April 28, 2023 - Friday

 Since departure date is closing in on me (finally...), I decided to head down to the Immigration and the Mazatlan Port Captain in the commercial district to get started on the process for checking out of Mexico.  It seems there is no consistent process, though there are some commonalities.  Depending on what port you are in and even who you speak with, there are differences in the forms and process you are required to follow.  It can be a little confusing and also frustrating, so I did as some research before heading down to the office.

I took the "green" bus to "Centro", which is the old part of town.  Being close to where the cruise ships dock and near the big market area, it is popular with the tourists.  The bus ride took 15-20 minutes and follows the shoreline for much of the trip, then it winds through the Centro district.  My first stop was at immigration.  Both immigration and the port captain offices are in the commercial shipping district near the end of the bus line.  Fortunately they are only a few blocks from one another.  

Mazatlan Immigration Office

I arrived at the immigration office around 12:30.  There were a few people in the lobby, but it was not busy.  I asked the person at the counter who I needed to speak with about clearing out of the country on a boat.  He said the person I needed to see was not available, but he would give them a message.  It seemed I was expected to wait, so I took a seat.

After a hour with no indication of progress, I decided to inquire again.  Not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with immigration, I decided to take an indirect route.  I asked the man at the counter if he knew when the port captain's office closed.  He was not sure, but within 5 minutes Eduardo, the person I needed to see, appeared and we got down to business!

I gave him some paperwork and my contact information.  He said he would email me three electronic documents to fill out.  This was new to me.  Nothing I researched and nobody I spoke with had mentioned electronic documents.  So much for standard procedures.  

One of the steps in this process is a boat inspection.  I will have to schedule this directly with Eduardo within a day of departure.  This is a complication because boats plan departures based on weather and sea conditions.  In fact, it is not uncommon for the harbor to be closed in high winds or waves, so the inspection date will remain a little fluid.  I'll take a look at the forms after I receive the email.

I left immigration and headed over to the Port Captain's office.  It was a little after 2:00 and they were closed.  The sign said they were open until 3:30.  Fortunately a woman was still there who was able help me out through a window...  The only form they seem to require is my crew list.  They have a form for this and I also have a form in English and Spanish.  I showed it to her and she seemed to think it would be fine.  I'll complete their form as well, just in case.

 Mazatlan Port Captain's Office

The only catch is I may need my original checkin/arrival form.  I'm not sure I actually have this form, so will have to look around.  It was good to make the trip down.  I expected it would take two or three trips to get everything in order.  I'll go back next week for the second round and see how it goes.

I was a bit tired when I got back and didn't do much more work on the boat.  I cleaned up some of my dock lines that had been left in the water while I was gone.  I was going to toss them, but they cleaned up pretty well and seem okay to use.