Category: 2022

2022, Biosecurity, Customs, Immigration, October 2022, September 2022, Vanuatu

Customs Chaos At Sea

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to travel from country to country via a private yacht you may be surprised at what is involved in dealing with Customs, Immigration and Biosecurity. Depending upon the country there can be mounds of paperwork that must be filed out with forms asking redundant questions and seeking the most intimate of details about your vessel. It can result in a form of “customs chaos” and when Customs waits until you’re at sea to respond it can be highly frustrating.

As the Best Mate on board the duties revolving around the paperwork for our entries and exits lie in my hands. It’s definitely not my favorite thing to do but then I’m quite certain servicing the Yanmar, cleaning the bottom of the boat or the myriad of other things Dan does aren’t his favorite things either so I bury my head in the computer, suss out all that is required and try to be sure everything is sorted long before it will ever be needed. After having done this in seven different countries with two more to be tackled in the coming days and months I don’t mind saying I’m becoming somewhat of an expert at it. Whatever that means.

Welcome To The Jungle

Here in the jungle of Customs, Immigration & Biosecurity paperwork I am highly efficient and well ordered. Why? Well firstly it makes our life a lot easier when we arrive or depart. When you have all your proverbial ducks in a row you make it simple for the officials to get you processed and underway. Border officials, as well all do, like things to be easy so they tend to give you less hassles if you’re properly prepared.

Most importantly, if you don’t do things the right way they have the options of refusing you entry or exit, fining you, jailing you and/or even confiscating your boat!! And let’s be honest…we’re often dealing with third world countries where corruption is everywhere and so the last thing I want to do is give them any possible excuse to avail themselves to any of those options.

Quite frankly these days with the internet and government websites it “should” be rather easy, even if it is a little cumbersome to get the paperwork filled out and returned to them. The fact is, it is NOT! Nope. Not even in the year 2022 can you find easy to locate, easy to use document packages that give you exact instructions on what you need to do. And, when you add the new Covid restrictions that may or may not require pre-departure and/or arrival RAT tests that can only be done within 24 hours of departure it becomes Customs chaos!!!

Can I Just Get A Fillable Form Please?

As someone who specialized in streamlining processes in my career I have a very hard time dealing with government agencies and their inability to do exactly that. My biggest pet peeve with all the border agencies around the world is not the mountains of forms they want filled out or even the redundant and/or invasive questions they ask. No, it’s the fact that it’s 2022 and these agencies provide forms online that are not able to be easily filled out.

I mean come on….how difficult is it to create a fillable PDF? And why can’t they make it dynamic so that when you answer the question of your boat’s name on page one it fills it out in every other section on the form where the boat name is required? I’m pretty certain there are about a thousand Youtube videos that could teach them how to do this. This isn’t rocket science people.

Some agencies have forms that are uploaded on their websites that are just Word documents with dashes for the space to enter your information. Apparently they are expecting you to print the document and fill it in. They don’t seem to understand that yachties tend to be very techie because we don’t have room for printers, reams of paper and extra ink cartridges.

Heck, even on Dazzler when we get a boat card from another yachtie we scan it into our files and toss the card. That probably sounds bad because we all spend good money having cards made to share but room is at a premium on a boat like ours.

I guess it just gets to me because creating a fillable PDF for your customers is a simple thing to do and in the end it makes your job easier because you aren’t trying to decipher their handwritten hieroglyphics. It seems maybe if I ever decide to go back to work I should set up a company creating these things for border agencies around the world. Or at least take their forms and fix them for the yachties. No wait….that sounds too much like work and I enjoy being retarded, I mean retired.

The Big Government Let Down

Before we even left New Zealand in May of this year I’d already downloaded the forms for entry and exit for Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia. I not only downloaded them but filled them out too. I filled in everything except the port arrival and departure information and the dates and times. And for those forms that were not user friendly PDF fillable forms, let’s just say…”they are now.” Sometimes I just can’t help myself.

This OCD Best Mate created little country folders on the laptop that contained packages of the forms just sitting there awaiting the last tiny bits of information to be added so they could fly through cyberspace to the appropriate border officials. Yes, I even patted myself on the back with pride as I boasted of my utter efficiency. “Oh yes…this year it will be different.” I thought to myself. “This year it will be easy.”

Oh how we delude ourselves into thinking the best could ever come from intercourse with a government agency. I’m guessing you know where I’m heading with that so I’ll just leave it here and let you fill in the blank………. “No matter how easy it sounds, sooner or later we’re going to get _________!”

Yes, we go into it feeling so positive and come out the other end feeling as if we’d been tried for murder, found guilty and been sentenced to life in a maximum security prison. We know we’re innocent but they always find a way to make us crazy enough to actually commit the crime. Well, folks. It’s even worse when you are at sea and don’t have all the tools available to communicate with the appropriate people.

I’ve Sent This Four Times Now

The very day Dan told me we had a weather window to leave Fiji I sent my exit paperwork to Fiji Customs, stopped by their office in Port Denarau and did everything I needed to do to secure our departure. All in all Fiji wasn’t so bad. There were a couple of hang ups like the fact that we’d paid for an extension to our visa but never actually got one so “technically” we had overstayed. But, the Immigration Officer assured us that as long as our paperwork was in and the fee was paid there would be no issue. Hmmmm…why do I feel like the fee was more important than the actual stamp saying we could stay????

We wanted to enter Vanuatu at Port Resolution on the east side island of Tanna for two reasons. One, it is at the southern end of the chain of islands making it easy to start there and work our way north to Efate an on to Espiritu Santo islands leaving us to check out of country in Luganville. The other reason is that on Tanna there is the famous Mt. Yasur volcano. It’s an active volcano and one of the few in the world that is fairly easy to access.

To enter at Port Resolution you need to have prior permission from Vanuatu Customs. If you don’t have it you are required to check in on the west side of the island at Lenakal or one of the other authorized ports on Efate or Espiritu Santo. Lenakal is another day’s sail for us and not necessarily one we wanted to make. And, once there we’d have to take a two hour, ride in the back of a truck across the mountainous dirt roads to reach the volcano. In Port Resolution you are very close and the anchorage has views of the fiery cone of death for your evening entertainment.

The entry paperwork for Vanuatu is, like most countries, detailed and unwieldy. They all want to know every tiny detail about you and your vessel from the colors on it to the materials used in its construction to just about every single piece of electronics on board. And it’s not just as easy as listing them, you have to have the make and model of each and for some countries, such as Australia, they actually want the serial number. This is where my OCD Captain and hubby comes in as he’s got all that in one place for me.

About a week before we’d even decided on a departure date I began emailing Vanuatu Customs to find out what was needed to get this approval. Much to my surprise I was given a pretty simple and quick answer. Yes we can check in at Port Resolution and they would forward us instructions once we’d submitted our paperwork. Well, where’s my Staples, “That was easy button?????

Oh wait…I keep forgetting…It’s never easy!

With our departure date in hand I completed the final details on the Inward Craft Report, Passenger Arrival Cards, Inter-Island Cruising Permit and the Maritime Declaration of Health. I combined all this, along with our US Boat Documentation, Vaccine Passports and one or two other documents into one easy to use PDF and emailed it to the appropriate email address. I guess I keep thinking if I make it easy for them they will eventually make it so for me. Alas, I’m such a dreamer.

The only thing they were missing to get full and final approval was the RAT test results which could not be done for five more days as they must be completed no more than 24 hours prior to our departure. But, the good news is they had everything else five days ahead of time. I gleefully thought, “That should be plenty of time to get them all sorted and get an answer back to us even if it is contingent upon the negative RAT test.”

With no answer from Customs I decided not to bother them as I assumed they were awaiting the RAT test results. So, on Sunday morning within moments of being declared “Vid Free” I emailed the certificates along with the original package, you know, just in case….over to the contacts I had at Vanuatu Customs. I had been told by them via email that the answer would come almost immediately.

Since all my pre-departure work was now behind me Dan & I spent our last afternoon enjoying Port Denarau. We had a shared plate of nachos while we imbibed on a couple of the best frozen Mojitos you’ll ever have at Cardo’s on the waterfront. We went back and relaxed on Dazzler and then later in the day caught up with our friends, Wilma & Kata, for drinks at Lulu’s Cafe. Then it was time for us to enjoy one farewell dinner at Sails. And oh what a treat that was…but we’ll save that for another time.

This Is Jilly On Dazzler, Can I Get An Answer Or At Least Buy A Vowel?

The following morning as we readied ourselves for departure I continued to check the email over and over for our approval or for anything at all from Vanuatu Customs. Nothing…nope…nada. I hastily sent an email asking if we were going to get an answer but still nothing. It was like they dropped off the face of the earth. So what do a couple of old salts do now? Well, we went ahead and checked out of country and started making our way toward Port Resolution. That’s what.

The worst case scenario is they’d tell us we couldn’t exit the boat or check in there and we’d have to go to another port. Either way we still have over 400 NM and four days to get there. We had some time to wait it out even if it was nagging at me that the issued had not yet been put to bed.

Unlike in the days of Captain’s Cook or Bligh today’s cruisers have the ability stay in constant contact with the outside world. We can be a thousand miles offshore and still be able to place a ship to shore call or send emails via satellite technology. Honestly I’m not sure my dear ol’ mama could handle us being out here if we couldn’t. She likes hearing from us daily while we’re at sea just so she knows we’re still afloat.

Of course with satellite technology there are definitely limits to what you can do. Sending emails via our IridiumGo is great but don’t try to send a photograph or a file unless you have nothing else to do for a bit. One, smallish, not so great resolution photograph can take ten to twenty minutes to get it off flying through cyberspace. This is exactly why we send all arrival documents before we leave our last port. We do it when we have “real” internet.

Now I’m sure there are some out there asking why we haven’t switched to Starlink as this is supposed to be “the thing” to use for internet for travelers. Well, we don’t think it’s quite ready to do what we need it to do and with the issues they are having over the RV service being used on yachts we’d like to just wait this out a little while. At least we know our IridiumGo gets the job done for us and in the event we need to reach someone out here we’d like that security.

So here we are hundreds of miles from shore and I’m now pestering the Border Officials for an answer. After all, I’m at sea with not much else to do but read and write so I am sending an email a day. After a couple of emails a nice lady named Ruth gets back to me saying we should have our approval the following morning. Excellent! All is well…….or, is it???

Yesterday morning comes and goes without an answer so I send another email. Each time I copy everyone I’ve had contact with there. Someone has to be able to get this done right? Well, finally late yesterday afternoon I see an email has come in from Ruth only this time it’s some huge file that goes into what is called “big mail”. In order for me to open items that land there I have to specifically ask for them to be downloaded as they can take a long, long, long time.

This particular file is over 2 million bytes! By the time it opens, if it doesn’t just shut the whole system down first, we will have decided we are simply too old to sail anymore and will have sold the boat and moved into some old folks home on land somewhere. No, this simply will not work.

So now it appears I have an answer but I have no way of knowing if it’s yes or no. The thing is they all know we are already at sea so they have to know that normal internet is not at play here. I mean this whole satellite email stuff didn’t just come on the market. And this is border control. They have dealt with this stuff since the moment it did come on the market.

Are you sensing my frustration yet????

I’ll wrap this up by telling you that it took a series of four more emails back and forth for us to finally get something in writing telling us we are approved to enter the country at Port Resolution. So much for my “it’s going to be so easy this year” plan. But, today I’ve been reading about the Ni-Vanuatu people in preparation for our arrival and I did learn one thing that will surely be helpful during our stay and it’s that time is of very little relevance in their culture. The way they see it a measurement of time will not change a thing so my wanting an answer expeditiously meant nothing to them. They knew an answer would come and that answer would be the same whether they sent it last week or next week. I think this adventure is going to be a test of my patience to be sure.

All I can say now is this volcano better be worth the frustration I’ve been through to get there. That and oh, “God, please grant me a huge dose of patience in the next 24 hours.”

Until next time….when we are safely anchor down at Port Resolution, Vanuatu…

Jilly

Fiji, September 2022, Wailoaloa Beach

The Sketchy Tattoo Experience

Have you ever traveled down a road and then once you got there asked yourself, “What the heck am I thinking doing this?” I guess we probably all have done that once or twice in our lives but at my age you’d think I was past that right? I mean you’d think I’d have reached the age where wisdom trumps stupidity. But, I guess that’s not always the case. Sometimes, as our dear friend, Jack, likes to say. “God takes care of the stupid people” and that’s probably what happened during my “sketchy tattoo experience”. 

Let me back up and tell you that I never, ever, ever believed anyone would get me to put ink on my body. At least, not the kind you can’t take off anyway. Nope, it wasn’t happening. In fact, I’ve had more than one heated debate with friends over why tattoos are a ridiculous waste of money and nothing you’d ever see me doing. But that was years ago and long before we crossed the oceans and became shellbacks.

For sailors who cross the equator it’s like a rite of passage to get a tattoo when you reach the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Even though I’d heard the talk I still wasn’t prepared to do it but then, I arrived there and something inside me said, “You know what? I want one to memorialize this momentous accomplishment in my life. I want do do this as the islanders would.” And so, I got a small tattoo on my left ankle. 

It’s a custom designed tattoo by a Marquesan man named Kaha and was done in Hiva Oa. Each symbol on it represents something that holds meaning about our crossing and our accomplishment. I hated the process and the pain but love the tattoo. It’s a one of a kind and it says exactly what I wanted so that was supposed to be the end of it.

Then we came back to Fiji for the second time this year. Our first time here in 2019 was amazing to say the least but something happened this time that I almost can’t put into words. There is a different feeling now as we revisit the villages and people we met on our last visit. We’ve a more in depth understanding of who they are and what they are about and they’ve welcomed us back in a way that is so warm and familiar. It is a bit like coming home and, after not being home with our families for close to three years, having Fijian family felt more amazing than you can ever know. 

These people we met three years ago…some of which knew us for but a day or even just a few hours; they remember us and they have welcomed us back as part of their families, not as some tourists they met one time. They opened their homes to us and showed us a kindness that is not as common as it used to be in this world and it touched me to my very core. It’s something I don’t ever want to forget. The more I learn about them the more I truly aspire to be like the people who have taken us in and showed us such love and kindness.

So, how do I make certain they never leave my thoughts? How do I ensure that I think daily about what I need to do to be more like them? Well, I get an authentic Fijian tattoo that’s how.

What makes a Fijian tattoo different than the Marquesan one I got after our crossing? Well, while all Polynesian tattoos do have a similar tribal feel, each region tends to have a different way of presenting what you want it to say and mean. When islanders see your tattoo they can always tell you in what part of the islands it was do. And so having one that is from Fiji and has the added symbolism of the things that I have come to know and appreciate here is important to me. 

After a great deal of thought and consideration I decided it was definitely going to happen. The first thing to do…find a tattoo artist who will listen to what I want the tattoo to mean and then translate that into Fijian symbols that reveal a piece of artwork on my body. 

First we decided to talk with a Fijian who has some great tattoos. We spoke with a bar manager whom we’d befriended and he recommended a guy in Wailoaloa Beach near Port Denarau. I called the guy and was planning to go meet him. But, I checked him out on Google and found some reviews that weren’t so good. The one that truly changed my mind was when a guy said he and his friend went to get inked and the guy didn’t change the needle after doing the one guy before doing his friend. Nope! I’m already a bit on the edge about this so that was a huge no no for me.

While I was surfing the reviews I found this guy Tukai from Pacifink. The photos of his work were off the charts and the reviews were even better. People actually fly here from Australia or other parts of the world to have him create his masterpieces. Plus, they all mentioned the cleanliness and safety part that made me feel more comfortable. He definitely seemed like the guy I wanted to talk to about it so I called him. Ironically enough he was also in Wailoaloa Beach and was able to meet us that very day.

Meeting Your Tattoo Artist At The Bar! 

We had barely dropped the hook and we needed to rush to meet him at one of the resorts on the beach. I was a bit nervous but also very excited. I had photos on my phone to show him and was ready for the adventure. I think…

Wailoaloa Beach Resort

We pulled Sparkle up on shore in front of the Wailoaloa Beach Club. This place is a hotel/hostel and not a bad place at all. My friend, Donna, and I stayed here for a night back in 2019. The staff is awesome and they will watch over your tender when you come ashore even if you want to go into town.

Tender secured we walked down to Smuggler’s Cove Beach Resort to meet Tukai. Dan got us a couple of brews at the Ghost Ship Bar which has excellent Chicken Parmesan by the way. Then we waited anxiously for Tuka’s arrival. We didn’t have to wait long. He and his brother-in-law showed up. Honestly they both appeared to have had a beer or two beforehand but hey, it’s Fiji. And, we weren’t going to do the tattoo at that very moment so I was okay with it. Well…sort of.

We chatted up a bit and got to know one another. Turns out Tukai and his brother-in-law had both served in the military. Tukai also went to Uni (university) to study art. It wasn’t long before both Dan and I were feeling quite comfortable with him and I decided that yes, I wanted him to do my Fijian and last ever tattoo.

Then came the time to discuss price etc…That’s Dan’s department. Tukai explained that his studio is owned by a Chinese family and they take 70% of whatever he charges if he does the tattoo in their studio. 70%!!!!! Let that sink in a moment. We didn’t doubt him because we know from others how the Chinese take such advantage of the islanders.

If he does the tattoo somewhere else then it’s substantially less. Let me stop here and say this was not about the cost of it. We’d have gladly paid the higher price if it meant making certain it was sanitary and done properly. But, we do have a philosophical problem with the way the Chinese treat the people in these countries so if we could help him out by cutting them out of the equation then that’s what we wanted to do.

We agreed that we’d do this outside of the studio. In fact, Tukai even said he’d pick us up the next morning and take us to his house. He would do it there and then we’d have a great meal and some drinks and all would be well. Hmmmm….sounded like pretty cool adventure.

Then he tells us he needed $150 FJD up front so that he can go and buy the needles and ink. He is required to buy this from a licensed dealer so he has to get it from the studio. Okay…even if he takes the money and runs it’s not that much money so we go along with it. After a few beers we make plans to meet at the resort at 1000 the following morning and head to Tukai’s house to get my right foot inked.

Is This Sketchy?

I think both of us left the bar with a few reservations in mind but neither was ready to say it to the either. Dan knew I really wanted this tattoo and I was so eager to get it done that I just wasn’t really ready to acknowledge the fact that something could go horribly wrong. 

But as the evening went on I started to think about the German sailor in the Marquesas back in 2011 who was killed and thought to have been eaten by a local guide when he went out hunting goats with him. Ever since we were in Mexico and I read this story I’ve kept it in the back of my mind to remind us to never be overly trusting. 

The thing is that once we were in Tukai’s car we’d be somewhat at his mercy. Sure, I trust Dan and his training but there are limits and you just never know what could go wrong. But, Dan didn’t say anything that night to make me feel like we shouldn’t do it so I was still on board and even began to think I was just over analyzing the situation. After all he did seem like a really cool and above board kind of guy. 

But, just to try to add a little more comfort to my mind I started text messaging some of our Fijian friends. I sent them photos of him and asked if anyone knew of him. Our friend, Va, who we refer to as the mayor of Nadi, had never heard of him so that was a little unsettling but I was still trying to stay positive about it. 

The next morning however, after I’d had somewhat of a sleepless night thinking about the German sailor’s experience, I decided I had to bring up my reservations even if it meant us losing the $150 FJD. Soon after waking I said to Dan, “So, if we were sitting in a bar listening to some newbie travelers and they told us this story and said they were going to this guy’s house for a tattoo, what would you say to them?”

Dan looked me dead in the eyes and said, “I’d tell them not to go.” That was all I needed to hear. We were clearly were not going to Tukai’s house. I felt a bit deflated about it but I knew it was the right decision.

After a few minutes of additional reflection, however, Dad did tell me that his years of training told him Tukai wasn’t a bad guy and would in all likelihood create an amazing tattoo. He just didn’t like the idea of putting us into “his domain” and potential control. He really felt that Tukai is a good guy with good intentions. It’s just about making certain that if he isn’t we aren’t at a disadvantage. I agreed.

We decided we’d rent a hotel room on Wailoaloa Beach for the day and have him come to do it there. We rented a places at the Beach Escape Resort that was just walking distance from Smuggler’s Cove. It is actually quite a cute place for a backpacker’s resort. It was really clean and tidy and the price at $80 FJD was perfect. So, we called Tukai and told him of the change of plans. 

Tukai and his brother-in-law showed up in “Fiji time”. It’s sort of like a Mexican minute. You know it will happen you just aren’t absolutely sure when. If you want promptness, Fiji is not the place to go. We understand the concept of Fiji time so we just hung out and had a couple of beers while we waited. 

When the guys arrived they had a couple of beers with them. Yes…now I realized he’s going to do this with a little buzz on which was, to be honest, slightly disconcerting. At this point, however, I was done worrying. The time had come to just do it. You know what they say, “Go big or go home.” 

Pen Drawing

I knew from my first tattoo that whenever they put the needle in over the bone it’s not fun and this one was going on the top of my right foot. As Tukai began needling me I realized I was absolutely correct. The two beers I drank beforehand did nothing to ease the pain. I found myself gripping a pen between my teeth at more than one point. Ironically Dan, Tukai and the brother-in-law all seemed to get some perverse pleasure out of watching my pain.

So, I laid down on the bed an Tukai commenced to drawing on my foot as we discussed what symbolism I wanted and how I wanted it to look. After a few modifications the pen drawing looked fabulous and it was time to get down to business. I asked Dan to pop back up to the bar and pick up a couple more beers for me as I knew this one was going to hurt. 

Throughout the process we got to know Tukai on a much more personal level and by the time it was done we both felt a bit sad that we didn’t take him up on his offer to go to his home for a day of food, fun and tattoos.  But….you just don’t know and sometimes safety must come before fun.

A Work Of Art Filled With Symbolism

My tattoo has the Fijian symbols of strength, family, new beginnings, love, friendship, and courage. The turtle represents good health, longevity of life and peace. The wavy lines around it represent the journeys I’ve taken and those yet to come. The manta represents wisdom and graceful strength. Polynesians see the manta as a spirit guardian. Having a tribal manta tattoo is seen as a way to protect your spirit and help you gain these traits. Lord knows I could use some grace and wisdom. (Hush Dan….that wasn’t mean to be funny!)

I love it! Now it’s time for a pedicure.

Interestingly enough it turned out that Tukai is the uncle of our dear friend, Kata. She doesn’t have enough wonderful things to say about him and quite frankly, neither do we. In the end I got the most perfect tattoo and gained two new wonderful Fijian friends. It just goes to show you never know when something that seems sketchy can turn out to be truly wonderful. 

I look at my new tattoo daily….many times a day at that. I have vowed to continue to think of all it represents and remember these incredible people who have truly made such difference in my life. It’s my hope that I will become more and more like them as time passes.

As for missing out on an afternoon at Tukai’s home….Honestly, even knowing what we know now about our new friend, I wouldn’t have changed the way we handled it. We took the safe route and it worked out for everyone. We were fortunate that Tukai turned out to be the upstanding and incredible man he is but we are ever mindful as we travel that it could have ended very differently. 

Until next time,

Jilly

Thanks Tukai! It’s absolutely AMAZIG!

Tukai is on the right.