Saba - Clearance
Saba Pre-Arrival Procedures for Yachts
SailClear advance web notification service for clearance is now operational in Saba. For a full explanation of this service and other web clearance services in the Caribbean see report: Eastern Caribbean Cruising: Clearance Procedures Simplified.
If not using SailClear, Saba may require paper forms to be completed and turned in during check-in. To speed up the process the necessary forms can be downloaded, printed and filled in before arriving to the offices. See Documents for more information. Note: Noonsite received a report from a cruiser visiting Saba (December 2024) that if using SailClear, the authorities fill in their paperwork based on the SailClear information and no longer need cruisers to print and pre-fill out the linked forms.
Ports of Entry
Fort Bay (Fort Baai) Harbor is the island’s only maritime entry point.
All yachts should proceed to Fort Bay Harbor for clearance. Contact the Harbour Master at Fort Bay on Channels 16 or 11. Once contact has been made safely moor the boat.
Note: The authorities strongly advise yacht crew to only come ashore at the harbor, as attempting to land at Well’s Bay, Ladder Bay or Cove Bay can be treacherous in certain seas.
There is a check-in buoy available. See the Saba Park’s Yachting and Mooring page. for mooring options and a useful chart graphic.
In strong winds from the S/SE, anchoring in Fort Bay is very difficult and getting ashore even harder. It may be necessary to carry on to the more protected anchoring area on the NW side of the island, between Ladder Bay and Well’s Bay, where several moorings (yellow with blue stripe) have been laid for visiting yachts, and wait for suitable conditions to complete clearance. See Saba Park’s Yachting and Mooring page. for a chart graphic.
It’s a 2 mile dinghy ride around to Fort Bay.
If landing is possible on the NW side of the island, it may be possible to take a taxi over to Fort Bay. See the Tourist Board website for taxi numbers.
General Process
On arrival, the captain and crew should proceed to the Harbor Office Building to clear-in with Customs and Immigration. They should then visit the Harbor Master to complete check-in formalities. If Customs and Immigration are not available, then the Harbor Master deals with all formalities.
The Harbour Office is open from 0600-1800 Monday to Saturday.
Clearing in and out at the same time is possible, even if you are staying a few days.
Yachts must also clear in with the Saba National Marine Park at their office in Fort Bay. The waters surrounding Saba are protected and yachts will be mooring within a protected area. Detailed information about mooring options, guidelines, fees, and booking procedures, are available at Saba Park’s Yachting and Mooring page.
Due to the number of forms to be completed (with multiple copies), clearance can take a surprisingly long time. It speeds things up to have the forms ready. See Documents for more information.
Useful websites:
Fort Bay Harbor, Saba Government site
Saba Conservation Foundation (Saba National Marine Park))
Last updated: December 2024
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We recently spent a week in Saba, focused primarily on scuba diving, as there isn’t much else to do on the island. The clearance procedures were straightforward and took just a few minutes. SailClear did help with custom. Immigration and customs have offices at Fort Bay little harbor; you can easily dock your dinghy in the small harbor right below their office. Nearby you can also to dispose garbage.
To get around the island, you can take a taxi or hitchhike, which is a common practice here.
With predominant winds from the east and northeast, we anchored our boat, which weighs 65 tons and is too heavy for the existing moorings (which can hold boats up to 50 tons), on both the west and south sides of the island. However, we faced challenges due to heavy swells. Local islanders mentioned that swells are common in Saba, so it’s something to keep in mind when planning your trip.
A crucial tip for future visitors: Starlink does not work in Saba, as it has been blocked. To get a signal, you must move about a quarter of a mile away from the island.
Overall, Saba is a fantastic spot for scuba diving, boasting beautiful underwater landscapes and diverse marine life. Just be prepared for some wave action and plan accordingly for communication!
If there is swell or wind from the south/south east at all the mooring at Fort Bay is very tricky (I was told you can stay on them overnight if you want)… and the dingy ride to the port even trickier. In this case better to grab a mooring on the west side and make the 2 mile dingy ride. If conditions look not good for this just sit and wait till they do and then check in.
Also, they take sailclear now… didn’t help wiht imigration, but did help wiht customs paperwork. Worth doing.
Thanks for letting us know about SailClear – that’s very helpful. We’ve added the info. to Noonsite.
See this link for mooring maps: https://www.sabaport.com/yacht-moorings
About half of the moorings in Ladder’s and Wells Bays were missing as of early Jan 2018. I think we were on mooring P, which is farther out than it seems from shore. Mooring G is definitely the best sheltered. Definitely take a look around the mooring field to understand the mooring locations. (Also the balls are pretty small so you’ll need to get up close to locate them.) Make sure that you run your own rode through the mooring pendant; the marine park is trying to prevent chafing of their mooring lines.
We used the Anchor Pro app and kept one phone with the boat at all times.
The marine park people said that mooring overnight at Fort Bay was not recommended at all (but you can take your “big boat” there during the day if your tender cannot traverse the sometimes treacherous 2 nm from Wells Bay to Fort Bay).
Mooring at Wells Bay was most comfortable but rolly at night. Wind speeds were roughly 12 knots or less. Would not recommend going to Saba if the forecast calls for any higher than that.
We found it impossible to land our dinghy at Wells Bay or Ladder Bay, so we took it to Fort Bay every day. We have an inflatable that did just fine. We were lucky to catch a weather window with little swell. Make sure you have enough dinghy fuel when you arrive. If you need to fill up a tank, there is a gas station at Fort Bay — take the road heading east and walk up the slope. The fuel station is at the top of the slope.
Taxis: you can get a list of taxi operators at the marine park office. Hitchhiking also works.
Must-dos: hiking the Ladder, hiking Mount Scenery, scuba diving, snorkelling. You can moor your tender to the diving mooring balls as long as you vacate the mooring if an actual dive boat shows up. Wells Bay and Torrens Point have great snorkelling.
Laundromat: is on The Road, about a third of the way up to the Bottom.
We really enjoyed Saba and thought the visit was worth the extra preparation and hassle.
Sargassum hits Saba:
Reported by Joan Conover 10 August 2017.
Saba has its beaches full of Sargassum weed. There is currently no solution to this problem. An online site to track Sargassum weed via satellite images is in development – lots of discussions right now about what to do about this problem.
Search “Sargassum” on noonsite for latest news items.