What is my biggest fear of this cruising life-style? For me it’s not wind or waves or broken
engines or torn sails, no, it’s the human confrontation with bureaucracy that
is necessary when entering and leaving a country.
Bahamas…It ruined half a day for me in the Bahamas and I
still think the official took us for an extra $150. Thankfully Kim was with me for this one. I don’t believe she shares the same fear as
me for this process.
Bermuda…As my father and I approached Bermuda on our Atlantic
crossing we read a list of warnings and requirements and money needed for
stopping for a night and it created a 150NM force field that Midwatch could not
penetrate. They also require VHF radio
contact as you approach which is probably my second biggest fear of cruising.
Azores…My Dad watched me agonize a third time with negative
anticipation as we approached the Azores. The more I read the guide books about the
entrance details the more I became paralyzed by dread of the whole thing. I dodged that particular bullet when a storm
threatened to trap us there allowing for a decision to scrap our entrance.
Yes I would rather confront a storm any day…for real…but one
of our goals for this trip is to confront our fears and move outside our
comfort zone. So I continue to try.
Ireland…Dad and I were motor sailing slowly through the fog
along the coast with about two hours to go before we would reach Cork. I had just set the yellow quarantine flag and
retrieved the folder with all our ship’s papers and read the entrance
requirements. I sat down in the cockpit
and prepared to set myself in a real foul mood in anticipation of our arrival. Dad even warned me that I was not to scrap
Ireland and head straight for the Caledonian Canal in Scotland…he knew I was
thinking just that! While Dad was avoiding
eye contact with me to avoid watching me freak out he said “Hey look at that
boat approaching”. I looked towards
where he was pointing…sure enough a vessel was heading straight for us at a
high rate of speed. I think we both knew
even before we read the word “Custaims” on the side of the boat that we were going
to be boarded by the authorities. It all
happened so quickly I didn’t have any time to lose it. This one actually turned into a pretty cool
experience. They also took it easier on
us because we had not stopped at the Azores which was probably not a good
lesson for me to learn.
We were travelling at about five knots and the Customs boat
matched our speed at a distance about 500 feet away. There was a long moment of awkward silence with
us looking at each other through binoculars so I radioed and asked them what
they would like me to do? That seemed to
get a good response. They just said in a
good natured tone “Maintain course and speed and we will board you momentarily”. With Midwatch on auto pilot we watched them
launch an inflatable off a ramp on their stern with three uniformed
officers. They motored over and two
officers carefully came over the starboard rail by the shrouds where we directed
them. Five knots normally feels pretty
slow but it feels infinitely faster when you are being boarded at sea. The inflatable was driven steadily just off
our starboard quarter by the third officer throughout the inspection. They were professional and courteous. They went through all our papers and searched
the boat and chatted with us for some time.
Then it was over. They let us take
pictures and my Dad even took a movie of them leaving. That evening at the dock in Ireland more customs
officials came to meet us but kindly retreated when they learned we had been
boarded. They also let us off without
going through immigration. They
witnessed the emotion of our family reunited and listened to my dad give the
exhilarating tale of being boarded earlier so when I asked about immigration
they simply said “Don’t worry about it, you’re good!”
Northern Ireland and Scotland: Fortunately we were covered for these
countries and all we had to do was change courtesy flags a couple of times and
fax some paperwork to the government when leaving Scotland. Kim did the bulk of it…all I had to do was
sign my name…thanks Kim!
Norway…my confidence had grown and I was determined to show
no fear on this one. When we entered Norway
at midnight we still had eight hours of motoring to get to Bergen where we
would go through the Toll (Customs). I
was busy driving the boat all night and I was good and tired from the North Sea
beating so I just didn’t have much in me to get myself worked up. As we approached Bergen, I had to slow down
and let a cruise ship go under a bridge in front of us…this was one of many
that were docked in this town (the center of tourism for the fjord area of
Norway). We found the commercial wharf
where the customs building was located through a guidebook. As I was turning the boat to tie up I could
see rats going in and out of holes in the rock foundation of the wharf (Norway
Rats)…yuck! We secured ourselves along
the stone quay protected by old tractor tires and held ourselves off with two
layers of bumpers and boards (nasty dock).
As ship’s captain I gathered my paperwork and courage and stepped ashore
to meet with the officials. I found the
building easily enough from the map in the guidebook but when I reached the
door there was a sign that said they had moved.
Fortunately it was not far away and some nice Norwegian used her fine
English skills to point me to the proper door.
I entered the offices which were new and clean. There were two gentlemen sitting at their
computers and I had to excuse myself to get noticed. I told them I had just arrived on a yacht and
that I was tied up at their dock just around the corner. The younger officer fussed with his computer
for a few minutes and then called the older officer over to help. The older officer took over and said there
was a problem with the computer system and that I would need to come back
later. He also said that I needed to
visit immigration at the police station on the other side of town and he
printed me a map. I asked if I should
take my family and he said that would not
be necessary. I agreed to come back
after lunch.
So, I went back to Midwatch and told Kim what was going on
and then headed for the police station.
By now I was getting really tired almost to the point of involuntary
tears but I was saved by the fact that it was a beautiful sunny morning and the
walk felt really good. I found the
police station after walking a block too far.
The building had an information desk where a clerk sent me to a room
down the hall. The person there sent me
to another room where I was sent back to the clerk who sent me to a different
office. This final office had a screen
displaying numbers in what they call a ‘Queue’.
Apparently you are supposed to register on the internet to get a place
in the Queue and then when your number is posted you can speak to someone. Well that wasn’t going to work for me so I
budged in line as soon as an opening came up.
This person made a phone call and told me to wait for an immigration
officer who would come “down” shortly.
I sat in a plastic chair watching people struggle with immigration
issues for about an hour. Finally, a
mountain of a man showed up in his fancy police uniform. He listened to my situation and asked “Where
are your wife and children”? He would
not stamp their passports without seeing them so he agreed to meet me
later. So back to Midwatch I
plodded. This time I walked along the
town docks where visitors tied up and where we would need to go after we
finished with these formalities. The
docks were filled with yachts that were rafted three deep…what a pain in the
ass!
Back at Midwatch I told Kim the situation so we all got
out. We decided to try Customs again and
this time they were ready. They didn’t
have any paperwork in English so the older gentleman interpreted. The only real concern was if we had any
alcohol on board, cooking sherry doesn’t count.
So with this completed we set off for the police station. We walked in and were confronted with a sign
on the information desk that they were closed for lunch! Again, I think the only way I kept my cool
was because I was so over tired I was like the human version of silly putty.
With this news we set off to waste time and perhaps get a
bite to eat at the famous Fish Market in Bergen. It was pretty awesome, and so were the
prices. Fortunately Kim could figure the
conversions quickly because I might have spent all our money on the freakishly
expensive smoked salmon. The crowd was
enormous…remember there were at least three cruise ships in town, including the
QE II. We did weasel some free samples
and I got to eat some Minke Whale which I quite enjoyed. It was accurately described as a cross
between tuna and beef.
When we figured lunch time was over we went back to the
police station and had the information clerk phone the immigration officer and
then found a bench where we sat and watched all kinds of interesting people
coming and going for the next hour.
Another family arrived from Australia; they were getting off a cruise
ship and they needed their passports stamped as well. This led to a bunch of confusion when the
officer finally showed up. In the end
Finn saved us, lightening the mood with his wit. We were told that it was extremely important
to have our passports stamped again when leaving the country…Ugh!
So after a full and agonizing day of entrance formalities I
was finally able to take a nap in the sun in the cockpit of Midwatch. I felt that we had earned the right to leave
Midwatch at the Customs dock for the night instead of rafting up in town and I
felt damned good about loading some particularly stinky garbage in their
dumpster. Kim felt bad about it and
tried to pay for docking at the tourist information center where they told her
to forget about it…thank goodness.
We have now completed our tour of Norway and we survived
having our passports stamped when departing which is another story I will not
bore you with. Back in Scotland they let
us through the Caledonian Canal with a signature and copies of our passport
photos faxed to customs…minimally invasive.
Kim has started keeping a fun photo log of Midwatch dressed
in various courtesy flags here is what we have so far.
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