Border Crossing?

[Tedd]

I'm relatively new to sailing, especially in the pacific northwest, so forgive me if this is a really basic question. But I'm wondering about how sailors deal with the Canada-US border than runs through Boundary Bay and the southern Georgia Strait, say on a route from the Crescent Beach Yacht Club into the strait, or down to Saturna Island. Is it possible to sail around the tip of Point Roberts and into the straight without clearing customs, for example?

For aircraft, there are special airspace regulations that allow an aircraft to go from, say, Abbotsford or Langley to Victoria on a relatively direct route south of Point Roberts, even though that means crossing the border and back. Is there something similar for boats?

 

[sinnettc]

Did a week long cruise in the San Juans from July 26th through the 2nd. We had a similar discussion as we sailed from Shallow Bay on Sucia, along Saturna, and then over to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island. General consensus was that we could cross over & back as long as we didn't anchor/set foot on land. We did heave to for a while, probably on the Canadian side of the line, for lunch and so I could try to figure out why the chart plotter shut itself down. Now if we were going to be in Canadian waters for longer, say overnight and not in transit I think maybe it would be a different story.

 

[jssailem]

From the reading of the regs if done to learn the do's and don'ts Chris is right on. The key is transit. No going ashore. You may get inspected while transiting. But as long as your legal the regs say your ok.

 

[Jalepeno]

As others have said "Transit" is the key. Do not stop and touch US land or anchor. BC Ferries does not require you to bring a passport to transit from the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.