El Zarpe

Zarpe is an extremely common Spanish word that you will encounter out cruising, but oddly enough, you won’t find the word zarpe in any standard Spanish dictionary, not even that of the Real Academia Española.

el zarpe sahr-peh (the exit clearance) A zarpe is an exit clearance, the document that clears your boat out of port.

The boat above has just arrived at the dock in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The officials standing on the dock are just about to ask for los papeles del barco (the ship’s papers), and el zarpe de su último puerto (the exit clearance from your last port).

The boat’s outbound clearance form can also be called el despacho (the clearance) or el permiso de salida (the exit permit), but el zarpe is the most common term.

In some Spanish-speaking countries you have to clear in and out of each port within the country. In this instance you will be issued a national zarpe each time you plan to sail on to the next port in-country, and an international zarpe when you eventually clear out of the country for your next foreign port.

The word departure on clearance forms is usually translated as salida, however some forms use zarpe. Clearance forms often ask for:
la hora de zarpe or salida (the time of departure) and
la fecha de zarpe or salida (the date of departure).

Zarpe comes from the verb zarpar (to set sail, leave port) and you will find zarpar in the dictionary. Zarpar is rather formal sounding, you will more commonly use the verb salir (to leave) in conversation:

In Costa Rica, zarpe is slang for the last drink of the evening, sort of “one for the road”… So a zarpe could actually also be a cold cerveza (beer) or a trago (mixed drink).

For an easy-to-use phrase book with all the Spanish words you need to discuss clearing in and out of port while cruising in Spain, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, get  Spanish for Cruisers: The Boater’s Complete Language Guide