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The public dock at Shoal Bay. |
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Cleaning the days catch. Prince Rupert. |
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Looking north across Dent Island Rapids at slack. |
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Marilynn and Bob Hale chat with Brenda Church and Lou Simoneau at Butedale. |
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CANADA CUSTOMS UPDATES:
The Latest Information to Help Speed your Trip
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Canada Customs Clearance Number Reminder
December 27, 2007.
Bob,
I would like to underscore your recommendation that U.S. boaters in Canadian waters post their customs clearance number in a side window (Waggoner Cruising Guide 2008, p. 16).
We have seen increased vigilance over the last few years in northern B.C. waters. Customs officers can be seen walking the docks at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club checking windows for a clearance number. Several years ago an RCMP vessel did a high-speed circle around us just south of Prince Rupert looking for the number in the window; we later learned that same vessel boarded a friend's anchored boat in nearby Baker Inlet because their number was not posted.
Last summer we had a first in southern B.C. waters. This vessel came screaming up to us just below Dodd Narrows in the Gulf Islands. We looked at each other and said, "OK, here comes a boarding."
However, they veered off suddenly when they saw what they were looking for. The clearance number in the window.
We have a little suction cup hook in each helm window. Slipping the paper on it is fast, easy, and avoids tape residue on the window.
Regards,
Linda Lewis and Dave Parker
M/V Royal Sounder
Response
When we clear Canada Customs we make up two papers with the clearance number and post them in both the starboard and port side windows. We also record the number in the log book. We write the numbers with a black Sharpie pen, so they are easily read from a distance.
Bob Hale
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Nexus Border Crossing Phone-in Pre-clearance Changes
May 21, 2007. Effective April 30, 2007 Nexus border pre-clearance can be used in place of Canpass for telephone check-in into Canada. After phone-in, Nexus card holders still must land at a designated landing site at an agreed-upon time, although as with Canpass they may depart without penalty if a Canada Customs officer does not show up to inspect the vessel. Call 1-866-996-3987 (1-866-99-Nexus) for clearance.
Canpass pre-clearance card holders may continue to use their Canpass program as before. Call 1-888-226-7277 (1-888-Canpass) for clearance.
For boats entering the U.S., telephone clearance using Nexus or the annual I-68 telephone pre-clearance will work as described in the 2007 Waggoner.
Nexus application information: The Nexus application form has been updated, and older forms should not be used. Get Form BSF658E from Canada or U.S. Customs offices. The Nexus process consists of three elements: (1) the application; (2) the review; (3) the interview. The review time has been shortened, but for Seattle-area applicants the wait-time is as long as 3 months now. For telephone clearance into the U.S., boats planning to go north for the 2007 summer season should get I-68s this year and join the line for Nexus next year. Seattle interviews are held only two days each week, so for a shorter wait-time try Blaine, which holds interviews six days a week.
Remember that all persons on board will need Nexus or Canpass for telephone entry into Canada, or Nexus and I-68 for telephone entry into the U.S. If only one person on board lacks pre-clearance, the boat must touch at a designated Customs port of entry to clear.
Nexus cards are good for five years, which will create a new problem beginning in 2008. The first batch (2002) will expire before the 2008 boating season, and will be up for re-application, review and interview. This will add a number of renewals to the growing body of new applicants, straining a system that already must wait months for an interview appointment. What a fun time to be a Customs administrator.
Caution: If you have a felony conviction, no matter how long ago and how young you were, Canada won’t let you in if they know about it. The Nexus application is how they will find out. Note that DUI or DWI convictions are felonies in Canada. If you have a felony conviction, including DUI or DWI, I-68, which doesn’t check for felonies, is the way to go. The same is true of fines for border infractions, such as failure to declare something that should be declared. In any of these situations, don’t apply for Nexus; get an annual I-68.
Last, GET YOUR PASSPORT. A passport is not required to enter or re-enter the U.S. by private boat in 2007, but in all likelihood it’ll be needed in 2008. Thank you, Osama Bin Laden.
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Nexus/Canpass/I-68 Comparison
March 2, 2006. You need to pre-clear if you want to clear either U.S. or Canada Customs by telephone. For U.S. Customs, pre-clearance is by Nexus or I-68. For Canada Customs, pre-clearance is by Canpass. Here is a quick comparison of the three programs. For more complete information about Nexus, I-68 and U.S. Customs, see U.S. Customs Small Craft Reporting Requirements for 2006 elsewhere on this Web site, and the Crossing the Border chapter in the 2006 Waggoner.
- Nexus permits telephone reporting for small craft entering the U.S. from Canada, but not from the U.S. into Canada by water. (Nexus can be used by car both into Canada and into the U.S.)
- Those wishing to establish Nexus for B.C. use (i.e. entry into the U.S. waters) must file the application for LAND travel. The Marine application is for the Great Lakes only.
- The Nexus card(s) will be accepted in lieu of I-68 for entry into the U.S.
- I-68 pre-clearance, which must be renewed annually, is for entry into the U.S. It has no bearing on entry to Canada.
- Canpass is needed for telephone entry into Canadian waters. However, unlike entry into the U.S. waters, once telephone authorization is granted by the Canpass officer, you must select an initial entry from a list of "Designated Reporting Sites," shown in the 2006 Waggoner, and provide an ETA for that site. Upon arrival at the "Designated Reporting Site" you must tie to their dock and check in with the Customs office. If the site is "permit only," meaning only Canpass clearances are handled there, you must arrive no later than your ETA. If a Customs officer does not appear by that ETA, you are free to go on your way.
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Canpass Clarification
May 5, 2005. The 2005 Waggoner states on page 16 that one application will cover an applicant, spouse and any dependent children. A reader pointed out that each person who wants to participate in Canpass must complete and sign an application. Children under 18 will not have to pay the fee. For more information on Canpass check out Canada Border Services Agency web site at
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel/canpass/canpassprivateboat-e.html.
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Customs Report, into Canada, Back to U.S.
July 29, 2004. Marin Faure, a thoughtful cruiser and darned good writer, posted this item on the Trawlers and Trawlering web site, and graciously allowed us to run it here. Note that Marin and his wife had all their paperwork in order, and were prepared to cooperate with both Canadian and U.S. Customs. From our experience, being prepared is an important part of easy transit across the border. --Ed.
I thought I'd mention three nice experiences we had this past week when we took our boat from Bellingham (U.S.) into the Gulf Islands (Canada) and back. My wife and I have Canpasses, and our destination (Cabbage Island Marine Park) was recently added to the Canpass reporting point list. We called the Canpass phone number when we were four hours from arrival at our destination (a stated requirement), and the process went like clockwork. Nice agent, polite and helpful, asked all the questions without a fuss, issued us our Canadian Clearance number, and told us we needed to wait at our destination, which was quite remote, for five minutes after our stated arrival time. If no Customs agent appeared by then, we were free to cruise wherever we wanted in B.C.
A good portion of Georgia Strait was in the air on the morning we planned to return to the U.S., and there was no way we were going to run downsea in what was going on out there. The weather forecast called for the high wind conditions to remain for several days, so we were prepared to stay at Cabbage Island until things calmed down.
Later that morning, a big Canadian Customs RIB motored into the inlet, I assume on a routine patrol. I flagged them down and told them that while we were scheduled to leave B.C. that day, the wind and wave conditions were such that we might be staying another day or so. They agreed that we'd made the right decision in staying put (we could watch the strait coming apart on the other side of the low reef that separated it from us), and that there was no problem staying in B.C., as our Canpass clearance had several days' slop built into it. But they took note of our clearance number posted in the cabin window and they said they'd be back in a day or so, at which time they'd make sure we were okay if we were still there.
As they departed the inlet, they assisted a 30' sailboat that had left earlier, then decided the conditions were too much and turned around. The sailboat was having trouble maneuvering in the 30 knot wind and swells entering the inlet, so the Customs boat took them alongside and helped them back to one of the mooring buoys.
As it turned out, late that afternoon, when the tide changed and the wind and tide began going in the same direction the strait calmed down considerably. We decided to make a short run to Sucia Island, just across the border. If the wind didn't pick up again (which it was forecast to do) we'd head back to Bellingham the following morning. Sucia Island is not a U.S. port of entry. However, we have a U.S. Customs PIN and decal, so we decided to see if they'd buy into what we wanted to do.
I called the U.S. Customs Small Boat Reporting office, and just as when we entered Canada, I got an agent who was more than happy to help us. The process took a little longer than the Canpass process, as the U.S. agent had more questions and information he needed to get. But he was pleasant and efficient, and we got our U.S. clearance number for Sucia Island with no problems.
Given all the procedures and rules that have been imposed since 9/11, we wondered if we would have the comparative cruising freedom in and out of B.C. we'd enjoyed in the past. It turns out we can, which is great -- not just for us, but for the marina, store, restaurant, etc. owners in the Gulf Islands. Between the expanding Canpass coverage and the U.S. PIN reporting system, cruising to B.C., even for a long weekend, is hassle-free, based on our experience this past week. We will spend a lot more time up there than we have been in the last couple of years.
(The practice in the past has been to suspend the U.S. PIN reporting system if the terror alert status increases to Orange or above, and I assume that practice will continue. But if the alert status is lower than Orange, the PIN reporting system seems to work as advertised.)
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
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Miners Bay, Horton Bay Now Canpass-only Reporting Stations
June 3, 2002. The public docks at Horton Bay and Miners Bay, both on Mayne Island, have just been designated Canpass-only reporting stations. They are year-round stations, seven days a week. Hours are 0800-2400. The designation was made after many requests from boats based at Point Roberts, Blaine, and Bellingham, which sought a reporting station close to the Strait of Georgia.
Horton Bay is located off Georgeson Passage, along the south side of Mayne Island. Miners Bay is in Active Pass.
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Ucluelet Now a Customs Port
June 3, 2002. After receiving many concerned phone calls and letters, Canada Customs has re-established a customs check-in on the West Coast of Vancouver Island at the town of Ucluelet, on the north side of Barkley Sound. Hours are 0700-2400, seven days a week, June 1 through October 31, 2002. Tie up at the Otter Street government dock (locally, the 52 Steps Dock) and call in..
The Ucluelet RCMP office is acting as a Customs agent. You will be subject to inspection by an RCMP/Canada Customs officer.
This is a pilot program, subject to modification. It is for private boats and commercial fish boats only. It is for all such vessels, not just Canpass memebers. It is not for aircraft. Note that the program expires October 31.
This is welcome news for boats bound up the Oregon and Washington coasts, and for boats going out the the U.S. side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca before crossing to Barkley Sound. When Canada Customs closed Bamfield as a reporting station earlier this spring, it meant that Victoria was the closest reporting station for boats wishing to cruise the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The Strait of Juan de Fuca can be rough and often dangerous, and requiring boats to go to Victoria and back before cruising Barkley Sound and points up-island was a serious threat to safety.
Bamfield and Port Alberni remain closed as reporting stations.
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For more updates:
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• U.S. Customs Updates
• Canada Customs Updates
• General Updates
• Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
• Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia, including B.C.'s Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound to top of Vancouver Island
• Central & Northern B.C. Coast
• West Coast of Vancouver Island
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