Patton enjoying touring the fort, Gustavia, St. Bart

St. MARTIN & ST. BART – by Theresa

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ST. MARTIN

Ronan, Theresa, and Ryan, Marigot Bay, St. Martin

Ronan, Theresa, and Ryan, Marigot Bay, St. Martin

After resolving the boys passport issues in PuertoRico, we flew back to St. Martin to rejoin Randy, Patton and the boat at Fort Louis Marina. Fort Louis Marina is a secure and sheltered Marina located in the shadows of the ruins of Fort Louis. A short hike to the fort is rewarded with breathtaking views of Marigot Bay and the surrounding area. There are dozens of shops and restaurants, as well as a modern mall, all within walking distance to the Marina. You can also dinghy into the lagoon and cross over to the Dutch side of the island to access a sizeable Budget Marine.

Spot the Pilots Discretion, Marigot Bay, St. Martin

Spot the Pilots Discretion, Marigot Bay, St. Martin

ST. BART

Randy with Patton in his jet pack, ready to go hiking in St. Bart

Randy with Patton in his jet pack, ready to go hiking in St. Bart

After departing St. Martin, we cruised to Columbier Bay, St. Barthelemy (St. Bart), where we enjoyed hiking to the various forts in Gustavia. At 14 years old, Patton is, not surprisingly, less enthusiastic about long hikes than he once was. With that said, in deference to his namesake, Patton would not want to miss touring the forts with his family. As such, we gave him a lift in his “Snoozer” dog backpack carrier. Patton seemed to enjoy the elevated view from what Ryan and Ronan refer to as his “jet pack,” and the views were indeed stunning.

 

Patton hiking the hill with Randy on his back ;-)

Patton hiking the hill with Randy on his back 😉

 

Gustavia, St. Bart

Gustavia, St. Bart

Patton enjoying touring the fort, Gustavia, St. Bart

Patton enjoying touring the fort, Gustavia, St. Bart

Gustavia hike, St. Bart

Gustavia hike, St. Bart

Randy, Ronan & Ryan, St. Bart

Randy, Ronan & Ryan, St. Bart

Gustavia hike, St. Bart
Gustavia hike, St. Bart
Gustavia, St. Bart
Gustavia hike, St. Bart

Our next intended stops are St. Kitts & Nevis, and Antigua. We will post additional updates from there as time and internet allows.

El Morro, Old San Juan, PR

Passport Renewal Procedures for U.S. Minors Cruising the Caribbean – by Theresa

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Passport

Passport

If you are cruising, or thinking of cruising the Caribbean with minor (under 16)  U.S. citizens, be sure to  check the expiration dates of their passports and leave plenty of time to navigate the renewal process. As a practicing immigration attorney, I routinely track and monitor expiration dates of clients’ immigration documents. Recently, while cruising geographically halfway down the Caribbean chain, we had the pleasure of navigating passport renewals for our minor crew aboard, Ryan and Ronan.

Unlike U.S. adult citizens , whose passports are valid for 10 years, minor U.S. citizens’ passports are only valid for five years. Since some countries require at least six months remaining validity on a passport to allow entry, this effectively limits the duration of a minor’s passport to 4.5 years. In addition, while U.S. adult citizens have the option to renew their passports by mail, U.S. citizen minors must physically present themselves, their renewal application, and original supporting documents, along with both of their parents, at a US passport agency. Not surprisingly, other than the U.S. territories in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, there are no U.S. passport agencies located in the Caribbean. Logistically, this requires a trip to the United States, or a U.S. territory, either by boat or by plane. These are all factors to consider when planning one’s cruising itinerary.

Standard and Expedited Passport Renewal Procedures (6-8 weeks)

DS-11

DS-11

As mentioned above, to renew a U.S. citizen minor’s passport, the passport application (Form DS-11), and original supporting documents, must be submitted in person at a passport agency or authorized passport application acceptance facility. The child and both parents must be present. There is an option to have only one parent appear with the child(ren), so long as that parent has signed and notarized authorized consent from the other parent on Department of State Form DS-3053. This option at least allows for one parent to stay with and attend to the boat.

If you do not happen to be cruising with all of the required original documentation, i.e. birth and marriage certificates, you will need additional time to order them online, by phone, or by fax and have them shipped to you. The processing times and fees to order the original documents vary from state to state and agency. It cost us $10-$30 per document (additional fees to expedite) and took between 2 to 10 weeks for delivery. The time required was variable from agency to agency. As they say in the commercials, “your experience may vary.”

Standard

Standard

The current standard processing times for a passport renewal is 6-8 weeks. The passport agency personnel takes and holds the minor’s original documents, including their passport, while the application is pending. Original documents, the old/canceled passport, and the newly issued passport are returned upon completion of the application process 6 to 8 weeks after filing. This generally is not a problem for landlubbers, however for minors cruising the Caribbean, no passport means they cannot leave the United States and  return to their boat for 6 to 8 weeks! For an additional fee of $60 , you can request “expedited” processing and the passport agency will aim to complete processing in 2-3 weeks, however there are no guarantees. If there are any problems with the application, fees, or supporting documents the process will be delayed.  Whichever route you choose, suitable long-term accommodations will be required. For additional information regarding passport renewal procedures for minor U.S. citizens go to the Department of State website at: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html .

Emergency Passport Renewal Procedures (24-48 hours)

Emergency

Emergency

If relinquishing your child’s passport and ability to travel for 6-8 weeks while the renewal application is being processed does not sound appealing, there is an alternative “emergency passport application” process. To apply for an emergency passport, all of the above standard processing requirements must be met. In addition, you must be able to document, via confirmed flight itinerary, international travel within two weeks of the date of the  scheduled passport appointment at a Regional Passport Agency. Only certain locations will process emergency passport applications. You can locate these locations on the U.S. Department of States website at: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/information/where-to-apply/agencies.html.  Again, not surprisingly, other than Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory,  there are no locations located in the Caribbean. The most convenient office location that we found, relative to our boat’s position, was in fact, San Juan,  Puerto Rico.  We left the boat in St. Martin and flew to Puerto Rico. We scheduled the earliest available appointment at 7:30 am and received the passports that same afternoon!

The passport office in San Juan, Puerto Rico is located directly across the street from Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, which is a nice place to stroll while waiting for your application to be processed.

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
Koi Pond, Gardens, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
Koi Pond, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
Gardens, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

Anticipating it might have taken more than a day to process the renewals, we scheduled to be in Puerto Rico for several days. We made the most of our visit by touring Old San Juan and El Morro Fort.

San Juan Gate
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
Spot the Iguanas
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
Shotcrete, El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
Ryan & Ronan, El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
Old meets new, El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
Light House, El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR
El Morro, Old San Juan, PR

All of this process may seem intimidating at first. To be fair, we found all of the folks that we interacted with at the various agencies to be both professional and genuinely interested in helping us address our somewhat unusual traveling constraints (at least from the perspective of our landlubber friends). The key to a successful outcome is proper advance planning.

Ronan at the helm, BVIs

Developing the Boys’ Mariner Skills: Part 2 – by Theresa

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Last year while cruising around the British Virgin Islands (BVIs), we spent a significant amount of time developing and honing the boys’ maritime skills. (April 17, 2015 post, “Developing the Boys’ Mariner Skills”.)  The BVIs is an excellent cruising location to advance one’s mariner skills as all but one of the islands are within eyesight of one another. It was here that Ryan and Ronan mastered picking up mooring balls, keeping their dock lines neat and how to safely maneuver the 25 hp dinghy.

Ryan docking the dinghy
Cool knots
Flemish

Wow, what a difference a year makes! With each passing day, the boys have been devouring their marine environment, learning about all of the various systems on board. While they are still adept at previously learned skills, they are now more interested in how to run “the big boat.”

Ronan at the helm, BVIs
Ryan & Patton at the helm

They are planning routes and plotting courses between the islands. They navigate the vector (digitally created layered charts) and raster (scanned paper charts) charts with ease and are more familiar with the Rules of Navigation and crossings than some of the adult boaters that we have encountered.

Ronan reviewing the charts, BVIs
Ryan underway
Ryan & Randy changing the oil in the generator

Ryan & Randy changing the oil in the generator

When not running the boat, they are often tinkering about in the engine room helping Randy with some boat project or another. After taking on fuel they are responsible for managing and running the fuel polishing system. They also help with basic maintenance projects such as changing the generator oil and filter, changing the water maker filters, and washing down the boat after a day at sea.

As our world revolves around the weather, monitoring sea and wind conditions has become routine for us all. While the Caribbean is mostly sunny, every good mariner has foul weather gear close at hand.

Foul weather gear on
Squall over Sir Francis Drake Channel
Squall over Sir Francis Drake Channel

On sunnier days, the boys get a charge watching our battery voltage increase from our solar panels. They understand how the solar power is harnessed and distributed throughout the boat. They also now wholly understand the mechanics of the patent pending solar powered picnic table catamaran in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola.

Solar powered picnic table catamaran
Solar panels

Ryan and Ronan routinely monitor the VHF radio and listen to transmissions between the Coast Guard and vessels in distress. They know that having capable crew on deck is important to running the boat safely and efficiently. Having witnessed other vessels in distress only heightens their safety awareness. Nobody ever wants to return to the dock like the boat we saw being towed in on air bags in Nanny Cay!

This is not how any boater wants to return to the dock

This is not how any boater wants to return to the dock

As the saying goes, “all work and no  play makes Jack a dull boy.” Hence, as we have been cruising around the BVIs, honing the boys’ mariner skills, the boys have also been honing their having fun skills. They have reconnected with friends met during our previous stay in the BVIs, as well as having made some new ones.

R&R, Nanny Cay Marina, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

R&R, Nanny Cay Marina, Tortola, British Virgin Islands (2016)

Soccer at Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI

Soccer at Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI (2016)

Sidney’s Peace & Love, Jost Van Dyke, (2016)

Ryan Village Cay, Tortola, BVI

Ryan, Village Cay, Tortola, BVI (2016)

Ronan, Village Cay, Tortola, BVI

Ronan, Village Cay, Tortola, BVI (2016)

Ronan on the rope swing, Nanny Cay, BVI

Ronan on the rope swing, Nanny Cay, BVI (2016)

We have thoroughly enjoyed cruising the British Virgin Islands, and are grateful, once again, for the maritime lesson opportunities they have provided for the boys. Alas, weather, time and immigration restrictions have us pressing on. We have discussed our go forward cruising plans and have decided that at the next appropriate weather window we will be continuing our Caribbean journey heading south towards Grenada where we will ride out the next hurricane season. Our next port will be in St. Martin where we will post additional updates.

Technical Services in the British Virgin Islands – by Randy

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Given that the BVIs lie approximately half way between Florida and Grenada, it is a logical place to plan to stop to attend to the inevitable maintenance issues that come up on a cruising boat. We have encountered several mechanical issues that required the help of well qualified technicians both on our way south last year and again this month as we cruised the British Virgin Islands. As has been our policy in the past, we are not going to focus on the vendors that we have encountered that did less than satisfactory work but rather provide you recommendations for companies and individuals that we have found to be both honest and competent.

Welding and Westerbeke Genset

Our list of reputable firms in the BVI has to begin with BVI Marine Management in Nanny Cay. Mr. Tim Brown is the Service Manager there and he is a tremendous resource to call upon if you need anything boat maintenance related. We utilized BVI Marine Management to do some stainless steel fabrication and welding last year when we were redesigning our tender lift to better deal with the sometimes rough conditions that we have encountered in the Caribbean. Additionally, they have helped us obtain parts for our Westerbeke Genset (BVI Marine is a Westerbeke authorized dealer). BVI Marine Management can be contacted at (284) 494-2938.

Cummins QSM 11s

Sanchez Christopher

Sanchez Christopher

When we arrived in the BVI earlier this month, we needed to have some work done on our main engine heat exchangers and after coolers. I called Tim Brown at BVI Marine Management and asked if they could do the work and he informed me that they did not have the capacity to work on QSM 11s but he had a solid recommendation. I was referred to John, the Service Manager at Parts and Power, in Road Harbor, Tortola, (284) 494-2830. Again, we were dealt with honestly and the work performed was excellent and more than met our expectations. The technician assigned to our boat was Mr. Sanchez Christopher.  Sanchez is a very knowledgable and hardworking diesel mechanic and it was a pleasure working with him.

Air conditioning and Refrigeration

Our final recommendation for the BVI is Mr. Alfred August , Manager at Marine Cooling Systems. If you have any refrigeration or cooling issues while in the BVI, Alfred is the guy to call. Alfred can be reached at (284) 441-6556 or email at marinecoolingsystems@gmail.com.

We recognize that there are many other well qualified technicians in the BVI and this list is in no way intended to be all inclusive. We have always felt more comfortable calling on someone whom we have had a favorable recommendation from a fellow cruiser; someone who understands the lifestyle and the resulting demands on our mechanical systems aboard our floating home. If our recommendations can provide you with that little bit of extra comfort factor while trying to address mechanical issues in unfamiliar territory, we are happy to help out. We will keep our list updated as we establish relationships with other vendors and technicians along the way.

Pet Import Requirements in the Caribbean – by Theresa

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Patton driving the dinghy

Patton driving the dinghy

We have been receiving a lot of inquiries through our site recently about the customs and immigration issues associated with bringing our Cocker Spaniel “Patton” along with us as we have cruised throughout the Caribbean. As such, we have updated Patton’s page to include a compilation of helpful contact details and information for various island nations that we have visited in the Caribbean over the last year and a half (2014 – 2016). For those interested in cruising the Caribbean with their four legged friends check out Patton’s page under the “About Us – Patton – Customs and Immigration” on the header above or visit:  https://pilotsdiscretion.com/about/patton/customs-and-immigration-issues-specific-to-bringing-patton-along/ or send us a reply message below.