texas Bill

If you want to relax, I would suggest sailing anywhere but near Mona. Why in the world you would want to sail with Dominicans in an area where you could loose everything over a misunderstanding is beyond me. I am an ex-pilot who has flown the Caribbean for 15 years. Many of my fellow crewmembers have done a lot of boating in these waters. The stories are endless. I'm sure many are exaggerated, but is it worth it? There is a lot of open water to the South. Jamaica is lovely. No one with suspect you of smuggling Dominicans into Jamaica, Cuba, or Haiti. Anyway, if you would like the number of a good bail bondsman, send me a PM.

May the wind be at your back, and the cops far away!

John, you will have a learning period to go through when you get your boat to the DR. Going our for a day sailing and gunkholing is not allowed here. When a boat leaves the harbor the Port Commander wants to know who is on it and where it is going. When a boat arrives in a harbor that is a port of entry, the boat needs to be entered officially before people disembark. If it is not a port of entry, somebody will be out to investigate and will probably order you to move on. You will not be allowed to go ashore. There are two concerns: illegals going to Puerto Rico and drugs. There is also concern about illegals taking over a boat and using it to go to PR.

If you want to retire to a Caribbean island where you can freely use your boat, then you should pick another island.

Flagging the vessel does not free you from checking in and out every time you leave a harbor.

One exception to the above is that the authorities in Samana are fairly liberal about letting cruising yachtsmen spend a few days at Los Haitises National Park on the other side of the Bay of Samana. But you must clear out for the park and will most likely be checked on while there.

You'll have to work that out with the Port Commandante. One possibility is to get a permit for a week so that you don't have to clear out each day that you go out for a day sale. However, if you are on the north coast anyplace but Samana, then your day sale plans are going to be influenced by the weather and sea conditions outside the harbor. There are long periods of time when you wouldn't want to be outside in a small day sailer.

If by cruising you mean going from port to port in the DR, you can do that. You just need to check in and check out each time you enter and leave, unless you have a permit to go out for the day, then you only need to check out. It isn't just yachts that have this requirement. The boats that take people whale watching in Samama Bay, for example, have to check out before leaving the harbor.

A lot of cruising yachts stop at the DR, Luperon is a very popular hurricane hole, for example, but they are here to rest, wait for better weather, etc., before moving on.

For day sailing, the best place in Samana Bay. And the south coast better than North Coast because the Caribbean more friendly than the Atlantic.