3 January 2018 Filing a flight plan in Richards Bay

I have found a strange correlation which is peculiar to South Africa: the closer you are to the equator the greater the bureaucracy.

When you sail into SA you do your clearance with visits to health, immigration and customs, but to move from one port to the next you need to file a flight plan.

In Richards Bay this means picking up a 6 page clearance document, plus form DA1 and DA4 from either Tuzi Gazi Marina office or Zululand yacht club. Fill in the documents. Then visit each yacht club to obtain am official stamp to confirm you don't owe any monies. Then get in a car, or a taxi, and procced to the immigration office close to Boardwalk Mall. Yachties don't use the main door at the front of the building, we have their own concealed door down a smelly alley on the left side of the building . You show your passports – sometimes all crew have to be present, sometimes they don't. It depends who's on duty. Immigration stamp your document, take a photocopy and add it to a pile. Now back in the car, or taxi, and travel a kilometre the other side of the Mall to visit the Customs office who also stamp your document, take a photocopy and add it to their pile. Not finished yet. Get back in the car, or taxi, and proceed to Tuzi Gazi waterfront to the police office in Tuzi Gazi Waterfront building, second floor, where they put the final stamp, take a photocopy of the form, add it to a pile of paperwork and hand you the original.

The final requirement to file your flight plan is to take the completed document to the office at Tuzi Gazi or Zululand who fax it all to Port Control. Time taken – two hours because we were three boats in one car.

If you don't leave within 36 hours of filing your plan you are required to clear back in (immigration, Customs) and file a new flight plan when you now want to leave.

Port Control in Richards Bay insist on the above. They are inflexible and have been known to be most stubborn should a jumped up International yachtsman question their authority.

When we were ready to leave we slipped lines and radioed Port Control to request permission to exit the harbour. Permission granted and we were on our way to Durban.