By George.Curtis2 - 20 Nov 2015
Flying Fish Articles
Visa requirements
No visas are required prior to entry. A tourist visa will (US$15) be issued on entry, valid for 60 days. Some immigration officials may issue a visa for more than 60 days if requested.
Entry requirements
Vessels must proceed immediately to a Port of Entry and report as soon as the Customs/Immigration offices open. Customs will charge a one-time fee of US$43 to bring your boat into the country. When you check in you will also be visited by the Coast Guard (see #4 below) and Drug Enforcement and possibly Agriculture. Note that all these officials are likely to ask for a present.
Transit requirements (departing one port, entering another)
At every port in the DR there is be a “Commandancia” or Coast Guard (Marina Guerra) post. They will normally come out to visit you after arrival. You must submit to them the papers from your last port of call. When you are ready to leave for the next port they will issue you with a “despacho” which is written permission to your next destination. The charge for the despacho is $500 peso or approx. US$15. Be prepared for this procedure to take time and if you are planning an early morning departure, obtain the despacho the day before.
Search and rescue
The DR operates a Search and Rescue service through their Coast Guard (Marina Guerra). Available on VHF Ch 16.
Emergency and health services
Good medical doctor services and hospitals in major towns.
Importing spares
Customs procedures make this slow and difficult. It may be easier now through the new marinas at Oceanworld, Casa de Campo and Boca Chica and there is plenty of resident English-speaking local knowledge available in Luperon..
Useful languages
Spanish is the language of the territory although English is understood and spoken in the main tourist destinations and ports such as Luperon which are popular yachting destinations.
Other comments
Cruising information (specific to this cruising area)
Zar-Par Marina at Boca Chica – 18°38.88'N, 69°38.93'W
Last updated on 24 March 2013.
Recommended cruising guides
Free downloadable cruising guides by Frank Virgintino
A Cruising Guide to the The Dominican Republic
http://freecruisingguides.com/dominican-republic
Bruce van Sant, in his “Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South”, gives good coverage to the north coast from Luperon westwards to the Mona Passage, including the Bay of Samana.
Stephen Pavlivides in his Cruising Guide to the Turks and Caicos Islands also covers part of the north coast of the DR.
A new guide, Cruising Guide to the Dominican Republic, has recently (2007) been produced by Julian Roe and Frank Virgintino. It may be downloaded from: http://dominicanrepubliccruisingguide.com
Some of the ports of entry
Luperon, Samana, Casa de Campo, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Santa Domingo.
Harbours to leave your yacht for 1 month or more
Luperon, but only with someone looking after the boat.
Possibly also some of the new marinas such as, Oceanworld, Caso de Campo and Boca Chica.
Weather information
Chris Parker in Florida, under the banner of the Caribbean Weather Centre http://mwxc.com/
broadcasts a daily (except Sunday) weather forecast for the Caribbean on SSB 8137 kHz USB at 0700 local time and 8104 kHz USB at 0830. Also available to subscribers by email. Detailed forecasts for specific areas may be obtained by Subscribers. For up-to-date details of times and subscription rates check with Chris at: chris@mwxc.com [mailto:chris@mwxc.com]
"Eric" broadcasts forecast details for the Eastern Caribbean 7 days a week on 3855 kHz LowerSB at 0630. Note: this is intended for Amateur Radio operators but can be received by anyone able to tune to Ham frequencies.
There is a comprehensive list [http://www.caribbeancompass.com/ssb_radio_0609.pdf] of sources of weather information for the Caribbean area on the OCC Website.
Tidal information
Cruising permits and restrictions
This is effectively the despacho – see #4 above.
Radio and communications
Within Luperon there is a daily Cruiser’s VHF Net.
The OCC SSB Net operates at 0730 daily from November to April at 4027 kHz USB. Also the Coconut Telegraph Net at 0800 daily on 4060 USB and the US Cruiseheimer’s Net on 6227 kHz USB at 0830.
See 16 below for the Caribbean Safety and Security Net. This frequency (8104 kHz USB) is frequently used by cruisers for contacting other cruising boats between 0800 and 0815 and immediately after the Net finishes and before Chris Parker comes on air at about 0835.
General advice, places to go, warnings
The DR is not much visited by cruising yachts, except by those following Van Sant’s Passages South from Luperon to Samana and across the Mona Passage, and who are desperately trying to progress eastwards against the prevailing wind direction to get to the USVI as quickly as possible. As the Roe/Virgintino cruising guide (see #5 above) explains, there are many more worthwhile destinations, especially on the south coast. However, unless you are en route from Puerto Rico to Jamaica, Cuba or Panama, the problem is always getting back eastwards.
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Safety and security
Petty theft is a problem, especially with dinghies and outboards.
Normal security precautions should be taken especially with dinghies and outboards as dinghy/outboard theft is rife throughout the Caribbean. The engine & fuel tank should be locked to the dinghy and the dinghy should be locked with a wire or chain when left unattended ashore. At night, dinghies should be either locked to the boat or, preferably, hoisted out of the water.
Melodye Pompa operates the Caribbean Safety and Security Net daily at 0815 on 8104 kHz USB. She also maintains a computer database of safety and security incidents. This Net serves as a forum for reporting/discussing safety and security incidents throughout the Caribbean as well as for "boat watches" for overdue vessels. It has a very wide daily audience. See also www.safetyandsecuritynet.com [http://www.safetyandsecuritynet.com/]
Zar-Par Marina at Boca Chica
Place Name: Zar-Par Marina at Boca Chica, Dominican Republic Latitude and Longitude: 18°25.50N 69°36.67W Date of Information: May 2008 Submitted by: Jens Bagh Comment: The marina is covered by their web site http/:www.marinazarpar.com. Call VHF Channel 16 on arrival. Caution! The charts for Andres/Boca Chica do not appear to have been updated since the construction of the container port at Andreswith the soil disposal resulting in a new island off Boca Chica. My advice is to approach in daylight only and to follow the marked channel. Depths outside marked channel highly variable and not necessarily according to charts.
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