On our sail up from Puerto Rico to check-in at Mayaguana, Bahamas, we anchored off tiny sandbar-island French Cay for a few hours of sleep and to time our arrival at Mayaguana the next day. While there, we heard Provo Radar calling boats boats by lat/long coordinates to identify themselves. Soon after that, we set our AIS on stealth mode and listened further. A Canadian couple, probably on a charter boat, were called out anchored off West Sand Spit. They were asked to supply complete information by Provo Radar. The boaters explained that they were resting for a short while before proceeding on to the Bahamas and did not want to check in at Providenciales. The operator checked with authorities and called back in an hour saying that they would be required to check in. The Canadians were not happy campers, but had no choice. They were stuck with losing at least a day and paying ~$150 in fees.

We "got out of town" shortly after that and noticed remarkably degraded reception on Ch16 until we were out of Caicos waters. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

Technically, I guess anyone who drops a hook is required to check in, but.....

Is this standard Caicos procedure?

Provo Radar asked a US Coast Guard helicopter to ID any boats at French Cay as we were leaving (another boat had just arrived), but the chopper declined. To be sure, the area does have issues with people trying to leave Haiti for better places, so that is a concern for the Turks and Caicos.

In the Pacific Northwest, Canada won't let anyone anchor along the Straits of Juan de Fuca prior to checking in to Canada. That's a real pain when the nearest checkin is Ucluelet in Barkely Sound. So, I suppose this isn't so different.