Cuba to USA

JamesG161 · Feb 12, 2019

you should read this...
http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2017/april/boaters-guide-to-crossing-the-border.asp
as a start.
Jim...

chris mac · Feb 12, 2019

I knew a guy (Canadian) that bought in Cuba. His plan was to motor straight to Florida to do a refit. Political issues made that difficult. The way around it was to simply go first to Mexico, then over to Florida.
My understanding of it is you cannot check into the us with cuba as your last stop.
Again, bear in mind this is second hand and from a few years ago. But could be a workaround worth looking into.
Sounds like a great trip though, have fun.

Don S/V ILLusion · Feb 12, 2019

There are some folks who hang out on the cruisers forum.com site who may have recent info. I’m told it’s not a problem especially for Canadians but I can’t verify.

Tom J · Feb 12, 2019

A number of years ago, the boat I worked on did a job for the U.S. Navy. We spent a few hours in Gitmo, never left the base. Two years later, we steamed from the Dominican Republic to Key West and checked into Customs. Processing took awhile, of course, and finally the Customs officer called us over to the window. "So, no stop in Cuba this trip?" he asked. Just goes to show, somebody is paying attention.

Gene Neill · Feb 13, 2019

Cuba is the one destination my wife has firmly said NO to, at least until we graduate up from the C22.

I'm still working on her though, slooowly wearing away at her, like water on granite cliffs.

Will Gilmore · Feb 13, 2019

Don S/V ILLusion said:
I’m told it’s not a problem especially for Canadians but I can’t verify.

I would be willing to wager that if you called US Customs and asked, you will be told it is not a problem, but the agent that actually checks you in, may have a different opinion about that.
If a stop in Mexico before landing in the US would fix the issue, than certainly, you don't need to sail that far. Sail back to the Bahamas first.
Somehow, I think anytime you stop in Cuba along the way, US Customs is going to take notice. However, what does that really mean? Extra questioning and a more scrutinizing scan of your boat or are we expecting isolated detainment and confiscation of your boat?
Since I would like to sail to Cuba someday and dance a Salsa to Cuban rhythms, I'm interested to find out.

-Will (Dragonfly)

JamesG161 · Feb 13, 2019

If you go ashore in the wrong place...

and don't by any cigars in Cuba.

Plus my H430 has many hidden places to search.

Gunni · Feb 13, 2019

JamesG161 said:
Plus my H430 has many hidden places to search.

So does your body, Jim!

Will Gilmore · Feb 13, 2019

JamesG161 said:
If you go ashore in the wrong place...

Is that Cuba or the US, you're talking about?

-Will (Dragonfly)

Scott T-Bird · Feb 13, 2019

I guess it would be interesting to know how US Customs treats a Canadian national when entering the US from Cuba. As a US citizen, I would expect to comply with Canadian laws when entering Canada from anywhere else in the world. As a Canadian, wouldn't you also want to be on the correct side of travel restrictions as imposed by US law? It would seem to be a simple enough policy to follow. I don't think I would expect special consideration just for being a foreigner, but one never knows!

It may be complicated … it may not be. I guess the safe or less complicated way would be to return to the Bahamas before entering the US.

Tom J · Feb 13, 2019

Gene Neill said:
Cuba is the one destination my wife has firmly said NO to, at least until we graduate up from the C22.

I'm still working on her though, slooowly wearing away at her, like water on granite cliffs.

We would both like to sail to Cuba. We have friends who have visited there, and enjoyed it. The people are friendly, and not a McDonald's in sight!

cb32863 · Feb 13, 2019

Wouldn't a phone call or some web research pretty much solve all this conjecture? No one actually knows but, still puts forth an idea of what they think the truth is. Probably confusing the OP even more.....

Jackdaw · Feb 13, 2019

cb32863 said:
Wouldn't a phone call or some web research pretty much solve all this conjecture? No one actually knows but, still puts forth an idea of what they think the truth is. Probably confusing the OP even more.....

Yea.

Bigger picture, internet forums like SBO are at their best when user questions are replied to with fact-based answers from real-world, personal experience. Which FYI is exactly what the poster asked for. Most people are pretty good with Google by now, but even then, how do you know if what you read is true? In general, if you don't have direct experience, or your answer to a post involves YOU doing a google search, you might want to skip answering. While it ends up in fewer posts, the quality of the thread ends up being much higher. The signal to noise ratio here is already bad enough.

Will Gilmore · Feb 13, 2019

Jackdaw said:
While it ends up in fewer posts, the quality of the thread ends up being much higher. The signal to noise ratio here is already bad enough.

22 hours since the OP, 14 responses that don't quite meet the requested standard. If no one posted, the signal/ noise ratio would be 0/0. Since you can't divide by '0', that would leave SBO undefined.

I just hope you, Navicula, are enjoying the camaraderie and getting some good ideas about where to look for answers next.

-Will (Dragonfly)

Scott T-Bird · Feb 13, 2019

Well, it is an interesting question. From the lack of direct responses, it appears that the post is targeting the wrong audience. I don't know how anyone can blame an audience for being conversational. Basically, I'm hearing crickets when it comes to direct experience. There is probably a reason for that. It's been up for a little while now without any direct input. Perhaps the thread should just be deleted so that the responses don't offend anyone?!

cb32863 · Feb 13, 2019

Scott T-Bird said:
Perhaps the thread should just be deleted so that the responses don't offend anyone?!

No one said that they were offensive. Just that there is no solid information in them. Camaraderie and conversations aside.

Jackdaw · Feb 13, 2019

Scott T-Bird said:
Well, it is an interesting question. From the lack of direct responses, it appears that the post is targeting the wrong audience. I don't know how anyone can blame an audience for being conversational. Basically, I'm hearing crickets when it comes to direct experience. There is probably a reason for that. It's been up for a little while now without any direct input. Perhaps the thread should just be deleted so that the responses don't offend anyone?!

Indeed. Some questions are good on SBO, other not so much. That question is probably better asked at Cruising Anarchy. A lot more actual cruisers hang there, which might deliver greater/better results. The funny part is, looking at the very specialized nature of the original post, I knew it would generate few factual answers. But I also had a pretty good idea of who would just chine in anyway.

Gunni · Feb 13, 2019

I have not commented regarding this question even though I have plenty of experience with CBP. The FACT is it is difficult to predict how this scenario would unfold because 1) Cuba is one of the favorite insane political footballs of the Republican Party and their Cuban-American supporters, and 2) the CBP is a poorly disciplined agency with too many rogue actors willing to play to item #1. So the bottom line is the poster is taking a chance by doing this trip and running into some Barney Fife who will make a bad day of his arrival in Fort Lauderdale. My suggestion would be to show up with documentation from the Canadian government stating that a Cuban visit was known and approved. Then you have recourse to a consulate. Being at the center of a international squabble won’t get Barney his promotion. I’m out. Good luck.

Gene Neill · Feb 13, 2019

Tom J said:
We would both like to sail to Cuba. We have friends who have visited there, and enjoyed it. The people are friendly, and not a McDonald's in sight!

My brother and I sneaked in and out through the Bahamas years ago, by air. Spent a week getting hammered and hanging out with some friendly locals we met. It was a lot of fun.

Guess which one in the pic is me!