Mexican Clearance

We got to Ensenada yesterday around 10:00 and got a slip at Baja Naval.  Rogelio (Roger) is the marina manager and was very helpful in getting us sorted out.  He looked over all our paperwork before we went up to customs and immigration and made sure we had all the correct forms etc.  One thing we did find out was that the Crew List form in Charlies Charts is only good for LEAVING a Mexican port en-route to the next port.  You need a different form for your crew list when you first arrive in Mexico.  I have posted a copy on our web site (www.svtarun.ca) if you are interested.  You need copies of everything, i.e.

­        Boat Registration – bring 4-5 copies

­        Insurance – 2 copies

­        Crew List – 5 copies

­        Passport – original + copy of the picture page

Part way through the process you will also need to get a couple of the forms they give you copied but in Ensenada that’s no problem as there is a small office outside and to the left of the CIS building where a guy will copy them for you for a small fee (it cast us $1.25 US).  All in all the experience was pleasant and straightforward.  We tried to be well prepared which put us in the right mindset I think.  One thing we did find out before we let the US is that Canadian boats should get official clearance papers from Homeland Security.  We didn’t need them in Mexico but you may need them if you return to the US.

We’ll spend the next few days here waiting for weather to sort itself out and then south to Bahia Tortuga