Tiger Woods and his new bride were briefly held aboard their private yacht on Thursday by United States Coast Guard officers and then turned away from San Juan’s port because they had failed to notify authorities of their arrival ahead of time, an official said.
Since July 1, new security regulations require many boats to submit an arrival notice at least four days in advance before entering a US port, Coast Guard spokesperson Lieutenant Eric Willis said.
The 28-year-old golfer and Swedish model Elin Nordegren (24,)were married on October 5 at a luxury resort in Barbados and later set out on the yacht Privacy.
The yacht entered San Juan’s port at about noon on Thursday and a Coast Guard boat stopped them, Willis said. Five officers boarded the yacht and escorted it to port, he said.
”They were not supposed to be here because they didn’t notify us,” Willis said.
Eight people were on board, and they said they made their last port call in St Kitts.
The yacht’s crew was ”compliant” while they were held in port for about three and a half hours, then turned away, Willis said.
The Privacy‘s captain said he did not know that the new security regulations applied to Puerto Rico, a US Caribbean territory, Willis said.
The skipper said he decided to stop in San Juan only to refuel, Willis said. The Privacy was allowed to refuel as immigration authorities spoke with those aboard, including the newlyweds.
Willis said that the yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands to the Privacy holding company, which Woods owns.
The holding company could still face up to $32 500 in fines, though it is up to the Coast Guard’s captain of the port, Willis said. A Coast Guard boat escorted the yacht out of San Juan port, he said.
It was not clear were they were headed, but it was ”outside the United States,” Willis said.
Woods is expected to return to the PGA Tour on October 21 for the Funai Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Before his wedding, Woods played in the American Express Championship at the Mount Juliet Golf Course in Thomastown, Ireland. He finished ninth, and slipped to number three in the world for the first time since May 1999. – Sapa-AP