Trouble with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency

or how Sebastian celebrated his birthday.

The only picture taken in the last couple of days. Just before all hell broke loose on the way from Casa de Campo. Sebastian at the helm.

Sebastian awoke on his birthday the 10th of March to a lot of yelling in a language that he chose to call “Spanglish” on the VHF (Very High Frequency) radio, after a good three hours of sleep. It was around eight o’clock in the morning and CoCo was off the coast of Puerto en route to the island of Vieques. Approximately two days before, S/Y CoCo had left port in Casa de Campo. Conditions had been rough with waves up to 3 m (10 ft) and wind well above 20 knots. Both wind and waves were coming from the east, in the opposite direction that CoCo was going. Needless to say, sleep had been sparse. The crew had even decided to make an emergency stop in a bay behind a reef to get a few hours of decent sleep.

After a brief mind battle with his fatigue, Sebastian eventually got dressed and climbed the ladder up on deck to find the source of the radio ruckus. A Puerto Rican police boat was bouncing in the waves on CoCo’s starboard side. It was difficult to make out any of the Spanglish, but it was evident that they wanted us to change course towards the shore. The police boat escorted us into a bay that would have been quite lovely if not for a giant concrete pier and a bulk carrier feeding system. We were asked to make fast our vessel to a tug boat which was docked there. Aboard this tug boat were no less than a dozen policemen and other civil officers waiting for us.

The entire crew was detained on the deck of the tug after the officer-in-charge of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), had inspected our passports. We were informed that we did not have visas to visit the United States or its territories and therefore was going to be fined $ 5000. What!? Norwegian citizens does not need visas to visit the US. It appears that there were exceptions to this rule. If you come to the US aboard a private boat, you DO need a visa. Moreover, we were charged with entering US territory illegally the day before (the few hours of decent sleep mentioned above).

How were we going to get out of this one? Peter, the highly esteemed captain of S/Y CoCo, calmly (holding his anger and frustration contained) explained to the chief that he had contacted the US Coast Guard before entering Puerto Rican waters and that he had been referred to an office of the CBP. When we dropped anchor Peter immediately rang up the CBP office to say that they we had arrived. We were informed that we could anchor where we were but we were not allowed to go ashore before clearing in properly. Considering this information, how could we have done anything if not in good faith?

The chief promptly rang up the CBP office in question to confirm our story and we were informed that we had not entered Puerto Rican water illegally, as we had been incorrectly informed. Consequently, the CBP officer that Peter spoke with on the phone the day before was fired immediately. If he was prosecuted or not, we do not know.

Following a thorough questioning of the crew on the deck of the tug, CoCo was inspected. The CBP crew opened up any compartment they could find and made quite a mess of the yacht’s interior. As a final touch, a canine was brought onboard. After a good couple of hours we were informed that the officers did not find anything illegal, and neither did the canine smell anything it shouldn’t smell. Taking our good cooperation and the results of inspection into consideration, the chief chose to show us some mercy by allowing us a once-in-a-lifetime visa waiver for a cost of $ 585 per person. The catch was that we had to proceed to Ponce that same day.

Having no choice, the crew got aboard CoCo again, quickly tidied up the CBD mess and proceeded sailed westwards as fast as CoColy possible (which can be quite fast). We arrived in Ponce around five o’clock in the afternoon and docked on the customs dock. The wind was incredibly strong and the swell in the harbour was like nothing we had ever experienced before. The chief and one of his subordinates was waiting for us on the dock and we were informed that we had to do the process the next morning at ten o’clock instead because the office was not willing to pay the officers overtime. Not a minute too soon! Almost at that precise moment our bowline snapped and CoCo was flying uncontrollably around. Peter quickly jumped aboard with Sebastian while Henrik stayed ashore to remove all other tethers. Unscathed, but with Henrik left on the dock, CoCo proceeded further out in the harbour.

Luckily, we came in contact with the skipper of Infinity Beta, another sailing yacht close-by at anchor. He said he was willing to fetch us our stranded deckhand in his dinghy. The rest of the crew aboard CoCo quickly responded in the affirmative with great thanks and praise.

After six tries, the anchor finally found good hold. Peter took the dinghy ashore and returned with take-away! Thusly, Sebastian’s birthday was celebrated in front of the TV with quesadillas and caramel pudding.

The next morning, CoCo proceeded to dock at the nearby yacht club and four hours waited her crew at the local CBD office with further questioning, the taking of fingerprints and forms that needed to be filled out. The result? A $ 585 stamp in our passports.