'morning, Dave - You could have a point there. But I have never seen pepper spray on a clearance form, have you? We know that it's illegal in Canada, England and the BVI. What about the USVI? If you know for a fact which island nations prohibit pepper spray, please let me know. This winter, Penny and I will make a point of asking in the islands you don't already know about and we'll share that with the list. We will be sailing north from Trinidad right after Carnival and will again attend Classic Week in Antigua before heading back to Trinidad in late April. Best, John Dave writes - As a long time resident of the Caribbean we've seen many different things happen that have caused boaters to come to grief with Customs. We ourselves have been searched in our home waters of the BVI. We know of many folks who have had to pay fines, been made persona non gratis for the "importation of illegal items". This is not limited to anyone jurisdiction. To us having something on board that you have just said you don't on the Customs clearance form is a bit of a roll of the dice. If you do have it and use it then it will be known that you falsely filled out the clearance papers. If you have it and never use it then what's the point? We have been completely search several times with the dogs and the mirrors in Bermuda. Never had anything so never had any issue. But we know of others who have. So whether you chose to carry illegal items and not declare them is up to each person. Just be aware that the consequences may in fact be much larger than you might think. Nancy was fined $10K for a stupid item one time which certainly got our attention in dealing with "dem Customs folks who don't never check". Yea right! As always YMMV..... ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour