jhayes1068
New member
I can't remember if I've seen this in a thread on the "Brats" site or not: is there a Canadian Customs Office located at Blaine, WA for clearing customs North bound? Or one around the same approximate location? Thanks, Jim
Canadian Customs for Boats
- Thread starter jhayes1068
- Start date
journey on
New member
OK, here's one answer. Two parts, one of which may answer your question..
First, if you're going by boat. To check in, we've gone to Bedwall Harbour on So Pender Isle and phoned the "proper authorities" from the dock. It's their phone and I don't know for sure to whom it's connected. They will give you a number which you can treasure whilst in Canada. There may be other places, but I'm not aware of those.
Second, If you're driving up, at the end of I-5, in Blane you'll cross the border. Just after you cross the border there's a big building between the roadways that contains Canadian customs/immigration/touring/etc. On the left going north. Stop there and you can get a permit for the boat. You will end up with a small slip of paper. We still have ours from 2009.
When we entered Canada at Sault St. Marie, Ontario, pulling the boat, they just waved us through with no question, paperwork or number. No-one ever asked us for anything for the whole summer.
As far as I know there is no check out, just report to the American authorities. By boat: Friday Harbor, Anacortes, Port Angeles. By car, at the border crossing. They will NOT ask to see any paperwork from Canada (to our knowledge.)
One word of caution. No smiling, jokes or random comments. Even if you are talking to a turbaned Sikh who speaks impeccable English. They are there to do business. You can admit you don't quite know what to do, and they'll be very helpful, but no jokes.
Boris
First, if you're going by boat. To check in, we've gone to Bedwall Harbour on So Pender Isle and phoned the "proper authorities" from the dock. It's their phone and I don't know for sure to whom it's connected. They will give you a number which you can treasure whilst in Canada. There may be other places, but I'm not aware of those.
Second, If you're driving up, at the end of I-5, in Blane you'll cross the border. Just after you cross the border there's a big building between the roadways that contains Canadian customs/immigration/touring/etc. On the left going north. Stop there and you can get a permit for the boat. You will end up with a small slip of paper. We still have ours from 2009.
When we entered Canada at Sault St. Marie, Ontario, pulling the boat, they just waved us through with no question, paperwork or number. No-one ever asked us for anything for the whole summer.
As far as I know there is no check out, just report to the American authorities. By boat: Friday Harbor, Anacortes, Port Angeles. By car, at the border crossing. They will NOT ask to see any paperwork from Canada (to our knowledge.)
One word of caution. No smiling, jokes or random comments. Even if you are talking to a turbaned Sikh who speaks impeccable English. They are there to do business. You can admit you don't quite know what to do, and they'll be very helpful, but no jokes.
Boris
Capt Harpoon
New member
If you have time, have you thought about getting an I-68 or NEXUS card?
If all parties on your vessel have one, you can report to US Customs by phone when you come back across the border and may not need to report in person. It really helps around here where the US border crossings on land are 50+ miles apart but you can hop across anywhere by boat.
These things seem to change often so make sure you get the latest information.
I have found NEXUS to be worth the hassle. It requires an an on-line application (Google GOES) and a month or so later an interview in person with both US and Canadian Immigration officials, but some border crossings have NEXUS only lanes (Niagara Falls has a NEXUS only bridge, which can save hours of traffic backups), and the ability to call in on a boat is great. These days these agencies are data vacuums, and you should expect anything you say and any ID you offer in your interview to be scanned and/or typed into a data file. No jokes is the rule of the day.
I am not sure, but I do not think you can use your NEXUS card if crossing by land and you have something in tow since some NEXUS crossings (going in to Canada) have no people, just a videophone. With a boat behind you, you have to use a regular lane.
And although it is probably common knowledge, Canada will not let you in if you have ever had a DWI/DUI conviction, regardless of how many decades ago it might have been. You can apply to be "rehabilitated," which I think costs a couple hundred dollars, and then they will let you in (but if you have ever had two such convictions, you are permanently banned from Canada). They explain all this to you in your NEXUS interview. I have heard stories of anglers going over (without NEXUS) for a one day fishing tournament on Lake Erie or Lake Ontario and being denied entry for a DWI 30 years earlier.
A couple months ago I had my Lund boat X-rayed twice by US Customs on the way back in from Canada and they swarmed all over it. Turns out the seat covers I bought from Cabela's and stuffed in the side lockers looked suspicious. Once we emptied all the lockers and they X-rayed the Lund again, all was fine and I was on my way. Through the whole process the US Customs guys were very professional and courteous.
If you are not in a hurry and have nothing to hide, it is not a hassle, even if they randomly haul you in or randomly X-ray your vehicle and boat.
These days, the northeast border is a pretty "active" place and you should expect delays, but maybe no worse than elsewhere....
If all parties on your vessel have one, you can report to US Customs by phone when you come back across the border and may not need to report in person. It really helps around here where the US border crossings on land are 50+ miles apart but you can hop across anywhere by boat.
These things seem to change often so make sure you get the latest information.
I have found NEXUS to be worth the hassle. It requires an an on-line application (Google GOES) and a month or so later an interview in person with both US and Canadian Immigration officials, but some border crossings have NEXUS only lanes (Niagara Falls has a NEXUS only bridge, which can save hours of traffic backups), and the ability to call in on a boat is great. These days these agencies are data vacuums, and you should expect anything you say and any ID you offer in your interview to be scanned and/or typed into a data file. No jokes is the rule of the day.
I am not sure, but I do not think you can use your NEXUS card if crossing by land and you have something in tow since some NEXUS crossings (going in to Canada) have no people, just a videophone. With a boat behind you, you have to use a regular lane.
And although it is probably common knowledge, Canada will not let you in if you have ever had a DWI/DUI conviction, regardless of how many decades ago it might have been. You can apply to be "rehabilitated," which I think costs a couple hundred dollars, and then they will let you in (but if you have ever had two such convictions, you are permanently banned from Canada). They explain all this to you in your NEXUS interview. I have heard stories of anglers going over (without NEXUS) for a one day fishing tournament on Lake Erie or Lake Ontario and being denied entry for a DWI 30 years earlier.
A couple months ago I had my Lund boat X-rayed twice by US Customs on the way back in from Canada and they swarmed all over it. Turns out the seat covers I bought from Cabela's and stuffed in the side lockers looked suspicious. Once we emptied all the lockers and they X-rayed the Lund again, all was fine and I was on my way. Through the whole process the US Customs guys were very professional and courteous.
If you are not in a hurry and have nothing to hide, it is not a hassle, even if they randomly haul you in or randomly X-ray your vehicle and boat.
These days, the northeast border is a pretty "active" place and you should expect delays, but maybe no worse than elsewhere....
jhayes1068
New member
Thanks for the information on the customs locations, Boris. That helps, in the planning stage, for a future trip up the Passage. I plan on crossing the border in a boat in the future. ( C-Dory is still on top of my wish list) 
Capt Harpoon, the NEXUS Card is a great idea! I just went to the web site and checked it out. I'll have to travel a day or so to complete the interview, however, getting and using the NEXUS Card will certainly simplify crossing the border both directions. Thanks for the information, Jim
Capt Harpoon, the NEXUS Card is a great idea! I just went to the web site and checked it out. I'll have to travel a day or so to complete the interview, however, getting and using the NEXUS Card will certainly simplify crossing the border both directions. Thanks for the information, Jim
Pat Anderson
New member
I assume you are asking about crossing the border back into the US in a boat, not towing a boat across, correct? Blaine is no longer an official small boat entry point. It used to be, you could pull up at Blaine Marina to a customs dock, call, and they would send somebody down from the I-5 car crossing. Now coming in from Canada (unless you have Nexus of course) you have to clear customs at Point Roberts, Roche Harbor, Friday Harbor, Bellingham or Anacortes. We learned the hard way. Since we launch at Blaine, we usually cleared customs in to Canada at White Rock (still do) and cleared back into the US at Blaine. One day, not sure what year it was, but more than a couple now, we made the usual call, and a customs guy came down and reamed us out for not knowing that Blaine was no longer a boat entry point. He told us first we had to go to Belliingham. I told him our trailer was at the boat launch at Blaine. He grudgingly checked us in but the guy followed us over to the boat launch and watched us retrieve. Now our drill when launching at Blaine is clear at White Rock going to Canada, clear at Point Robers on the way back.
Capt. Harpoon.
You can cross the border using a Nexus lane with a boat in tow. I have done it a number of times but there are some minor issues like the Nexus lanes for cars are narrow and the people who have been waiting for hours in the next lane over take a fiendish delight in leaving part of their vehicle in your lane to make it even narrower. The best one is that for the I5 crossing, some very clever person has put the duty free shop in such a position that people exiting (whether or not they bought anything) have to get into (and block) the Nexus lane while waiting for some very ticked-off person to let them back into the lane that hase been waiting for 2 hours.
Having rapidly tired of this I tried the "commercial" lanes last year and found that I had to negotiate an impossible slalom course with the end result being 3 highly amused customs officials having to stop 4 lanes of traffic and move the cones so we could get to the inspecting officer who was not amused by the process. But we still got home 2 hours earlier than our non Nexus friends.
Much better to do it in the Ferry terminal and much easier to do it by cell phone while at sea. Canadian customs will ask you to call in at some specific point on your route (do not deviate) and if no-one cmes to talk to you within a short time you may leave.
US customs usually just says welcome home. BUT remember to get a boater registration # in additon to your Nexus number. (They may not tell you this at the time) for EVERY person on board.
We have only been pulled over once for a random check when we were hauling about 300lbs of sand in the back of the Duramax with no boat in tow after a snowstorm. I think they though we had something hidden in the sand.
Good program.
Merv
You can cross the border using a Nexus lane with a boat in tow. I have done it a number of times but there are some minor issues like the Nexus lanes for cars are narrow and the people who have been waiting for hours in the next lane over take a fiendish delight in leaving part of their vehicle in your lane to make it even narrower. The best one is that for the I5 crossing, some very clever person has put the duty free shop in such a position that people exiting (whether or not they bought anything) have to get into (and block) the Nexus lane while waiting for some very ticked-off person to let them back into the lane that hase been waiting for 2 hours.
Having rapidly tired of this I tried the "commercial" lanes last year and found that I had to negotiate an impossible slalom course with the end result being 3 highly amused customs officials having to stop 4 lanes of traffic and move the cones so we could get to the inspecting officer who was not amused by the process. But we still got home 2 hours earlier than our non Nexus friends.
Much better to do it in the Ferry terminal and much easier to do it by cell phone while at sea. Canadian customs will ask you to call in at some specific point on your route (do not deviate) and if no-one cmes to talk to you within a short time you may leave.
US customs usually just says welcome home. BUT remember to get a boater registration # in additon to your Nexus number. (They may not tell you this at the time) for EVERY person on board.
We have only been pulled over once for a random check when we were hauling about 300lbs of sand in the back of the Duramax with no boat in tow after a snowstorm. I think they though we had something hidden in the sand.
Good program.
Merv
Pat Anderson
New member
OK, there you go. Good to know.
Larry H":2twls2v1 said:
jhayes1068
New member
Thanks for the information from everyone. My plan is to launch the boat at Bellingham, make a round trip to Skagway and back to Bellingham, then haul out at Bellingham after the trip. It looks like the NEXUS Card may be the best option for me, but, I'll certainly add all of the locations for entry to my list and prior to launching confirm that the locations are still a option even with the NEXUS Card. ( I may lose the thing somewhere on the trip ). I plan on checking with the folks at Ft Lewis to see if I can park the trailer on post during the trip. Jim
journey on
New member
Remember you have to check back into the USA at Ketchican, and then back to Canada at Prince Rupert.
BTW, Prince Rupert YC is a good place to stop over and rest, see the town. Trick question: who was Prince Rupert? And why is Prince Rupert there? Answers when you get there.
Boris
BTW, Prince Rupert YC is a good place to stop over and rest, see the town. Trick question: who was Prince Rupert? And why is Prince Rupert there? Answers when you get there.
Boris
stay at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club when there--if no room the next place is the public docks, but there you may have to raft up.
Incidently the township of Prince Rupert still feels that there is a possiblity of the original purpose of the town being fulfilled....(as relates to Boris's question).
Incidently the township of Prince Rupert still feels that there is a possiblity of the original purpose of the town being fulfilled....(as relates to Boris's question).
Captains Cat
New member
journey on":38grnhgh said:
Don't know but he kinda looks like the poster child for "don't ask, don't tell"... :disgust
jhayes1068
New member
Thanks Capt. Bob and Boris for your input. I knew that I would have to re-enter and leave each country on more than one occasion on the trip , but, since I'm just starting the trip route, (I have a possible route plotted on google earth) I'm charting the Customs entry points around the Bellingham area first. From the information you folks supplied, I think I would be better off to launch at Anacortes and clear customs there for a start. Is there a good place to launch at Anacortes? I've located Cap Sante Marina on the NorthEast side, but, I'll bet some of the local C-Crats have a better place to launch? Thanks, Jim
The problem with clearing customs in Anacortes, at Cap Sante Marina, is that the office is not consistently open -- sometimes the officers are over checking the Sydney ferry. For that reason (unless we are using Nexus) we almost always clear in Friday Harbor, which is always staffed, albeit sometimes slow.
Given that, I think Bellingham is the better location because in Anacortes you have to pay to sling your boat in unless you use Washington Park, where the ramps are a bit marginal and the long-term security is not as good as Bellingham.
I don't know anything about the customs office in Bellingham.
Warren
Given that, I think Bellingham is the better location because in Anacortes you have to pay to sling your boat in unless you use Washington Park, where the ramps are a bit marginal and the long-term security is not as good as Bellingham.
I don't know anything about the customs office in Bellingham.
Warren
Pat Anderson
New member
Warren - see above, since July of this year, Bellingham is no longer a designated small boat entry point. Choices are now just Point Roberts, Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor or Anacortes. From the southern Gulf Islands, I suppose Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor or Anacortes are best, but if you are coming down the from the north, Point Roberts will be your best bet. Plus, Point Roberts is not nearly as busy as the other entry points.
Doryman":uvfphbls said:
starcrafttom
Active member
it seems that you are trying to launch and clear customs at the same location. This is not a concern really. if you want to launch in bellinghan do so and clear canadian customs at your first port of call, just make sure it has a customs office. for the record you dont have to clear US customs on the way out. If you are heading north from bellingham cutting across the water to nanimo and clearing there would be good first day run. You dont have to clear until you stop, just make sure you stop were you can clear customs.
on the way back home you can clear at point roberts or in the san juans before heading to bellingham. hope this helps.
on the way back home you can clear at point roberts or in the san juans before heading to bellingham. hope this helps.
journey on
New member
Bellingham is a good place to launch and leave your truck/trailer. We've done it with our California plates for a week or so. For a longer time we used Clearwater Marine, 4041 Home Rd # C, Bellingham, WA, (360)647-5117. One needs a ride to/from the place, but it was friendly, cheap and no problems.
They shut down the customs dock at Bellingham. A year or so ago, we skipped Friday Harbour and went directly to Bellingham. They told us they were now in Anacortes, but they'd make an exception and come over to Bellingham. I wouldn't count on it, I think they just wanted to get out of the office.
Boris
They shut down the customs dock at Bellingham. A year or so ago, we skipped Friday Harbour and went directly to Bellingham. They told us they were now in Anacortes, but they'd make an exception and come over to Bellingham. I wouldn't count on it, I think they just wanted to get out of the office.
Boris
jhayes1068
New member
Thanks to all for all of the customs information. Warren- I won't plan on Anacortes after reading your post. I like"quiet or not busy" if I can find it! . Pat- Point Roberts sounds like a good place to check in so I'll add it to my list. Tom- Your point about checking through Nanaimo would be great if I can confirm the times and location of the custom's office. It's close to the proposed route I'm planning so I'll call the Canadian Customs folks a week or so before I start the trip to verify everything. Boris-= Thanks for the Clearwater Marine address; it sounds like a great option for parking the tow rig after launch. You folks are right in that I would like to clear customs as soon as possible after launch and as close as possible to my proposed track so I can concentrate on the beauty of the islands and the Passage as I start the trip. Everyone, boater or not, has a very special corner of the world in your area and I look forward to getting back there again. Indiana is kinda flat !! Jim
. Pat- Point Roberts sounds like a good place to check in so I'll add it to my list. Tom- Your point about checking through Nanaimo would be great if I can confirm the times and location of the custom's office. It's close to the proposed route I'm planning so I'll call the Canadian Customs folks a week or so before I start the trip to verify everything. Boris-= Thanks for the Clearwater Marine address; it sounds like a great option for parking the tow rig after launch. You folks are right in that I would like to clear customs as soon as possible after launch and as close as possible to my proposed track so I can concentrate on the beauty of the islands and the Passage as I start the trip. Everyone, boater or not, has a very special corner of the world in your area and I look forward to getting back there again. Indiana is kinda flat !! Jim20dauntless
New member
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of the Waggoner Cruising Guide. If you order a 2011 edition it should have all the latest information on US and Canadian customs as well as lots of cruising tips for areas as far north as Prince Rupert. Their website also has some customs info that might be useful.
http://www.waggonerguide.com/
I have always cleared at Bedwell Harbour going into Canada and Roche Harbor returning to the US. Each time has been painless, just make sure you follow all the rules. Clearing into Canada has been particularly easy for me, never requiring more than a couple minutes on the phone, even without being part of any trusted traveler program. Coming back to the US requires personal interaction with customs officials. Make sure only one person (technically the captain) gets off the boat and goes to the customs office and bring along your Canadian clearance number. In my experience US customs officers are professional but not friendly. If you follow all the rules you shouldn't have any trouble though.
If you're just planning one trip to Alaska it's not worth getting a Nexus card in my opinion.
http://www.waggonerguide.com/
I have always cleared at Bedwell Harbour going into Canada and Roche Harbor returning to the US. Each time has been painless, just make sure you follow all the rules. Clearing into Canada has been particularly easy for me, never requiring more than a couple minutes on the phone, even without being part of any trusted traveler program. Coming back to the US requires personal interaction with customs officials. Make sure only one person (technically the captain) gets off the boat and goes to the customs office and bring along your Canadian clearance number. In my experience US customs officers are professional but not friendly. If you follow all the rules you shouldn't have any trouble though.
If you're just planning one trip to Alaska it's not worth getting a Nexus card in my opinion.