Cruising Musings: Getting Organized for International Cruising

Cruising Musings: Getting Organized for International Cruising

Here on SV Zephyros, we both come from military and diplomatic backgrounds. We understand government officials and processes in a fundamental way as we have lived with and navigated many such rules and regulations throughout our careers. We understand why countries have entry / exit formalities and can appreciate that some countries exercise bureaucracy in very different ways than other countries. There are many different perspectives and concerns when it comes to clearing in yachts.

Display Folder

When we started cruising 9 years ago, we wanted to get ourselves organized, protect our documents and have the right documents at the ready so that we were not ever searching when something was needed. We stopped at a stationary store and bought a display folder. We started off with our important vessel documents, crew lists and the myriad of other qualifications and paperwork that goes along with cruising and international clearances. Over the years, we have learned what works for us and gathered a comprehensive list of the types of documents that are required at various times by officials as well as those that make you a professional even when not needed.

Passport Pouch

In addition to our paperwork binder, we had a separate pouch for our passports. Actually our passport pouch is something we have traveled with for many years and long before we began cruising. It is a small bag that holds the family passports and our yellow international immunization cards. We continued with this passport bag, because it works for us. Sometimes you need the passports and not the boat documents to travel away from the boat or even in some countries where it is required to keep your passports with you. Additionally, immigration officials often have no need to see anything else. We throw this pouch into our ditch bag when making passages. (When offshore, our ditch bag also has copies of our passports, vessel documentation and an extra credit card or two.)

Important Other Stuff

We also found that we needed to tape a pen to the binder so that we always had a pen. If you have found yourself checking in to new countries without a pen, you probably understand why it is important to have a pen or two handy. Officials can get quite territorial about their pens – probably because they have seen more than a few walk off and it becomes a pet peeve when somebody needs a pen or takes a pen from them. There has been more than one scolding given in the Caribbean to cruisers who tried to borrow a pen or otherwise arrived ill-prepared.

We also cruised with our 2 cats that have now sadly passed away. But when we were cruising with them, they had their own folder that accompanied our boat paperwork binder when checking in. We felt it was important to keep these documents separate, because sometimes you declare the cats and sometimes you do not. It sort of depends on the country. Cats are often a bit different than dogs, because they are often quarantined on the boat rather than going on walks ashore. But even so people with dogs aren’t always checking them in either, sometimes they also stay quarantined onboard rather than being officially imported. We feel it is important to have that folder handy but to the side, so that it can be pulled out, but not a part of the check-in process unless needed. Often the pets need to be declared and in processed with agriculture officials, but they will only confuse customs officials. Best to have things separated.

Professionalism

In our experience observing others performing clearance formalities, the level of organization and professionalism varies, and the tone and efficiency of the reception often follows suit. There are many different systems that people have when going to check in. We have seen first-hand, how much smoother and easier checking in is when a captain appears professional and has everything organized and protected within a display folder. When the captain calmly flips to any document that might be requested – from the original vessel documentation to a radio operator license – the whole process becomes smoother and more relaxed. The officials are aware that you are organized, professional and fully prepared.

Our display folder with its improvised pen retainer, plus our passport pouch and boat stamp that tags along with the package have worked for us while conducting entry / exit formalities in over 40 different countries, but like many things, we saw an opportunity to refine and improve the product. Shortly after coming to Noonsite, I started working on an idea to make a bespoke and branded Formalities Wallet to meet the needs of international cruisers. We wanted to improve the “do it yourself” option while also sharing what we have learned over our cruising years.

Noonsite is the place to go for country formalities worldwide and it was important to me that this folder was in line with the services that we provide. We worked hard to formulate handy checklists to help cruisers gather the formalities paperwork that they would need and to brand it in a way that allows cruisers to take a piece of Noonsite with them when checking in and dealing with officials. While there are other solutions out there, they are more suited to organizing all the paperwork that cruisers carry like medical records, survey documents, full insurance policies and hurricane plans. We also have these types of documents in expansion folders onboard Zephyros. This product is only intended for the formalities specific paperwork that we want to keep on the nav desk, ready to take to check in or out of countries or to pull out if an official stops by our boat to check boat paperwork.

What is the Noonsite Formalities Wallet?

The heart of the Wallet is our specially designed Vessel Document Display Folder. This folder has just the right number of transparent pockets to organize, display and protect your critical documents. And the pockets can also store additional copies of things that are regularly requested like crew lists. There is a small zip pouch at the back of the folder that makes sure that you can store a pen or two plus any other small item you want to have on hand like boat cards or stickers. The back cover also includes a slash pocket so that you can store temporary paperwork like receipts or forms that will be turned back in on departure. This keeps those items securely with the folder but also at the ready. The spine has a removable insert that can be personalized with your boat name so that you can quickly identify it on a shelf at your nav desk and so that you recognize it as your boat documents wherever you are.

Inside of the display folder, you will find a few pages to help get you started and organized. There are handy checklists and guides. We’ve created a checklist to help you gather all of your essential documents broken down into useful categories such as crew, boat and more. There is an additional checklist that covers our recommended organization so that you have the most requested documents available first and everything flows in a logical manner. But if you have other ideas or want a different flow you are still free to load the folder in the way that works best for your vessel. We also provide a list of our top clearance tips and outline all the benefits of premium Noonsite memberships.

The included Passport Pouch can easily hold up to 8 passports, ensuring that all crew passports stay together and handy whether for clearance procedures, traveling away from the boat or carrying them around in countries where you need to keep passports with you at all times. This pouch can also hold vaccination records, permit cards or other small items that you want to keep with your passports. There is a small divider inside the pouch to help you stay organized.

The pieces fit neatly into the Outer Carrying Case. This case is large enough to hold your Vessel Document Display Folder, the Passport Pouch and any other things that you want to have on hand like a pet document folder, pet passports, boat stamps or any other folders or small items you would like to have on hand and keep protected. The outer case is splash resistant to help keep things dry and protected on those dinghy rides ashore.

The entire system comes together in a compact, organized way that protects your critical documents. Your paperwork will be ready to be presented to the authorities with the confidence that you have everything that you will need at hand and to be seen as the professional, experienced captain that you are.

How can you get one?

The Noonsite Formalities Wallet is currently available as a complimentary gift when you purchase an annual Noonsite Premium Membership. You can find out all the details about this special offer here.

While Basic Noonsite Membership is a great entry point – offering unlimited access to verified country clearance information, access to the recently relaunched Ports of Entry Map and Members-only cruising guides – Premium Membership gives you additional perks including downloadable Noonsite information, an exclusive mid-month Newsletter plus priority support from our Editorial Team.

Having been with Noonsite for just shy of 2 years now, I can assure you that we are all cruisers that work hard behind the scenes. We research content, talk to officials and process comments from cruisers, all to keep the Noonsite’s content verified, up to date and relevant. We add value to the information that you consume as we do the critical research which saves you time when deciding on and learning about clearance formalities in your next port of call. For less than the cost of a pilot guide, or less than a cup of coffee a month, you support the work that we do and help to keep Noonsite online. In the days of AI content, you can be assured that there are real, fellow cruisers researching and vetting the critical information that you need.

Thanks for joining me on this month’s musings. I’m really excited to share the story behind our Noonsite Formalities Wallet and proud of all the work that we’ve done to bring this valuable gift to our Annual Premium Members. I look forward to hearing the reaction of cruisers and seeing it being used with the authorities. Please send us your impressions and photos of the wallet in use.

May you enjoy your own safe and inspiring adventures and let me know any topics about life on board and long-distance cruising that you would like covered in my monthly column.

Megan Schwartz
SV Zephyros
Noonsite Regional Editor

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About the Author

Noonsite editorial team member, Megan Schwartz, joined Noonsite in October 2024 concentrating on research and updating country formalities. She lives on board SV Zephyros with her husband and two teenage boys (19 and 16 years old) and they have been cruising full-time, since 2017. Zephyros is an aluminum, expedition monohull which suits the family’s style of cruising perfectly as they enjoy high-latitudes and places less travelled, but have also cruised popular Mediterranean and Caribbean destinations.

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Other Noonsite reports in the Cruising Musing Series:

• Cruising Musings: Isolation, Crew and Community
• Cruising Musings: The Allure of Cruising
• Cruising Musings: Remembering to Breathe
• Cruising Musings: Holidays on a Boat
• Cruising Musings: An Ode to AIS
• Cruising Musings: The Power of Sleep and Resilience
• Cruising Musings: Creepy Crawlers and Nature’s Pest Control
• Cruising Musings: What Do You Do All Day?
• Cruising Musings: The Things We Keep, Yet Rarely Use
• Cruising Musings: Life is Easier, But the Easy Things are Harder
• Cruising Musings: Finding Balance

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.