Florida & the Keys
| Region | Südostflorida von Palm Beach bis Miami, dazu die Florida Keys und die Dry Tortugas |
|---|---|
| Saison | November bis Mai, Hurrikansaison offiziell 1. Juni bis 30. November |
| Kette | die Keys laufen rund 127 Meilen entlang des Overseas Highway und beginnen etwa 15 Meilen südlich von Miami |
| Riff | das Florida Reef erstreckt sich über rund 170 Meilen und ist das drittgrößte Barriereriffsystem der Welt |
| Größte Liegeplatzkapazität | Safe Harbor Rybovich, West Palm Beach, Liegeplätze von 80 bis 450 Fuß, Tiefgang bis 25 Fuß, keine Beschränkung von Durchfahrtshöhe und Breite |
| Schwerlast | Rybovich betreibt einen Travellift mit 660 ton, Lauderdale Marine Center bis 485 ton |
| Refit | Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center umfasst 65 Acres und arbeitet an Yachten von rund 90 bis 200 Fuß |
| Schutzgebietsregel | die Areas To Be Avoided des Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary beschränken Fahrzeuge ab 164 Fuß (50 Meter) |
| Schutzgebietsregel | kein Ankern auf lebender Koralle, 4 Knoten und keine Welle innerhalb von 300 Fuß zu Ufern, festgemachten Fahrzeugen und Riffzeichen |
| Dry Tortugas | rund 70 Meilen westlich von Key West, Übernachtankern nur auf Sand innerhalb von 1 Seemeile um den Leuchtturm auf Garden Key, kein Treibstoff und kein Wasser im Park |
| Charter | der Passenger Vessel Services Act verbietet Fahrzeugen unter fremder Flagge die Beförderung von Passagieren zwischen US-Häfen |
| Flughäfen | die internationalen Flughäfen Fort Lauderdale, Miami und Palm Beach, dazu Opa-locka und Fort Lauderdale Executive für Privatjets |
| PVSA penalty | USD 300 per passenger transported and landed under 19 CFR 4.80, inflation-adjusted to USD 996 per passenger for 2025 |
| Cruising licence | issued under 19 CFR 4.94 for up to one year, allows arrival and departure without formal entry at each port, covers private use only and confers no right to carry passengers for hire |
| Successive licences | a non-resident owner must leave a gap of at least fifteen days between cruising licences |
| Berth cost | Rybovich and Lauderdale Marine Center publish no rates, checked 28 July 2026, and third-party 2026 figures put megayacht dockage at Pier Sixty-Six and Bahia Mar at USD 80 to 200 per foot per month |
| Keys berth cost | City Marina at Garrison Bight, Key West, USD 4.10 plus tax per foot per day and USD 56.26 plus tax per foot per month effective 1 August 2026 |
| Discharge | the sanctuary is a federal No Discharge Zone and Florida Statute 327.521 sets a civil penalty of up to USD 250, and up to USD 250 for each day a discharge continues |
| Grey water | not classed as sewage under current Florida law and not prohibited, which is the gap a large yacht should manage voluntarily |
Zuerst eine Basis, dann ein Revier
Ein Eigner muss ehrlich sein, was Florida ist. Der Abschnitt von Palm Beach über Fort Lauderdale bis Miami ist die dichteste Ansammlung von Yachtinfrastruktur überhaupt: Werften, Lackierhallen, Techniker, Broker, Crewagenturen, Segelmacher und Teile. Wenn auf einem 50-Meter-Boot in der westlichen Hemisphäre etwas kaputtgeht, wird es hier repariert, und meist ordentlich und schnell. Was es nicht ist, ist ein Ort, an dem Menschen zum Vergnügen fahren.
Das Fahren findet entweder 50 Seemeilen östlich über den Golfstrom auf den Bahamas statt oder südlich die Keys hinunter. Florida selbst ist der Einstiegspunkt, der Winterliegeplatz und die Werkstatt. Das ist ein echter Grund, ein Boot hier für die Saison zu stationieren, und deshalb tun es so viele Eigner. Es heißt aber auch, dass Gäste, die die französische Riviera erwarten, eine Marina in einer amerikanischen Stadt vorfinden.
Die Form des Reviers
Von Nord nach Süd läuft die nutzbare Küste rund 70 Meilen, von West Palm Beach über Fort Lauderdale bis Miami, alles über den Intracoastal Waterway verbunden und alles mit tiefen Einfahrten zum Atlantik. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale ist ein kommerzieller Tiefwasserhafen und nimmt die größten Yachten ohne Schwierigkeit. Die Reparaturwerften liegen landeinwärts am New River und am Dania Cut-off Canal, erreichbar über eine langsame, enge Fahrt durch Brückenöffnungen, die für sich schon ein Schauspiel ist.
Südlich von Miami beginnen die Keys, ein Korallenarchipel, das über rund 127 Meilen bis Key West läuft, mit dem Florida Reef wenige Meilen davor. Dazwischen liegt der Hawk Channel, die geschützte Innenroute, und hinter Key West liegen die Dry Tortugas, rund 70 Meilen weiter westlich, mit nichts darauf als einem Backsteinfort aus dem neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Die Florida Bay an der Nordseite der Keys ist flach, tidenabhängig und für jede Yacht von Größe faktisch geschlossen.
In Florida wird die Flotte repariert, und das Fahren beginnt fünfzig Meilen östlich davon.
Eine Woche, und zwei Wochen
Eine Woche ab Fort Lauderdale heißt realistisch die Bahamas. Hinüber nach Bimini oder zu den Berry Islands, weiter hinunter nach Nassau und in die Exumas und zurück. Die Alternative ist ein Schlag den Hawk Channel hinunter mit Nächten in Islamorada und Marathon und drei oder vier Tagen in Key West, was einem Boot unter 50 Metern liegt und mit zunehmender Größe immer enger wird.
Zwei Wochen öffnen die ganzen Keys plus die Dry Tortugas, den einzigen wirklich wilden Ort des Bundesstaats und die Passage wert für jeden, der taucht. Eigner, die im Herbst den Atlantik queren, kommen oft im November hier an, verbringen vierzehn Tage mit Werftarbeit bei Rybovich oder Lauderdale Marine Center und beginnen die eigentliche Saison im Dezember auf den Bahamas. Die vierzehn Tage in Florida sind Arbeitswochen.
Wo ein 50-Meter-Boot hineinpasst und wo nicht
Safe Harbor Rybovich in West Palm Beach ist die Spitze des Marktes, mit Liegeplätzen von 80 bis 450 Fuß, Tiefgang bis 25 Fuß, ohne Beschränkung von Breite oder Durchfahrtshöhe und mit tiefem Wasser direkt vom Atlantik. Es betreibt einen Travellift mit 660 ton. Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center ist die Arbeitsalternative, 65 Acres am Dania Cut-off Canal, hebt bis 485 ton und betreut Yachten von rund 90 bis 200 Fuß. Zusammen mit den Marinas in Fort Lauderdale und Miami hat eine große Yacht an dieser Küste kein Liegeplatzproblem.
Die Keys sind das Gegenteil. Der Hawk Channel ist flach, die Rifflinie verzeiht nichts, und die Marinas in Islamorada, Marathon und Stock Island sind für Sportfisher und Yachten deutlich unter 50 Metern gebaut. Das Hauptfahrwasser von Key West ist tief, aber die Liegeplätze sind begrenzt und die Stadt ist voll. Eine große Yacht in den Keys ankert in erlaubtem Wasser und arbeitet das Riff per Tender ab, was dieselbe Antwort ist wie in den Grenadinen, nur mit weit mehr Papierkram daran.
Das Schutzgebiet, das Riff und die 50-Meter-Linie
Der gesamte Riffgürtel der Keys liegt im Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, und die Regeln werden durchgesetzt. Das Ankern auf lebender Koralle ist rundheraus verboten. Die Geschwindigkeit ist auf 4 Knoten und keine Welle innerhalb von 300 Fuß zu Ufern, festgemachten oder ankernden Fahrzeugen und Riffnavigationszeichen begrenzt. Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Habitatschutzgebiete und Aufzuchtzonen sind mit runden gelben Bojen von 30 Zoll markiert und tragen eigene Beschränkungen, wobei in diesen Zonen ab 2027 ein weiteres Ankerverbot in Kraft treten soll.
Die Regel, die für diese Leserschaft am meisten zählt, sind die Areas To Be Avoided, die Fahrzeuge ab 164 Fuß oder 50 Metern beschränken. Es gibt außerdem Mooringbojen, die eigens für große Fahrzeuge ausgewiesen sind, und ein Boot darf nicht an einer festmachen, die nicht für seine Größe ausgewiesen ist. Praktisch heißt das, dass eine 50-Meter-Yacht von Teilen des Riffs rechtlich ausgeschlossen ist, die eine 40-Meter-Yacht nutzen darf, und der Kapitän braucht die aktuelle Karte des Schutzgebiets, bevor er irgendetwas davon plant.
Wetter, der Golfstrom und die Saison, die zu meiden ist
Das Winterwetter wird hier von Kaltfronten bestimmt, die von November bis März alle paar Tage von der nordamerikanischen Landmasse herunterziehen. Vor einer Front dreht der Wind auf Süd und wird weich. Dahinter springt er hart auf Nord und weht ein bis zwei Tage. Der Golfstrom läuft mit zwei bis vier Knoten an dieser Küste nach Norden, ein Nordwind gegen diesen Strom baut also eine kurze, steile und wirklich gefährliche See auf, und jede Bahamas-Querung wird um die Fronten herum getimt.
Der Sommer ist heiß, schwül und gewitteranfällig, mit der offiziell vom 1. Juni bis 30. November laufenden Hurrikansaison und der Spitze im August, September und Oktober. Fast die gesamte Großyachtflotte geht in diesem Fenster ins Mittelmeer oder nach Norden, und die Versicherungsbedingungen verlangen es in der Regel. Die Keys haben keinen Boden über etwa 20 Fuß, die Sturmflut ist also das Risiko, das das ganze Archipel bestimmt.
Die Saison und Gäste an Bord bringen
Die Saison läuft von November bis Mai, mit der Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show jeden Herbst als traditionellem Auftakt und Ostern als faktischem Schluss. In der Messewoche kommen Werften, Broker und Crews zusammen, Liegeplätze im Zentrum von Fort Lauderdale sind unmöglich, und das Wasser gehört der Branche. Weihnachten und die Wochen um den Presidents Day sind für die Gästenutzung am vollsten. Werftplätze für Winterarbeiten werden weit im Voraus gebucht.
Die Erreichbarkeit ist die beste der Yachtwelt, und zwar mit Abstand. Fort Lauderdale, Miami und Palm Beach haben alle vollwertige internationale Flughäfen innerhalb von zwanzig Minuten zu den Liegeplätzen. Opa-locka und Fort Lauderdale Executive sind die Felder für Privatjets, und Palm Beach International wickelt schweres Gerät direkt ab. Key West hat einen eigenen Flughafen wenige Minuten von Stock Island. Ein Eigner kann um neun Uhr morgens landen und um elf auf See sein.
An Land: Palm Beach, Miami und Key West
Palm Beach ist das diskrete Ende. Die Worth Avenue zum Einkaufen, The Breakers als Wahrzeichenhotel und eine Wohnsaison, die von Thanksgiving bis Ostern läuft. Miami ist das laute Ende, mit dem Design District, Wynwood, der Art-Deco-Zeile auf South Beach und der Dezemberwoche der Art Basel Miami Beach, die die ganze Stadt übernimmt. Fort Lauderdale dazwischen ist eine Yachtstadt und steht dazu, mit dem Las Olas Boulevard als Hauptstraße.
Key West ist im Temperament ein anderes Land. Die Duval Street, das Hemingway-Haus, Sonnenuntergang am Mallory Square und eine Barkultur, die seit einem Jahrhundert läuft. Das Essen in der ganzen Region ist stark und international, besonders in Miami, und das Fischen am Riff und auf den Flats vor Islamorada und Marathon ist Weltklasse. Gäste, die Tarpon, Bonefish und Permit wollen, sind hier glücklicher als irgendwo in der Karibik.
Treibstoff, Unterstützung, Charterrecht und der ehrliche Nachteil
Treibstoff, Proviant, Teile und Spezialarbeit sind in großer Tiefe und kurzfristig verfügbar, und das ist das stärkste einzelne Argument für die Region. Die Abfertigung einer Yacht unter fremder Flagge ist Routine, und eine Fahrterlaubnis deckt die private Nutzung ab. Der Haken ist das Gewerbliche. Der Passenger Vessel Services Act verbietet Fahrzeugen unter fremder Flagge die Beförderung von Passagieren zwischen US-Häfen, was bedeutet, dass eine Yacht unter fremder Flagge von Florida aus keine übliche Charter mit Crew fahren kann. Deshalb arbeitet die Charterflotte auf den Bahamas und refittet hier nur, und jede Struktur, die etwas anderes behauptet, braucht ordentlichen Rechtsrat.
Der Nachteil darüber hinaus ist ehrlich genug. Das Revier ist dünn, die Keys sind flach und reguliert, das Wasser an der Festlandküste ist nicht das, was Gäste sich vorstellen, und die Hurrikansaison nimmt sechs Monate des Jahres heraus. Liegeplatz- und Werftkosten gehören zu den höchsten der Welt. Was ein Eigner im Gegenzug bekommt, ist ein Ort, an dem ein defektes Getriebe ein Telefonat ist und an dem das Boot den ganzen Winter zwanzig Minuten von einer Piste liegen kann, die eine Global nimmt.
What a month on this coast costs
The yards that matter publish nothing. Safe Harbor Rybovich and Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center quote against the dates and the boat, and no rate card for either could be found on 28 July 2026. The best-sourced third-party figures for 2026 put standard Fort Lauderdale dockage at USD 18 to 40 per foot per month and the megayacht berths at Pier Sixty-Six and Bahia Mar at USD 80 to 200 per foot per month, which for a 164 ft yacht is USD 13,120 to 32,800 a month. Down in the Keys the municipal tariffs are public and much smaller: the City Marina at Garrison Bight in Key West charges USD 4.10 plus tax per foot per day and USD 56.26 plus tax per foot per month effective 1 August 2026, with a revision due on 1 October, and Key West Bight Marina takes vessels to 140 ft with a USD 10.00 utility fee and electricity at USD 0.16 per kWh.
That makes a Fort Lauderdale winter roughly comparable with a Mediterranean summer and considerably better value in what it buys. Marina di Porto Cervo's published 2026 tariff charges EUR 3,698 a day in the band to 40 m between 1 and 20 August, about EUR 102,000 for the month, against a top-end Fort Lauderdale megayacht berth at around USD 32,800 for the same length of time. The difference is that the Italian number buys a view and the Florida number buys a berth twenty minutes from a paint shed, a 660-ton travel lift and every specialist trade in the western hemisphere. The costs that catch owners out here are not berthing at all. They are the yard slot booked a year ahead, the fuel uplift before the Gulf Stream crossing, and the six months of hurricane season when the insurance conditions move the boat somewhere else and the berth is still being paid for.
The PVSA, the cruising licence and what a mistake costs
The rule is absolute and the number attached to it is now public. The Passenger Vessel Services Act bars a foreign-flagged vessel from transporting passengers between two United States points, and the penalty under 19 CFR 4.80 is USD 300 for each passenger so transported and landed, adjusted annually for inflation and standing at USD 996 per passenger for 2025. A twelve-guest charter that embarks in Fort Lauderdale and lands in Key West is therefore an exposure approaching USD 12,000 before the vessel's own liability, and the penalty attaches to the carriage, not to the intent. There is no licence that cures it. The workaround the fleet uses is not a workaround at all: the charter starts and finishes in the Bahamas, and Florida is the yard.
What a foreign-flagged yacht can have is a cruising licence, issued under 19 CFR 4.94 for a stated period not exceeding one year, which lets her arrive at and depart from United States ports without formally entering and clearing at each one. It is available only where the flag state gives United States yachts the same treatment, and a non-resident owner cannot simply run successive licences, with a minimum gap of fifteen days between them. The licence covers private use and nothing else. It confers no right to carry passengers for hire, it does not touch the PVSA, and an owner who treats it as a charter permit has misread it.
Discharge in the sanctuary, and where the grey water sits
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a federal No Discharge Zone and the discharge of untreated sewage from a vessel is prohibited under the Clean Water Act and under Florida law. The state penalty is set by section 327.521 of the Florida Statutes at a civil penalty of up to USD 250, and up to USD 250 for each day a prohibited discharge continues. That sits on top of the sanctuary's own regulations, the anchoring prohibition on living coral, the 4 knot no-wake rule within 300 feet of shorelines, moored vessels and reef markers, and the Areas To Be Avoided that exclude vessels of 164 ft and over from parts of the reef.
The distinction that matters aboard a large yacht is grey water. Under current Florida law grey water is not sewage and its discharge is not prohibited, which is why a boat can be entirely compliant and still be pouring galley and laundry water over a reef tract. Sanctuary staff and the local fleet notice. Pump-out is available through the Keys marinas and holding everything for the length of a Hawk Channel run is the practice among boats that intend to come back.
An Land, Anfahrt und Buchung
| The single rule that decides how a foreign-flag yacht can be used here | A yacht cruising the United States on a licence to cruise issued by Customs and Border Protection under 19 CFR 4.94 may not engage in trade: the regulation provides that she shall not transport merchandise nor carry passengers for pay. In practice that means no charter and no carriage for hire, and there is no permit that changes it. Brokers commonly go further and warn that even cost-sharing among friends can look commercial, and that caution is worth heeding, but note that federal law is not absolute on the point: 46 USC 2101 expressly excludes from consideration the voluntary sharing of the actual expenses of a voyage by monetary contribution or by donation of fuel, food or supplies. The safe reading is that a Florida winter is a private cruise, and that anything resembling a commercial arrangement should be taken to counsel first. |
|---|---|
| Which yachts can hold a cruising licence at all | The licence is not open to every flag. It depends on reciprocity rather than on any treaty: 19 CFR 4.94(b) turns on the Secretary of the Treasury being satisfied that yachts of the United States are allowed to arrive at and depart from ports in that country without entering or clearing at the customhouse and without paying charges. Owners are regularly told a treaty is required, which is the wrong concept and can send a search down the wrong path. |
| The tax position, stated the way the state states it | Florida's own guidance for boat owners and purchasers is precise and often misquoted. The maximum tax on the sale of a boat or vessel is USD 18,000, and that single cap covers sales tax, use tax and discretionary sales surtax together; it is not a use tax cap. Separately, and far more useful to anyone bringing a yacht here for work, the maximum tax on the repair of a boat or vessel is USD 60,000, applied to each repair occurring in Florida, with subsequent and separate repairs each subject to their own cap. And a foreign-flagged vessel holding a valid licence to cruise in the waters of the United States, issued under 19 CFR 4.94, is not subject to Florida use tax at all. |
| Listing the boat while cruising her, and what actually happens | The common warning is that a yacht on a cruising licence may not be offered for sale. That is not quite the law, and the real position is more useful. On the federal side, the brokerage industry reports that Customs treats a yacht offered for sale or charter in the United States as ineligible for a cruising licence. On the state side, Florida's Department of Revenue has advised that where a yacht is used inconsistently with 19 CFR 4.94(b), for example by being offered for sale or charter within the United States, the state may deem her commingled and assert use tax at that point. So the consequence is loss of the exemption and a tax assessment, not a prohibition. Note also that the separate Florida exemption for a boat brought in for the sole purpose of sale at retail is a different provision: it requires the boat to be under the care, custody and control of a registered dealer or broker with no personal use while she is in Florida. |
| Anchoring in the Keys, and the jurisdictional split nobody explains | This is more complicated than any summary admits, and the complication is the useful part. NOAA's Restoration Blueprint rewrote the sanctuary rules and took effect on 5 March 2025 in federal waters only, because the Governor of Florida certified the regulations unacceptable in Florida state waters under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. State waters are a large share of the sanctuary, put at somewhere between about half and two thirds depending on the source, and they continue to run on the previous rules. So there are two regimes in one sanctuary. Under the new federal text, anchoring on living coral is prohibited outright; under the older text still operating in state waters the prohibition is conditional, applying in depths under 40 feet when the seabed can be seen. What does not exist anywhere is a prohibition on anchoring in seagrass: the seagrass rule addresses operating a vessel so as to strike or injure seagrass and other immobile organisms, which is prop scarring, not anchoring. |
| The 2027 change, and the rule for large vessels | NOAA delayed several Blueprint provisions to 19 January 2027, including the prohibition on anchoring in Sanctuary Preservation Areas. NOAA's public materials list six SPAs where anchoring survives the change: Hen and Chickens, Cheeca Rocks, Newfound Harbor Key, Eastern Dry Rocks, Rock Key and Sand Key. Read that list against the jurisdictional split above rather than as a conservation judgement, and note that Rock Key is one of the SPAs the federal rule eliminates altogether. Already in force and unambiguous: vessels of 50 metres or greater in registered length are prohibited from anchoring on the portion of Tortugas Bank within the sanctuary west of Dry Tortugas National Park that is outside the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. From 19 January 2027 it will also be prohibited to tie a large vessel to a mooring buoy not specifically designated for large vessels. |
| The moorings are free, but they are not sized for this fleet | The sanctuary has run mooring buoys in the Keys since 1981 and there are now more than 600, white spheres with a blue stripe, first come first served at no cost. The sizing is the part that matters here: NOAA's standard 18 inch buoys are rated for vessels up to 59 feet, the 24 inch buoys for vessels between 60 and 100 feet and those exist at premium locations only, and above 100 feet there is no buoy rated to take you. For tenders and smaller boats the buoys remove the anchoring question; for the yacht herself they generally do not. |
| What a breach actually costs | Two different penalty regimes get confused here, and the gap between them is enormous. Florida state law sets anchoring penalties under its anchoring limitation provisions at up to USD 100 for a first offence, USD 250 for a second and USD 500 for a third or subsequent, with derelict vessels removable at the owner's expense. Sanctuary violations are federal and are assessed under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act at up to roughly USD 130,000 per day per violation, with each day treated as a separate violation. Anyone reading a hundred-dollar figure and assuming it covers a grounding on protected coral is out by three orders of magnitude. |
| Where a large yacht actually berths | Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale runs 164 slips over about 5,000 linear feet and takes hulls to 400 feet; it publishes no rate and asks that you contact the marina office before arrival for pricing. Bahia Mar Yachting Center holds more than 250 wet slips to 300 feet. Seahaven's headline 250 feet is a statement about drawbridge-free ocean access rather than berth capacity, with its designers describing 40 superyacht slips across 2,400 linear feet and third-party listings carrying a maximum LOA nearer 230 feet. Between them Fort Lauderdale offers berth supply at a scale nowhere in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean matches, which is the practical reason the fleet winters here. |
| The yards, which are the real argument for the state | Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center describes itself as the largest yacht building and repair facility in the country, across 65 acres. Bradford Marine publishes more than 5,500 linear feet of covered dockage, though it has been removing roofs from covered slips to take larger hulls, taking one from 130 to 164 feet, and now does much of its painting under tenting alongside four paint sheds. RMK Merrill-Stevens on the Miami River is another full-service yard, with marine painting one of nine in-house disciplines and a 2,700 ton Pearlson shiplift across its two yards handling vessels from about 30 to 240 feet. Safe Harbor Rybovich and Derecktor Fort Pierce complete the picture. Set that capacity against the USD 60,000 per-repair tax cap and the case for doing the work in Florida is largely made. |
| Key West, and the five miles nobody mentions | The Perry Marina, until recently Stock Island Marina, is the large-vessel address for Key West with 288 slips, and it sits five miles from downtown. Guests who picture stepping off the passerelle onto Duval Street are picturing the wrong marina and the transfer needs planning into every evening ashore. Booking platforms also record a 40 foot minimum charge on slip reservations, which is a billing floor rather than a bar on smaller boats, though the marina does not state it in its own materials, so confirm it when you book. |
| Dates to plan around | The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is the largest in-water show in the world and its 67th edition runs 28 October to 1 November 2026 across seven venues: the Broward County Convention Center, Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, the 17th Street Yacht Basin, Pier Sixty-Six Marina and the Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South. It draws more than 100,000 visitors, and the marine industry association puts the value of product on display at around four billion dollars, which is a display figure rather than an order book. Against that, hurricane season runs June to November and most policies and most owners treat Florida as a November to May proposition. |
Was Eigner und Crew berichten
Offering the yacht for sale can cost her the cruising licence itself
The brokerage industry reports that Customs treats a foreign-flagged yacht offered for sale or charter within the United States as ineligible for a cruising licence, and has framed the warning as an alert to owners about existing law on dutiability rather than as a new restriction. It is the federal half of a problem most owners only hear about from the state side.
International Yacht Brokers AssociationFlorida has spelled out what it will do, and it is a tax assessment rather than a ban
The Department of Revenue has advised that where a yacht is used inconsistently with 19 CFR 4.94(b), giving as its example the yacht being offered for sale or charter within the United States, the state may deem the yacht commingled and assert use tax at that time. The wording is permissive and the consequence is assessment, which is why the widely repeated claim that state law prohibits listing the boat is wrong.
Florida Department of Revenue, Technical Assistance Advisement 09A-025There is a route into US charter, and it does not involve changing flag
The recognised structure is formal entry with duty paid combined with a demise or bareboat charter, which is not treated as commercial use of the yacht by her owner. The vessel remains foreign-flagged; re-flagging to the United States is not the answer and would not by itself help, since a foreign-built hull cannot obtain a coastwise endorsement. The Passenger Vessel Services Act still bars point-to-point carriage of passengers for hire.
AGL Yacht SalesThe covered-shed advantage at the yards is being traded away for length
Bradford Marine has been removing roofs from covered slips to take larger hulls, in one case going from 130 feet to 164 feet, and now carries out much of its painting under tenting alongside four dedicated paint sheds. An owner choosing a yard on the assumption that covered means weather-proof paintwork should check what is actually still covered at the length in question.
Megayacht News, October 2024The buoys on the reef are rated, and the ratings exclude most of this fleet
NOAA rates its standard 18 inch mooring buoys for vessels up to 59 feet and its 24 inch buoys for vessels of 60 to 100 feet, the latter at specific premium locations only. There is no rated buoy above 100 feet, and from 19 January 2027 tying a large vessel to a buoy not specifically designated for large vessels becomes a prohibited activity in its own right.
NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Was gut ist und worauf zu achten ist
Stärken
- The deepest refit and trade base in the western hemisphereSafe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center calls itself the largest yacht building and repair facility in the country, Bradford Marine runs more than 5,500 linear feet of covered dockage, and RMK Merrill-Stevens adds a 2,700 ton shiplift on the Miami River, with Rybovich and Derecktor behind them. Capacity at that density means competitive quotes and a realistic chance of a slot between seasons.
- The repair tax cap is the number that should decide where a refit happensFlorida caps the tax on a boat repair at USD 60,000, applied to each separate repair. On a major refit that ceiling is worth more than any yard discount on the coast, and it is the single most useful figure on this page for an owner planning work.
- Foreign Trade Zone coverage is broad here, not a two-yard privilegeLauderdale Marine Center, Bahia Mar, Pier Sixty-Six, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina and Roscioli all sit within Foreign Trade Zone 241. For an owner of a foreign-flag yacht that means the duty question can be managed at most of the serious addresses rather than at one.
- Berth supply at a scale no rival offersPier Sixty-Six alone runs 164 slips over 5,000 linear feet and takes 400 foot hulls, and Bahia Mar adds more than 250 wet slips to 300 feet. The Riviera constraint of a few dozen berths for large yachts simply does not exist here.
- A foreign-flag yacht on a cruising licence pays no Florida use taxThe state's own guidance says so plainly for any vessel holding a valid licence to cruise issued under 19 CFR 4.94. No other major yachting jurisdiction treats a visiting hull this lightly.
Worauf zu achten ist
- A foreign-flag yacht cannot charter hereA cruising licence permits no carriage of passengers for pay and no trade. An owner used to offsetting a European season with charter revenue writes that income off for the Florida winter, and the routes out of it, formal entry with duty paid and a demise charter structure, are a tax and legal project rather than a booking decision.
- Marketing the boat can cost the exemptionCustoms is reported to treat a yacht offered for sale or charter in the United States as ineligible for a cruising licence, and Florida has advised that such use may cause the yacht to be deemed commingled with use tax asserted from that point. Owners who cruise while quietly listing her are the ones this catches.
- The sanctuary runs two sets of rules at onceThe Blueprint took effect in federal waters in March 2025 but was certified unacceptable in Florida state waters, which are roughly half to two thirds of the sanctuary. A captain therefore cannot apply one anchoring rule across the Keys, and most published summaries do not mention the split at all.
- The free moorings do not fit the boats this page is written forNOAA's buoys are rated to 59 feet on the standard size and 60 to 100 feet on the larger ones at premium sites only. Above 100 feet there is no buoy for you, and from 19 January 2027 tying a large vessel to a buoy not designated for large vessels is itself prohibited.
- At 50 metres and over you are already excluded from Tortugas BankVessels of 50 metres or more in registered length may not anchor on the sanctuary portion of Tortugas Bank west of the Dry Tortugas National Park outside the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. The remotest and least crowded ground in the Keys is closed to precisely the boats most able to reach it.
- Fort Lauderdale's big marinas do not publish a ratePier Sixty-Six directs enquiries to the marina office for pricing and Bahia Mar quotes on application. For all the depth of this market, an owner still cannot cost a month alongside from public information the way Albany in the Bahamas now allows.
- Key West's large-yacht marina is not in Key WestThe Perry Marina, the 288 slip facility that takes the big boats, sits five miles from downtown. Every evening ashore is a transfer, which is not what the destination promises.
Für wen: Ein Eigner, der das Boot in Reichweite der besten technischen Unterstützung der Welt haben will und die Bahamas und die Keys als Saison und Florida als Basis behandelt.