Newsletter #28 - April 2016

Yellow-Flagging it

Let’s imagine that we’ve checked out of Customs and Immigration in Bequia (part of St. Vincent & the Grenadines) and are setting off at first light the following day for the French island of Martinique. An average boat speed of six knots or so sees us off the northern end of St. Lucia at dusk, several hours short of our Martinique destination.

With just two of us aboard, it would seem seamanlike to drop the hook in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to get a good night’s sleep before setting off early the following morning for Martinique.

I’ve no wish to go ashore, so we fly the Q flag from the starboard spreaders and remain at anchor until daybreak.

The question is, am I operating in accordance with International Maritime Law?

I’ve discussed this many times with other cruisers, typical answers being:

“Sure, it's fine, that’s what we do”, or

“Definitely not. You have to clear in”, or even

“You’ll be in trouble if you do. I’ve heard of cruisers getting hefty fines for doing just that.”

So who’s right?

I put this question to Caribbean Compass Magazine in the form of a letter, and with the consent of Sally Erdle (the editor) I've reprinted their reply below...

Good question. The answer seems to be “it depends”: some countries turn a blind eye to “yellow flagging it” and others don’t. We haven’t been able to poll every Customs department in the Caribbean for their stance, but here’s what we can tell you:

Starting with the basics, flying the Q flag doesn’t mean, “I want to stop for the night, stay aboard, and move on in the morning”. According to the International Code of Signals, flying the Q flag means, “My vessel is ‘healthy’ and I request free pratique.”

There are some slightly different interpretations and applications, but basically pratique is the permission given to a ship to enter port on assurance from the captain that she is free from contagious disease.

Free pratique (i.e. the freedom to go about your business once in port) is granted after clearance formalities. So, by flying the Q flag, you are essentially asking to enter a port and clear in. If you don’t intend to clear in, this is at best disingenuous.

A related issue is “right of innocent passage”, covered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This allows for anchoring without clearing in, provided that “Passage shall be continuous and expeditious. However, passage includes stopping and anchoring, but only in so far as the same are incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure or distress or for the purpose of rendering assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.”

What makes this risky is that the authorities can interpret “incidental to ordinary navigation” and “rendered necessary” as they choose — if you are challenged, you’ll be relying on somebody’s judgment as to whether or not you’ve broken the law.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the French islands are pretty laissez faire on this, while US territories are more hard line.

So it seems that flying the Q flag when you're not intending to clear customs could get you in a spot of bother. Best not to fly it and rely on 'the right of innocent passage' - and take your chances if challenged.

Dominica Moorings

This year though, good spots to anchor were a little harder to find. Along with many other island anchorages, cruisers are encouraged to use the moorings that are being laid.

Jeffrey (of 'Seabird'), the current president of PAYS, showed me the next batch of reinforced concrete mooring buoys in construction. They're 8 feet by 4 feet (the size of a standard sheet of ply) by 1.5 feet deep, and weigh 3.5 tons each.

"There's 10 down already", he said, "with another 20 to follow".

The cost is 10$ US per night, with all income going to support PAYS in their excellent work and services to cruisers.

Formwork removed and ready for launching...

• A raft made up of oil drums and timber is lashed to the top of a completed mooring block;
• The whole shebang is dragged down the beach and launched by a mechanical excavator;
• It's then towed by boat to its desired location;
• The lashings are then cut and the mooring block heads rapidly to its position on the seabed. Now that must be quite a moment!

There are several other Caribbean Island anchorages - notably those in St Vincent - that could learn a lot from PAYS...

Chez Felix

It's not your average beach bar...

Not only does Felix mix one of the best rum punches known to man, he's also a talented artist.

He built his bar some years ago with carefully chosen driftwood and anything else he could get his hands on locally.

It's a fun place to be, and a great spot to watch the sun go down in the hope of seeing the green flash.

It's an established fact that the likelihood of seeing the green flash is directly proportional to the number of Felix's rum punches you've supped. I've seen lot's of them...

Rainwater Catcher

You can either have a purpose-made canvas version or just create a lash-up like ours that diverts rainwater from Alacazam's bimini to plastic water canisters.

All we do is fold the lower half of the sidescreen back up so that the rain running off the bimini collects in the fold and flows into the flexible plastic pipe clipped to the downstream end of it.

In a typical tropical downpour it only takes a few minutes to fill both canisters.

One things for sure - just as soon as you've cobbled it all together it will stop raining!

Read more about rainwater catchers...

Dinghy Safety Tips

As well as wearing lifejackets or buoyancy aids and attaching yourself to the engine kill-cord - which of course you always do anyway - standard safety equipment should include:

• a bailer;
• oars;
• a hand-held VHF radio;
• an anchor and rode;
• a small flare pack;
• a flashlight;

If, like me, you use your dinghy for fishing you should take particular care in an offshore breeze – as is almost always the case when fishing in one of the Caribbean anchorages.

With most anchorages on the leeward side of the islands, engine failure could mean being driven rapidly offshore in the brisk north-easterly tradewinds.

Without water or shelter, and with your next landfall several hundred miles away on the coast of Venezuela, the odds of survival aren’t in your favour.

Tragically, local fishermen are lost this way far too frequently.

Used Sailing Gear & Equipment

Just a couple of days ago this brand new and unused Musto Gore-Tex HPX Ocean Jacket was on offer at little more than half its recommended retail price.

Check out the full list of cruising gear and equipment...

More 'Likes' Please

Clicking the image here will take you right to it, where you can browse through many more posts and articles.

Please take a look, and feel free to make a post - and don't forget to 'Like' us of course...

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And finally...

And this newsletter can be a two-way thing. If you've read anything you'd like to comment on, or perhaps there's an event you'd like to see announced in a future newsletter, then please let me know.

See you next month!

Dick McClary

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