While all details are not yet clear, a story carried in yesterday?s List?n Diario and continued in today?s edition tells of an American sailor who obtained a poorly worded travel permit to cruise Dominican waters and ended up in jail for 12 days without his boat or its equipment. In what must have been an extremely frustrating and infuriating series of events, the sailor, Mark Farson, came to the DR from Puerto Rico and followed all the proper procedures to remain in Dominican waters for 60 days. Farson went to the Boca Chica Marine Commandant?s office to request the authorization to travel to Barahona, his desired destination. He appeared at the commandant?s office without an interpreter, where his request was misunderstood and he unknowingly received a permit to sail to Puerto Rico. A motor malfunction forced the sailor to seek help near Enriquillo and his problems began in earnest. When residents thought they had caught an arms or drug smuggler, local authorities spotted the error in the travel documentation. Farson spent more than a week in jail and his ship was dismantled ? even its toilet was removed ? while the law specifies that his only punishment should have been a fine. The confusing case goes to show what can happen when a visitor is unaware of the rules.
Under construction in the Dominican Republic are a series of modern private marinas that will serve the sailing tourist and avoid these events in the future.