The Noonsite Cruising Information page, in particular, the first section – Planning & Preparation – has many useful links to help you cover every eventuality.

Arriving to your boat by air

In order to avoid lengthy explantions as to why you are not staying in a hotel and have arrived on a one-way ticket, it is often simpler to purchase a refundable onward ticket/or return ticket.

If this is not possible and you are crewing on a boat, be sure to have a letter from the Captain with the address where the boat is moored confirming you are joining as crew. As owners, carry copies of the boat documentation and a marina receipt/entry papers.

Traveling away from your boat by air

It is recommended to never travel away from your boat by air without your registration/documentation and a receipt or letter from the marina/boat caretaker where you left your boat. Some airline ticket agents will not issue a boarding pass unless you can prove you’re returning to your yacht and have the means to leave. Otherwise, you may be forced to purchase a return ticket. These same documents may also ease your way through customs with your bags of boat parts.

In addition, many skippers have their boat papers, registration/documentation, solely in their own name, even though both partners are co-owners. The other spouse has no official status on their yacht and should one of them need to fly out for some reason, or even die, the other might not be able to manage or move the boat out of the country in an emergency such as an approaching hurricane.

For similar reasons, when checking into immigration, list one spouse as captain, and the other as the vessel owner…never just crew.

Money

This depends on where you are cruising, however in general (unless you are cruising extremely remotely) it pays to have 3 or 4 cards available on different bank accounts. Be sure to keep the banks notified regarding your location and plans to avoid “fraud alert” and keep your customer service numbers handy.

In the Mediterranean, for example, it is possible to pay by card for pretty much everything. In the Caribbean, it will be harder the further south you go and in the Pacific and more remote countries of SE Asia, cash will be more of a necessity. On-line access to all accounts is a must.

International ATMs are almost everywhere with any significant population these days – larger withdrawals will keep fees down. However in many small islands how much cash you can withdraw at any one time may vary, or there may just not be an ATM or bank, or the one that they have will be out of order.

Cash is king in many parts of the world and some places simply won’t accept cards, so it is worth keeping a small amount on board (in small bills), but not too much as having more than say $10K may cause problems with some authorities if undeclared. Keep any cash onboard divided up and secreted in various places.

Some cruisers recommend maintaining a Skype phone number which is registered on all bank accounts. This can be forwarded to your local mobile number so if the bank calls you can answer, speeding up the process of resolving issues.

Useful Cruisers Forum link – How much cash on board?

Boat Card

It is very useful to have ready-made up, a card containing all the information about the boat, including Boat Name, Owners Name, Flag state, LOA, Width, Registration number, Tonnage & Contact Details.

Food

Bio-security considerations will sometime severely restrict which foodstuff is permitted to remain on the boat on arrival. Be sure to check each country’s restrictions.

Cultural Differences

Be aware of the customs for new countries you are cruising to, so you arrive and behave in harbor in the correct manner. Across the world without exception, all Authorities look favorably on a skipper dressed in shorts and a shirt with shoes.