Mexican Woes.

[dparilla]

heavily-armed-marines-seize-338-pleasure-boats-from-retirees-and-mellow-canadians-over-70-permit.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/10/heavily-armed-marines-seize-338-pleasure-boats-from-retirees-and-mellow-canadians-over-70-permit/

 

[justsomeguy]

Sensational. They're actually "lightly" armed.

 

[alexco38]

I stopped considering Mexico in any travel plan even since they killed tourist. That includes cruise ship. Stay away.

 

[justsomeguy]

I stopped considering Mexico in any travel plan even since they killed tourist. That includes cruise ship. Stay away.

Who were/are "they"?

 

[LordMorham]

I can imagine the horror of leaving your boat at the marina for a while to come back and find it had been seized! With the corruption and overall scary of a different country to add to it, I would be freaking out! If there red tape is worse than ours, It would be a real nightmare i'm sure. Need less to say, I think I will keep mexico off my itinerary for my upcoming gulf cruise. I hope for a good outcome to our fellow sailors and will keep watching this.

 

[trainmanjess]

hello all

I talked to my racing Capt. ,, he owns a charter service, and he immediately called some contacts in Mexico... the majority of the confiscations were due to not having the $70 permit in hand or posted on the boat as required by Mexican law... there were a few boat that had problems with their paperwork not matching up properly... My racing Capt. was told, if the owners go to the tax office and show proof they are in compliance then the tax office is releasing the boats.. but the owner has to show up in person, it cannot be done by phone, e-mail, or any other way....

also this new Tax Department is a little over zealous in the impounding too...

sincerely
Jess

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Overzealous tax department? Who could imagine THAT??

I wrote off Mexico long before this recent episode. I agree with Zeehag's comments in the other thread that the people in general are a charming bunch and following their rules in their country in their language is the way to go but the fact remains the government is non-functional and if you get yourself in a bind don't count on your government to do anything about it. Yer on yer own.

Many years ago I was acquainted with a South African couple who were outfitting their boat for cruising. The typical routine from our area is to head South to Mexico before transiting Panama or turning right to the South Pacific. In their case South Africa did not have diplomatic relations with Mexico so it was not an option for them. Once they cast off the next stop was the Marquesas archipelago. No Mexico, no problem.

 

[Jack - La Paz Mx]

Do not believe everthing you read.

 

[topcat0399]

Do not believe everthing you read.

Care to elaborate a little?

 

[Stu Jackson]

topcat, I believe Jack is pointing out that there are at least two sides to every story, and in this case, maybe more:

1. The Mexican tax guys who seem to have messed up big time

2. The Associated Press story

3. Latitude 38's reporting (read it all at 'lectronic latitude at www.latitude38.com, interesting reading and background)

4. Folks like Jack who are actually there

5. zeehag who is there, but way way way further south

 

[topcat0399]

topcat, I believe Jack is pointing out that there are at least two sides to every story, and in this case, maybe more:

1. The Mexican tax guys who seem to have messed up big time

2. The Associated Press story

3. Latitude 38's reporting (read it all at 'lectronic latitude at www.latitude38.com, interesting reading and background)

4. Folks like Jack who are actually there

5. zeehag who is there, but way way way further south

I have been following the story.

The truth is usually in the middle somewhere.

I have come to the conclusion that leaving your possessions unattended in a foreign country is fraught with risk and something going wrong should be no big surprise to anyone.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Yes, I agree. Except you seem to be missing, or didn't state, the fact that some skippers WERE THERE IN PERSON and HAD THE RIGHT PAPERS and still got shafted.

Yup, lots of angles.

 

[monkeybars]

I would normally say it's sad that there is so much misinformation on sailing Mexican waters by those who've never been there, But the other side of my brain says Great!!!! keep propagating all the misinformation so no more tourista's come this way and ruin what is left of a beautiful place. This all boils down to some penny pinching americans trying to cheat the Mexicans out of a very modest permit fee which they were well aware of but chose not to abide with, they deserve to be hasseled a little bit, and of course a few were probably mistakenly tagged,but very few i'm sure.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Sorry, but that's simply not true.

What really gets me about this whole issue is that I've learned two things:

1. People don't spend the time to read and learn from available sources

2. People make up their own "facts"

Disappointing, at best.

 

[Jack - La Paz Mx]

We have been sailing here for the past 16 years on a Cat 30. The boat is in a marina, we are on our second 10 year Tip, have current CA registration, hull numbers are present, motor number is recorded on our TIP. Boat was imported legally, we have the correct paperwork. Deviations from regulations can cause problems in any country. We do not have a problem, but things are being worked out for those who do...a cruisers meeting with a govt official is scheduled for Wednesday. No boats are being taken from owners, no one is in a Mexican jail, no beheadings. Weather is in the low 80s here, great sailing, diving, the people are great. Just had family here including 4 year grand daughter and everybody had a great time. We have seen this kind of thing before, but wait for the facts to come in. Boats are checked all the time for compliance with National laws, for some it is a wake up. And...there are over zealous authorities all over the world. Time will tell.

 

[woodster]

And...there are over zealous authorities all over the world. Time will tell.

ya got that right ...it now take the local city cops three squad cars to give a 72 year old lady here a citation for seatbelt violation armed with BAR's.....

regards

woody

 

[dparilla]

The latest is that the Mexican gov't is going to release the boats that are still impounded no later than Monday.

 

[Benny17441]

I do not think it is very wise to place your property at risk in any country for such a small amount of money. I do not blame the authorities as it seems a large percentage of visitors have chosen to ignore the local laws of their host country. Sure there will be some mistakes and some may be wrongfully inconvenienced but that will get sorted out. Most may have to bring fees current, pay penalties and attorney fees and a group of abandoned boats will be identified and sold at auction. Bad publicity is understood as the hollering and screaming of those delinquent in their payments trying to portray themselves as the victims. Soon the whole matter will die down and permit collections will be up. Advantage, Mexican tax collectors.