YET ANOTHER TIP ON TIPS FROM THE GRAND POOBAH
As the Grand Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha mentioned in the First-Timers Guide to Cruising Mexico, he strongly recommends that you do NOT try to get a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for your boat online. And that you don't pay anyone a big fee to get one for you.
The problem is the Mexican software and some of the questions can be confusing. It's easy to get stuck or end up with a TIP with the wrong information. And it costs more — the DHL fee — than if you get one at the Mexican consulate in L.A., Sacramento, or San Berdoo.
You can't get one at the consulate in San Diego, but you can get one at the Banjercito right across the border from Otay Mesa, not San Ysidro, in Tijuana. It's quick and easy.
When applying for a Temporary Import Permit for your boat, bring all your paperwork, your passport, and — this is crucial — the serial number of your engine(s).
The TIP costs about $50 for 10 years. It is by far the great bargain in the entire world of cruising. Many countries charge that much for a weekend.
Ha-Ha entrants Gregory Newman and Susan Wells of the Berkeley-based Calibre 40 LRC Rapture report they got their TIP at the Mexican consulate in Sacramento. "It took 15 minutes," they said.
We'll also remind everyone that if you bought a boat that already has a TIP that hasn't been canceled, you're in a messy situation.
DO NOT BUY A BOAT THAT HAS AN ACTIVE TIP! Demand that the previous owner take care of it as a condition of sale. You can check if a boat has an active TIP by going to the banjercito site and looking it up by name or documentation/registration number.
While you won't have a problem if you arrive in Cabo without having gotten a TIP yet, it's so easy there is no reason not to have one.
The photo is of Ha-Ha folks enjoying a bonfire at the first R&R stop of Turtle Bay. Currently there are 140 entries in this year's 25th anniversary event. If you're curious, visit www.baja-ha.com.
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