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Hurricane Articles and Information Wanted
SOUTHWINDS is looking for ideas and real stories on
hurricane experiences to pass on to others for our
upcoming hurricane section during the 2007 hurricane
season. We are also looking for ideas and stories on protecting
docks during storms. Should boats be forced to
leave a marina during a hurricane Should boat owners
be required to keep their boats from destroying a dock
during a storm Should insurance companies give discounts
to those who protect their boats during a storm
Send stories, letters and/or photos to editor@southwindsmagazine.com.
Visit our hurricane pages at
www.southwindsmagazine.com.
■ NEWS
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) Pleasure Boating Clearance
Procedures for Boats Entering
U.S. Waters
In a letter to the editor in the November issue, a Canadian
boater wrote in (“Letters” November 2006) about problems
and confusion he confronted in entering the United States in
September 2005. He was told to report to regional offices of
the U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and that
when he left the jurisdiction of one, he had to check into the
jurisdiction of the next. He wrote in his letter that when he
asked if there was a list of these offices and what their jurisdictions
were, that officers of the CBP told him that no such
list existed and that they had no map or other means of
showing him the jurisdiction borders.
SOUTHWINDS received a letter from Marc Lang of Public
Affairs for the USCG Auxiliary. With the letter was printouts
from a U.S. CBP Web site of reporting requirements for vessels
entering the United States, including special information
on boats entering at the Canadian border. To read these
requirements, go to http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/pleasure_boats/reporting_requirements_pleasure_boat.xml.
If you get to the CBP Web site at www.cbp.gov, you can
do a search on “boaters entering,” or “boats at Canadian
border”—or similar such searches—and it will lead you to
the reporting requirements. The Web site has a fairly good
search engine.
Some of these revised procedures—far different from
what Mr. Guptill, the original Canadian letter writer to
SOUTHWINDS experienced—were implemented effective
May 28, 2006—eight months after Guptill entered the
United States. The procedures are set up so that a boater
(with limitations) can enter only once and not have to constantly
check in at each CBP jurisdiction office as they move
about, although the information is so vast as to the requirements,
it is advised that they be studied closely to make
sure one complies correctly.
Coast Guard Licensing
Fingerprinting Process Made Easier
From Steve Craven, USCG Auxiliary,
Jacksonville, FL, (904) 501-3037
I was given a copy of your November 2006 edition article in
“Short Tacks,” titled “U.S. Coast Guard Licensing
Fingerprinting Available in Jacksonville,” which referred to
a letter written by Eric West in the September 2006 edition.
I would like to expand a little on that subject.
In January 2006, the mariner licensing process was
changed to require all mariners to make an in-person
appearance at a REC for the purpose of having their identity
verified and to be fingerprinted. This requirement placed
a burden on the mariners and the RECs. The RECs received
no additional personnel or funding to support this requirement.
To help both the mariners and the RECs, the Coast
Guard asked for assistance from the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Auxiliarists, civilian volunteers for the Coast Guard, are
stepping forward to provide additional resources and assistance
for this new requirement.
While some Auxiliarists are volunteering at their local
RECs, others are working within their local sectors to provide
this service at “remote sites.” Since being approved by
REC Miami in March 2006, my work in the Jacksonville area
has steadily increased. The Auxiliary, with the blessing of
REC Miami, is establishing a network of volunteers
throughout Florida to minimize the impact of this requirement
on the mariner. Other RECs, but not all, are doing the
same throughout the United States. These “remote sites” are
not full service for the licensing process but do meet the
requirement for the in-person appearance. Auxiliarists
manning a “remote site” are required to submit any paperwork
generated in the mariner licensing process to the REC
that they support. Generally, the mariner’s license application
does not have to be pending at that REC. I regularly
process mariners whose applications are pending at an REC
other than Miami. When I submit their paperwork to REC
Miami, Miami forwards that paperwork on to the appropriate
REC. Before making an appointment at a “remote site,”
it is very important to be sure to ask what documents you
5News & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS February 2007 23