Researching our trip North from the Panama Canal I came across a restriction in my insurance. The countries of Columbia (except offshore islands), Nicaragua and Cuba are restricted from coverage. I can neither sail through or to them or my policy is in breech (until 24hours after leaving). I found the internationally recognized territorial limit is 12 miles. I also found language in a reference to Admiralty Law that exempted the enforcement of restrictions against territorial limits for "Innocent Passage" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_passage I may not quite have phrased the above correctly, but the net of this (to my understanding) is I can transit the international waters of a country as long as I don't impeded the countries peace, security or good order. I also believe I can anchor if necessary to maintain safety and security of the vessel. I don't think this would allow me to go to Cuba, but it would allow me to worry less about standing off the country as we go by on the way to Key West. I still need to verify this with Al Golden, but I thought the research and especially the wiki pages on innocent passage and admiralty law might be of interest to others. An idea I had for a great book (and encourage Capt. Mike Maurice to write) is a treatment of what it means to be the Captain of a private yacht involved in international travel. I asked Mike if I could marry someone on my boat and he pondered the question for some time. I wonder how many other "technicalities" there are out there that are not obvious to a guy like me that's too busy worrying about keeping his boat running to be fully informed of the law (law evolved over centuries of boats plying the oceans of the world). I do think there is a book in there somewhere! Best wishes to all of you for a joyous holiday (in my case Christmas) and a healthy and safe New Year! Scott and Marian Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle WA Currently in Puerto Vallarta (not La Paz!) Mexico