Canadian Customs for Boats

I have never seen a Canadian customs officer, it has always been by phone, whether at Bedwell or Whiterock. It typically goes like this:

CCO: What is your name and boat registration number?
Me: Pat Anderson, WA3603NR.
CCO: And is Patricia with you today and has Baxter had his shots this year?
Me: Yes.
CCO: No firearms/liquor/tobacco/cash? (Condensed, these are actually separate questions)
Me: We have a bottle of gin and a bottle of wine.
CCO: Here is your clearance number, have a nice time in Canada, eh?

Honest. That is practically verbatim. The entry back into the US is a little more complicated, but at least has not (yet) involved body cavity searches...
 
I added the Waggoner Guide to "my favorites" list and checked the web site. The information in the guide is certainly worth the price! Thanks for the link and the addition of Bedwell Harbour and Roche Harbor to my list as possible entry points.
Pat, thanks for relaying your experience in clearing customs. I was courious about just how much trouble the phone calls were to customs: it looks like it's easy if you have all of the required information ready.
We've traveled to Alaska on two occasions, driving the Alaska Highway and a cruise. During the drive, we had passports and had no troube with either Canadian Customs or U.S. Customs. In fact we were cleared through both directions in less than 10 minutes. Jim
 
My experience has been that entering Canada by boat is pretty painless. A respectful demeanor and sense of humor (kept to your self!) may come in handy.

I've been through Bedwell several times and only once has the process been anything more than a pleasant, short phone call. The last time (July of this year), however, a Customs launch appeared at the float as I was on the phone. The woman on the phone directed me to go to the office and speak with the officers in person. (I don't know how she knew they were there - big binoculars, cellphones, spy satellite?) I had to wait in the office and watch while the officers checked another (bigger) boat at the dock. They boarded the boat and eventually confiscated some booze and fruit from that boat. When it was my turn, however, we just stayed in the office and they asked me the standard questions and I was on my way. I don't know why they searched the other boat and not mine. Roll of the dice?

Two years ago my wife and I went to Alaska in the boat and had no problems with Canadian customs at Bedwell going up. Coming home, my brother, who had flown up to Petersburg accompanied me on the return trip, and my wife flew back. We re-entered Canada at Prince Rupert in an absolute downpour. First thing the customs officer says is "Where's your wife?" (Here's where the keep-your-sense-of-humor-to-yourself advice comes in.) I explain. He says, almost apologetically, "We're doing some training today, do you mind if we come aboard?" (Here's where the be respectful part comes in.) I say, "Not at all." Next thing I know there are three very wet Canadian Customs officer/trainees plus my brother and I dancing around each other on a 23 foot boat loaded to the gills with a month's worth of gear. The trainees took notes as the officer directed them in the search of just about every storage place on the boat. They were polite, didn't find any contraband, and thanked us before they sent us on our way.

I have no complaint about Canadian Customs. They have always been polite, and usually the process is quick and pleasant. I guess the point is - Don't get too complacent about how smoothly it will go getting into Canada. We try very hard to comply with Customs regulations so if we do get searched there won't be a problem.
 
As a side note, remember that anchoring even a few hundred feet inside either Country without checking in first is considered illegal entry and may be treated as a very serious offense. This includes something as seemingly innocent as making a short one-tank dive on a shipwreck.
Since some Canadian provinces may prohibit loose cans/bottles of alcohol on vessels that do not have sleeping quarters and a head on board (e.g. beer in a cooler), much less an open container, it is not uncommon for small Canadian pleasure craft to anchor in the US on a bright sunny afternoon.
As all have pointed out - know the rules, play by the rules, be courteous, make sure you check-in, and you should have no problems at all.
 
>As a side note, remember that anchoring even a few hundred feet inside >either Country without checking in first is considered illegal entry and >may be treated as a very serious offense.

The consequenses of "illegal" can be expensive. Someone I know brought a trawler to Port Townsend in the late afternoon after a month in Canada. Customs here is spotty, requiring advance appointment, which he didn't have. He bought fuel and then anchored nearby. He was paid a special visit from Customs, who pointed out the error of his ways, and let him know that he was liable for a $5000 fine. I saw him a year later, and he said he was able to persuade Customs to reduce that to $500, which by comparision, he was happy to pay.

I guess the good news is that Customs is actually doing a good job of watching.

Dave
 
Years ago I was busted in astoria because my wife called into customs instead of me. The $5000 is the standard for those infractions. They got their report and charges wrong, had my date of departure switched with the date of return so a year and a half of arguing and it got down to $150 so I just paid it. But the long term effect was that everytime I went through customs I was apparently red flagged in their computer and got pulled out of line, detained, and searched thoroughly. Once it happened at night after getting off the blackball ferry in victoria. They totally trashed my truck and boat. It was dark, raining, and they had us up against the cyclone fence while they did their work. Then they just said we were free to go and walked off. They had closed their office for the night during all this. So I get back in the truck and saw the mess, then it dawned on me, no keys. They took the keys with them. They were still walking up the road so I yelled at them, asking about the keys. The one lady had them and turned and said here they are, threw them in my general direction and walked off. But after 20 years I seem to have dropped off their screen and no longer have problems.
 
Joyce and I both applied for Nexus passes on Sunday using the online forms. Now we have to wait until we're allowed to schedule an interview. I'm looking forward to a few boat trips to Canada this year and probably more in the future.
 
Roger,

Nexus is a good way to go both by road and by sea. We have used it for 3 + years now.

By sea you do it all by cell phone. Entering Canada they often give you a clearance number and ask you to stop at the customs dock at a point of entry near where you intend to go and wait for something like 15 minutes, if no-one shows you are free to go. Be accurate about your intended time of arrival and if it changes, call back and tell them.

Coming back into US. Don't call untill you have actually crossed the dotted line on the water and make sure they give you boater registration numbers at the time they give you your Nexus card. It is NOT the same number. You need one per person. Have all you boat details ready as well. So far we have never been required to physically present ourselves coming home.

By road you have the fantastic advantage of using the nexus lanes which, in Summer saves you about 2 hours in spite of the fact that people using (or pretending to use) the duty free facilities have to cross your lane (= blocking it) and the lanes are very narrow. You may get pulled over for a secondary check but it seems only to happen in the beginning until you have built up some kind of a record. Remember it is a zero tolerance system and you really will be on the deep and dirty list if they catch you cheating.

Nexus is now offering members expanded benefits by joining the Global Entry system for free. This works for airports and gives you the possibility to pass immigration by simply going to a machine and having your prints scanned and answering a few questions instead of standing in line.

M
 
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